Summary

Modern water treatment facilities that chemically or biologically target phosphorus removal have a lot of challenges when it comes to meeting their phosphorus discharge limits. Many of those challenges are related to timing because influent phosphorus loading can quickly change from industrial dischargers, seasonal fluctuations or even varying seasonal permit phosphorus limits. These fast changes can overwhelm treatment processes and take days or weeks to restore compliance. These facilities need a phosphorus treatment solution that responds quickly and allows them maintain control over the effluent phosphorus with confidence, efficiently removing only the phosphorus and only to a level necessary to maintain compliance. Neo’s WaterFX 300 provides that solution.

In May of 2024, an MBR facility treating an average of 8 MGD of flow in the Western US wanted to find out just how quickly they could use WaterFX 300 to reduce TP in their effluent from 3 mg/L TP to the targeted 0.10 mg/L TP. By dosing WaterFX directly into the MBR basin with a designed dose, they were able to reduce their effluent TP from 3 mg/L at 9:00 a.m. to under 0.10 mg/L by 2:00 p.m. that very same day. This facility went from an untreated TP state to a fully controlled, ultra-low phosphorus discharging facility in 5 hours. In the subsequent days the facility flow ranged from 4 to 8 MGD but with a flow-paced WaterFX dose around 35 mg/L they were able to consistently maintain their effluent TP under their seasonal limit of 0.2 mg/L.

Background

Before the introduction of WaterFX 300 in 2024, this facility discharged 2-4 mg/L of phosphorus with flows ranging from 3 to 8 MGD daily. When preparing for a seasonal phosphorus limit of 0.20 mg/L, the facility operators knew they were going to have a challenge treating the wide-ranging flow to the very low phosphorus concentration allowed. The facility passed the challenge to Neo Water Treatment to determine if Neo WaterFX 300 could meet their needs, and how long they would need to prepare each year to achieve and maintain compliance throughout their low phosphorus season. 

Results

Neo Water Treatment worked with the facility operators to introduce Neo WaterFX 300 through a metering pump and a tote next to the MBR basin and within only 2.5 hours the facility effluent was below the limited 0.2 mg/L and within five hours the facility’s effluent was under the 0.10 mg/L TP target. The relationship between effluent TP and WaterFX dose over time tell the story in the figure below:

Conclusion

At a facility with seasonal low phosphorus limits and wide daily flow fluctuations, Neo WaterFX was able to reduce the facility’s effluent phosphorus below the limit of 0.20 mg/L in less than 2.5 hours and able to hit and hold at the targeted 0.10 mg/L in less than 5 hours. This level of effortless effluent phosphorus control is exactly what this facility needed from a phosphorus treatment chemical.

For WaterFX 300 product inquiries, please contact:

Neo Chemicals & Oxides 8101 E Prentice Av, Suite 525
Greenwood Village, CO 80111 USA
P: 303.843.8040
F: 303.843.8082
phosphorusremoval@neomaterials.com
www.neowatertreatment.com