Water Service - Wastewater Treatment

Ravensview WWTP Start-Up and BAF Performance Verification

Client:

City of Kingston / Utilities Kingston
Location:

Kingston, ON
Key Aspects:

Development and completion of custom performance testing program
Proprietary treatment technology performance guarantee verification

A Class Environmental Assessment (EA) Addendum was completed in 2004 that reviewed alternatives to upgrade and expand the Ravensview Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP). The process upgrade involved increasing the plant capacity from 72,000 m3/d to 95,000 m3/d, and upgrading the existing chemically enhanced primary treatment plant to provide secondary level treatment. An innovative treatment process, Biological Aerated Filter (BAF), was selected for implementation.

 

A one year performance guarantee was provided by the supplier to assure the BAF effluent will meet its treatment performance in terms of BAF effluent criteria when operated within design influent hydraulic and organic loading parameters. XCG Consultants Ltd. (XCG) led the performance guarantee verification testing program on behalf of Utilities Kingston. Developing and executing the testing program involved working closely with the equipment supplier, design engineers, operations staff, and client technical staff.

 

Project Gallery - Click an image to enlarge.

 

During the study period, flows to the plant were much lower than the design ADF, MDF, and PHF of the BAF system. As a result, XCG developed a testing protocol that simulated the various design conditions by limiting the number of cells in service to target the equivalent ADF, MDF, and PHF hydraulic loadings being achieved through the remaining active cells.  The testing schedule was designed to assess process performance over a one year period to simulate seasonal variations. In addition, design operating conditions (e.g. backwash frequency, backwash quality and quantity, dissolved oxygen concentrations, etc.) specified by the process supplier were monitored during the performance verification period and compared to the design specifications.

 

XCG analyzed all operating and sampling data collected during the performance testing, and verified the ability of the BAF system to meet its design requirements in terms of effluent quality over a wide range of operating conditions. Based on the performance verification testing program results, the proprietary BAF treatment system not only met but exceeded the manufacturer’s performance guarantee criteria.