Speaking

The City of Akron, Ohio, was required by Consent Decree to install a Biological Chemically Enhanced Primary Treatment (BioCEPT) facility at the Akron Water Reclamation Facility (WRF) capable of treating a minimum of 60 million gallons per day (mgd) of flow. It is one of the first full-scale facilities to provide biological treatment ahead of chemically enhanced settling to achieve the equivalent of secondary wastewater treatment.

The BioCEPT facility includes storage of approximately 10 million gallons. If wet weather flows exceed the storage capacity, treated overflows from the BioCEPT system combine with WRF Secondary Effluent and are directed to the WRF disinfection system. Overflow from the BioCEPT system must meet requirements for carbonaceous biochemical oxygen demand (CBOD) and total suspended solids (TSS). The combined BioCEPT overflow and WRF secondary effluent must meet the Consent Decree requirements for E. coli during the recreation season.

Due to the aging infrastructure and the increasing infiltration and inflow within wastewater collection systems, the treatment of wet-weather flows is a hurdle for almost every treatment plant in the country. Conventional secondary treatment does not lend itself to quick increases and decreases in flow due to the biological nature of the process. The BioCEPT treatment system can be quickly put into service during a wet weather event and taken out of service once it is over without concern over how to keep the biomass viable until the next event.

This presentation will explain the BioCEPT treatment process, key design and performance parameters, lessons learned and the system performance as observed via the completion of the Consent Decree required Demonstration Study. Results from the study will be shared to highlight the ability of the BioCEPT treatment process to achieve the equivalent of secondary treatment and its overall performance compared to the City's traditional secondary treatment process for pathogen and conventional pollutant parameters.