Our Portfolio

type:

Waste Management

services:

Evaluation report, Permitting assistance, Design engineering, Services during construction, Startup and operational assistance

Flow:  400,000 gpd

COD:  17,800 lbs/day

TSS:  2,800 lbs/day

T-P:  180 lbs/d

Construction Cost:  $300,000

Brewster Cheese is the country’s leading producer of Swiss cheese, producing over 200,000 lbs daily. In addition, the company supplies whey products, dairy proteins, and powders to food manufacturers. These resulting waste streams are sent to the facility’s wastewater treatment plant (WWTP), which is an aerobic treatment system utilizing the activated sludge process. Components of this system include the following:

• Equalization basin – A capacity of approximately 350,000 gallons
• Selector tank – A portion of the return activated sludge from the clarifiers is discharged into the selector tank
• Three lagoons – Each “clean” lagoon has a capacity of approximately 2.4 million gallons. Part of the return activated sludge from the clarifiers is discharged into the fully aerated (primary) lagoon.
• Two rectangular clarifiers
• Partially aerated secondary lagoon
• Settling tertiary lagoon

In an effort to improve the performance and treatment capacity of this plant, the cheese processor hired ATI in early 2007 to perform an evaluation, which suggested the following upgrades. ATI completed the drawings in March 2008, and construction was completed in July 2008.

• Modifications to the equalization tank to improve wastewater equalization and reduce the hydraulic retention time of the wastewater.
• New aerated pond
• Removal of the current mechanical aerators and installation of a new floating-lateral diffused aeration system for the primary lagoon. This will allow more efficient transfer of oxygen to the microscopic organisms, increasing BOD and TKN removal.
• Installation of a new secondary clarifier to increase the solids loading capacity and allow for better solids capture.
• Installation of a new tertiary filter system to polish wastewater to meet required phosphorus permit limits before discharge.

Features
Upgraded equalization system
Upgraded aeration system
New secondary clarifier
New effluent filter