New state-of-the-art wastewater facility for Strathmore, Alberta, designed in BC

Strathmore, Alberta WWTP, USBF clarifier detail.

A new wastewater treatment facility built for the Alberta Town of Strathmore is now in service. The plant, designed by Ecofluid Systems, Inc. of Vancouver, BC, was built to replace eight extended aeration lagoons and incorporates their patented, proven USBF (Upflow Sludge Blanket Filtration) process. The USBF technology ensures high quality effluent that meets or exceeds typical regulatory requirements including phosphorus and nitrogen reduction.

The plant is designed to produce effluent no greater than 15 mg/l BOD and TSS plus 1 mg/l Total Phosphorus, and treat an average wastewater flow of 4,000 m³/d (1 million gallons/day) and peak day flows of 10,000 m³/day for Strathmore's rapidly growing population. It will be operated by EPCOR.

Due to the modular design of the USBF system, the plant can be readily expanded to meet future growth in a cost-effective manner. This plant will meet the immediate and long-term wastewater treatment needs for residential and business development.

The Ecofluid USBF process is the result of over 40 years of research and development, testing and practical experience. It is a modification of the conventional activated sludge process that incorporates an anoxic selector zone and an USBF clarifier in one integrated bioreactor vessel. This compact, modular system takes up significantly less space and contains few moving parts. The result is said to be an efficient, highly affordable wastewater treatment plant with low maintenance and operating costs.

The operation of a USBF plant is simple and self-regulating. Wastewater enters the anoxic compartment of the bioreactor where it mixes with activated sludge recycled from the bottom of the clarifier. Agitated and moved in a plug flow manner, the mixed liquor eventually underflows into the bioreactor's aerobic compartment. After aeration, a stream of the mixed liquor enters the bottom of the clarifier where sludge flocs and water are separated by upflow sludge blanket filtration. After separation, clear water overflows into a collection trough and is discharged from the system. To complete the internal circulation loop, activated sludge collecting at the bottom of the clarifier is recycled back into the bioreactor's anoxic compartment.

The technology has no inherent capacity limits and is used in a wide range of applications. Plants serving the domestic and municipal sectors designed for treating industrial, food processing and agricultural wastewater are in successful operation around the world.

Additional information available at: www.ecofluid.com.

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