By Heather Jennings, PE
Industrial pulp and paper wastewater is considered one of the more challenging waters to treat using biological methods, which depend on microbial activity to effectively remediate the wastewater.
Wastewater treatment systems are often influenced/impacted by increased hydraulic and/or COD (chemical oxygen demand) loading as mills add new chemicals or otherwise modify mill operations. These events oftentimes inhibit the wastewater microbial activity, causing “upsets” and, potentially, discharge-limit violations. However, providing the necessary biostimulants and buffers to the microbial system—as we describe in this case study from a paper mill in China—can significantly improve system-upset recovery time and overall operational stability.
To test this process, two specific Probiotic Solutions® liquid bioremediation products were used to address process upsets. We found that this treatment approach improved floc formation—with larger quantities of Vorticellidae and with smaller quantities of rotifers and various other types of protozoans and metazoans—and led to complete system recovery and overall operational stability just one month after application. This biological treatment improved, buffered, diversified, and strengthened the microbiology in the system, which led to improved COD removal and settling and, of course, the main objective of improved water clarity and quality.
Want to read more? To read/download the complete study, just type in your name and email address below and click “Submit.”
Related Posts
This Week in Ag #37
One of the greatest inventions in history is the combine. The concept of threshing and separating grain in one operation revolutionized our food system, as well as redefined our labor force. Consider that in the mid-1800s, 90% of the US workforce was involved in some aspect of farming. Now it’s under 2%. To think my grandfather harvested corn by hand and threw the ears in a wagon! He used the pull-behind model in the 1940s to harvest small grains (that’s him, Fred Nichols, combining oats on our family farm). My mother still talks about dad wearing a Jesse James style mask while operating their first self-propelled combine without a cab.
This Week in Ag #51
Back in the mid-1980s, this then-high school student attended a farmer meeting with dad. One of the speakers was a commodities advisor. He playfully asked the attendees what their target price was for their crops. He further inquired, “How many of you are still holding out for the return of $12 soybeans?” The sheepish looks...
This Week in Ag #2
Are we looking at a fertilizer shortage? Guess it depends on your definition. The availability of fertilizer isn’t a major concern in the US. It really wasn’t last year, either. As a good friend (who I consider to be among the best farmers in the country) told me last winter, “you can get it, it’s...
