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Newterra Industrial Wastewater

Boosting Production Capacity at Island Aseptics Fruit Juice Plant, Byesville, OH

Island Aseptics, an Ohio-based fruit juice producer, sought to
increase its production capacity by 50%.

Industry

Food and Beverage

Location

Byesville, Ohio

Installed

2010

Challenge

Meeting compliance limits of less than 150 mg/L for Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) and Total
Suspended Solids (TSS)

Island Aseptics, an Ohio-based fruit juice producer, sought to increase its production capacity by 50%. However, this expansion posed a significant challenge: the plant needed to meet the Publicly Owned Treatment Works (POTW) compliance limits of less than 150 mg/L for Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) and Total Suspended Solids (TSS), which corresponds to a maximum daily mass loading limit of under 150 lbs/day for both BOD and TSS.

A newterra treatment system being installed

The plant’s original wastewater treatment plant (WWTP), built in 1984, was designed for a hydraulic capacity of 80,000 gallons per day (GPD). The wastewater was pretreated using an Upflow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket (UASB) reactor and polished aerobically by a Conventional Activated Sludge Process (CASP) before discharge. However, a 2010 plant expansion led to an increase in wastewater volume, surpassing the existing WWTP’s capacity. Despite the installation of a new 250,000-gallon UASB reactor, the secondary clarifier could not manage the increased hydraulic and solids loading rates, necessitating an upgrade to the CASP system to maintain compliance.

Solution

Converting an existing activated sludge tank into a Membrane Bioreactor (MBR)

After evaluating several aerobic treatment options, the project team decided that converting one of the existing activated sludge tanks into a Newterra Membrane Bioreactor (MBR) system was the best solution. The decision was based on several key advantages of the Newterra technology:

Superior Effluent Quality: The MBR system consistently provided effluent quality that far exceeded discharge requirements, even within the limited available footprint.
Future Expansion Potential: The system’s design included the possibility of direct effl uent discharge to a nearby creek, potentially eliminating municipal wastewater surcharges in the future.
Compact and Cost-Effective Design: The MBR system featured a compact design with a small footprint, meeting the project’s budgetary constraints.
Automation and Efficiency: The highly automated operation minimized the need for extensive operator involvement.
Modular Expansion: The system’s modular design allowed for easy future expansion.
Reduced Sludge Volume: The MBR system also resulted in lower sludge production, further enhancing operational efficiency.

Results

This upgrade not only ensured compliance with POTW discharge limits but also positioned the plant for potential future growth and cost savings

The Newterra MBR system delivered outstanding performance at the Island Aseptics plant. The system consistently removed over 99% of BOD and TSS, while also demonstrating excellent ammonia-N removal, with effl uent concentrations of less than 1 mg/L. This upgrade not only ensured compliance with POTW discharge limits but also positioned the plant for potential future growth and cost savings by reducing reliance on municipal wastewater services.

This successful implementation allowed Island Aseptics to increase its production capacity while maintaining environmental compliance, ultimately contributing to the plant’s operational efficiency and long-term sustainability.

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