| The site: A large U.S. domestic oil refinery experienced success from a one year program of biological augmentation of its waste water treatment system. This refinery has had a city's residential area build up around it and the refinery management has insured that it has become a good neighbor by its pro-active decision to become a zero discharge facility. |
| This refinery has historically reused its process water for cooling water used in its crude unit condensers and hydrocracking process plants. Biological fouling, high BOD, obnoxious sulfide odors and high phenolic levels, that impeded nitrification, prevented discharge of the waste into a tributary river of the Great Lakes. |
| Until the US. EPA determined that they were discharging 5 to 10 ppm of toluene and phenols directly to a local river, fining them $350,000 in 1995, they did not recognize the value of enhanced wastewater treatment. After receiving notice of the EPA fine, company executives contacted Dr. Syed Ali of Solutions Chemical Consultants, known locally as an environmental "wizard" for his ability to offer the most economical and effective treatments possible. |
| Following Dr. Ali's advice, the refinery management upgraded its WWTF equipment to include sand filtration, solids flocculation and chlorination and doubled the size of its holding ponds. All of these methods did not provide the results needed to attain the corporate goal of a minimum discharge refinery. Aeration has never been a problem as the reused water returned to the holding pond and WWTF had an abundance of dissolved oxygen. |
| Again following advice from Dr. Ali, the refinery chemical engineering department dissolved 6 lb. of Alken® Bio-Nutrient 3 into 110 gallons of their wastewater, split between two 55 gallon polyethylene drums. To one of the drums, they thoroughly mixed in 25 lb. of Alken Clear-Flo® 7001, a personal favorite of Dr. Ali's. To the second drum, they thoroughly mixed in 25 lbs. of Alken Clear-Flo® 7002. After two hours of acclimation and hydration, both drums were poured into the wastewater system. Initial dosage was repeated on the second day. For the days 3 through 7, the dosage of nutrients remained the same, while micrfobial augmentation was cut to 12.5 lbs. of each product. For days 8 - 30, nutrient amendment remained constant, while microbial augmentation was reduced to 6.5 lbs. a day. For months 2 through 11, while nutritional amendment remained constant, microbial augmentation dropped to 3.5 lbs. a day for two products, but Alken Clear-Flo® 7008 was substituted for Alken Clear-Flo® 7002. By the second month of treatment, effluent BOD was reduced 71% and eventually decreased to 80% by the end of microbial seeding. |
| During the 12th month, dosage was slowly weaned back to zero on day 30, while effluent performance remained uniformly under control from the initial biomass seeding with Alken Clear-Flo® selected, acclimated bacteria. |
| After 2 months, Dr. Ali suggested that they reserve 25% of the treatment for application to the reused water entering the cooling towers. These natural aerators immediately demonstrated positive results. Obnoxious sulfide odors associated with the refinery disappeared. Phenol levels dropped, benzene levels were minimized and nitrification began to occur naturally in the refinery WWTF holding ponds. Refinery chemists began to grow tropical fish in the discharge waters, to assure protection for fish in the streams and river receiving their discharge water. |
| Additional benefits that came from biological augmentation included the decrease in condenser/exchanger cleaning times and, most significantly, that the refinery was able to postpone a very expensive expansion of its WWTF, using its cash reserves to upgrade its process plants and to install air pollution equipment for its fluid cracking units and boilers. The refinery has become a near zero discharge facility. Contact Dr. Syed Ali of Solutions Chemical Consultants, at solutchem@aol.com , Alken-Murray's official distributor for this client, for additional information. |
| Today, Alken-Murray would prescribe Alken Clear-Flo 7008 all year except winter and Alken Clear-Flo 7018 in winter for refineries. CF 7018 was designed for industrial cold weather applications, while CF 7001 was designed for municipal cold weather wastewater |
