Two Semi Truck Loads a Tandem Trailer and a Pickup Truck

We shipped out two semi truck loads of MetaRocks yesterday.  The shipment is headed to the Bakken and we will be building four advanced onsite wastewater treatment systems for an oilfield support facility there. 

They needed denitrifying systems because a conventional septic system could not be approved by the department of environmental quality. After researching available systems, the owners of the facility decided to work with Eliminite. 

The septic tanks and treatment tanks were locally sourced which means reduced cost and additional benefit for the local economy.  This is in contrast to importing a more expensive, less reliable from who-knows-where.  The smart design of the Eliminite system allows us to use local material for almost every job.  We prefer doing business this way because it adds a nice boost to nearby businesses and costs less.  Plus we get to work directly with the tank manufacturers to make sure the client gets what they need.

Our engineers worked with the owners engineers to develop an intelligent design and layout for the system.  We also helped out on the large pressure dosed drainfield which was designed using our patented computer software Squirt: Hydraulic Analysis and Design Software.  Squirt, has the ability to analyze the entire pipe network of the pressurized drainfield as a complete system.  It is vital when a client is investing a significant sum of money into a large pressure-dosed drainfield system that the right tools be used to conduct the design and analysis.  A guy in cubby running a cobbled together spreadsheet is simply unable to provide the degree of analysis that Squirt is capable of.  Ordinary pump selection programs are just that, programs designed to sell pumps and parts for manufacturers, they are not dedicated hydraulic analysis programs aimed at providing the client with the most efficient possible design. 

Suspended Growth Systems

I am going to pick up where I left off last week with the discussion regarding suspended growth systems in a day or two.  I want to dig deeper into the reasons these types of systems are so unreliable.  I was reading an NSF report for one of these air-bubbling systems pursuing an NSF 40 certification the other day and noticed the average influent BOD5 to the system during the testing. If you are familiar with the term BOD5 you probably have some idea of normal ranges for different substances, for instance:
Milk 110,000 mg/L
Blood 200,000 mg/L
Winery Waste 5,000-20,000 mg/L

Domestic wastewater, because water saving devices are common in homes ranges from 300-600 mg/L.  Commercial facilities that don't include laundry, dishwashing or showers will run at least twice as high.  The Air-bubbler system was tested with wastewater with an average BOD5 of 140 mg/L.  This value is much lower than what is routinely encountered in the field and helps explain why these systems, even after receiving a national certification, produce abysmal results in actual operation.

We also need to cover why fixed-film systems are so much more resistant to upsets as compared to SBR's, MBR's and ATU's.  Maybe you have heard that some types of wastewater treatment systems need to be fed dog food.  Yes, Ol'Roy dog food spoon fed directly into and ATU. 

I will also draw a distinction between different types of fixed-film systems because the design, operation and maintenance requirements of these vary significantly.