Wednesday, January 27, 2016

Ammonia spike in the STP or WWTP?


Ammonia spike in the STP / WWTP?
Recently, a plant supervisor called us about a major ammonia spike in their sewage treatment plant. This client has been using the microbes successfully for a few years for their lift stations. They used to have a big problem with FOG accumulation, and now they rarely need pump-outs and have not needed full cleanouts since they started with us. But unrelated to the lift stations, they suddenly were experiencing a huge spike in ammonia levels in the plant for unknown reasons.

The client was quite happy to learn that the same archaea-based microbe formula thrives on ammonia, and would bring the ammonia levels down rapidly and get the process back in parameters. A cheap, fast and easy solution to what could have been a much bigger problem.

Our biological wastewater treatment formulas are archaea-based, which means they are effective at far colder temperatures than most bacteria-based products. As a quick trivia sidenote, archaea have been found quite happily living deep in permanently frozen Antarctic ice.

The archaea-based consortium very effectively controls odors, eliminates FOG accumulation in collection infrastructure, reduces H2S build-up, and enhances (rather than disrupts) the efficiency of downstream treatment systems and processes. Basically, nature figured it out billions of years ago. Applying this knowledge to a wide variety of industrial and environmental settings just makes sense.

If you have a question about whether Akaya's biological wastewater treatment products might be helpful for you, please give us a call or email.


- A lifelong sailor and water lover, Kevin Mirise lives and works on the coast in Cohasset, near Boston, MA. He’s a Director at Akaya, a bioremediation and biorestoration company that uses beneficial microbes to treat wastewater and naturally eliminate toxic contamination from water and soil. 

Keys: Wastewater Treatment Plant, Waste Water Treatment Plant, Sewage Treatment Plant, Agriculture, Wastewater Lagoons, Waste Lagoons, Sewer Collection Systems, Wastewater Collection Infrastructure, Utility Infrastructure, Biological Wastewater Treatment Products, Beneficial Microorganisms, Beneficial Microbes, COD Reduction, Wastewater Treatment Odors, Bioaugmentation

Wednesday, January 20, 2016

“What is the best disinfectant and odor suppressant for a sewage system?” someone asked




May we start by saying that “disinfecting” a sewer system can be extremely counterproductive, and can actually result in far more severe odor problems. A properly designed and functioning sewage system should not smell, and there are products you can use to supplement and improve the performance of your system.

The primary source of odors typically is hydrogen sulphide – that “rotten egg” raw sewage smell – and one way to dramatically reduce or eliminate that is by actively boosting the beneficial microbe activity. The best way to do that depends on the type of sewage system (e.g. septic tanks and fields, cesspools, municipal collection systems, ship or boat or camper holding tanks, etc.) It also is important to note that corrosion rates on the equipment and system are likely to be much more damaging when hydrogen sulfide is allowed to build up. So the odor is just part of the harmful side-effects of a poorly performing sewage system.

For example, for a sewer access point (a “manhole” for example) where a noticeable smell is noxious, a system maintenance worker can spray a “probiotic” solution of microbes into the hole, and the smell should almost instantly dissipate. The microbes attach to airborne molecules, to the walls and surfaces where waste has accumulated, and onto the surface of the solid and liquid waste in the sewer or cesspool. The microbes break down and metabolize the waste at the molecular level, converting it to benign byproducts that don’t have the bad odour.

Fats, oils and grease (FOG) and other solidified waste will take a longer time to remediate, as will a larger volume of liquid waste, but once the microbial colony is established, it can continue to work for weeks or months as long as the basic requirements are met (water, a “food” source, and other environmental conditions suitable for the microbes).

A homeowner can safely do the same thing (probiotic additive) on their own system and property, since at least some products marketed are safe for use around people, plants and animals, such as the archaea-based formula that Akaya uses. Akaya’s beneficial microbe products come in bulk powder form, as well as in tablet form for easy use in septic tanks, toilets and sinks. The microbes “eat” the kitchen fats and grease that accumulate in drain lines and pipes, and the sewage waste that can accumulate over time in waste pipes, instead of simply moving chunks of it downstream to the sewage collection system.

Most types of sewage treatment systems exist for the purpose of breaking down waste at the molecular level, so using a disinfectant would be counterproductive, and would disrupt or stop the beneficial microbial activity that you want happening. A disinfectant can be appropriate to use on exposed toilet surfaces, and other places sewage has splashed or spilled, but you wouldn’t want to dump a gallon of chlorine down your toilet thinking your sewage collection system is going to smell better.

For similar reasons, more wastewater treatment professionals and sewage treatment plant operators are realizing that there are very harmful side-effects and “collateral damage” that comes with using conventional chemical treatments such as hydrogen peroxide, which kills all microbial activity, good and bad. Chemical products that break up or emulsify fats, oils and grease are simply moving the problem further downstream, which can still be a problem if the same person needs to deal with it solidifying somewhere else. Solving the problem at the source can be much preferred to simply moving the problem, especially if you are still responsible for the “somewhere else”.

And the default conventional response of dumping in chemicals also can be quite expensive, whereas plant operators can enjoy a significant net cost savings from using the archaea-based formula, due to the collateral benefits of improved plant processes and effluent quality, and decreased electricity and sludge hauling costs. Homeowners enjoy a net cost savings by having fewer maintenance problems, and a longer time between pump-outs being necessary.

Clearly I work for Akaya, but there are innumerable “green” bioremediation products available from other manufacturers, including bacteria, enzyme and fungi-based products. Akaya primarily works with an archaea-based consortium of more than 100 types of beneficial microbes that are 100% non-GMO, and over decades of use have been demonstrated to be non-pathogenic and safe for use around people, plants and animals, both aquatic and on land.

Additional case study examples and specifics are outlined in other summaries on this blog; and FAQs and more information is available on our website: www.akaya.co.

Basically, nature figured it out billions of years ago. Applying this knowledge to a wide variety of industrial and environmental settings just makes sense.


- A lifelong sailor and water lover, Kevin Mirise lives and works on the coast in Cohasset, near Boston, MA. He’s a Director at a bioremediation and biorestoration company that uses beneficial microbes to naturally eliminate contaminants from water and soil. 

Wednesday, January 13, 2016


6 proven and cost-effective uses of archaea in wastewater treatment plants and infrastructure 

Archaea beneficial microbes occur naturally on the earth to break down organic waste, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that they work well in sewage and wastewater treatment. They are hardy, broad-spectrum and unlike chemical products leave no collateral damage to the plant. They also result in higher quality effluent to surface waters.

Here are six tested and proven ways the archaea beneficial microbes work:

1) Odor problems: Sprayed into manholes and wet wells where neighbors are complaining about odors, archaea microbes mixed with water and sprayed or fogged into access points creates nearly instant elimination of hydrogen sulfide odors. Plus the archaea also settle onto vertical surfaces to metabolize and eliminate noxious accumulation.

2) Ammonia spike reduction: An archaea-based beneficial microbe consortium has demonstrated rapid and dramatic effect in bringing ammonia levels down in WWTP/STP tanks.

3) Process boosts: Secondary and tertiary treatment is all about creating optimum conditions for natural microbial activity, so it only makes sense that we can use “probiotics” to enhance and supercharge the processes. Decreased BOD and COD, decreased TSS, and significantly lower levels of nitrogen and fecal coliforms all can be achieved by the addition of small amounts of concentrated microbes at the right points in the flow.

4) FOG cap elimination and prevention of build-up in wet wells and lift stations. Typically, a combination of added archaea and aggressive aeration can quickly break up even the thickest, hardest, driest FOG cap, and without causing major problems downstream. Products that break up grease into chunks can simply clog or jam equipment, and chemicals can create the need to restart plant processes. And if you have more time, archaea can metabolize FOG caps at the molecular level over days or weeks, instead of simply moving oils and grease downstream.

5) Significant savings from reduced sludge and less electrical utility usage: Case studies indicate a 25-30% reduction in accumulated sludge volume, with significant monetary savings on electrical usage and process times as well as sludge processing and hauling costs. 

6) Hydrogen sulfide reduction and corrosion reduction: Odors and maintenance work are a hassle, but premature equipment and infrastructure failure can be a nightmare with massive budget and capex impact. Archaea seeded at upstream points in the collection system are the most cost-efficient way of minimizing excess hydrogen sulfide build up and the corrosion side-effects on equipment and infrastructure.

One of our favorite client stories is a municipality where the guys now use a tattered paper cup from their local coffee chain to toss some microbes into each of several lift stations once or twice a week for the last few years. They used to have to pump out each of the stations 6 or 7 times a year, often including sending a person down the well to break up and shovel out a grease cap thick enough to stand on.

In addition to unobstructed float switches and pumps, they said the odor complaints have been dramatically reduced as well, and that the rate of corrosion damage has been lower too. Plus there’s no added electrical usage from additional installed equipment. No pumps or spray bars or other additives. The labor factor is not an issue either, because even with SCADA input, they still would be periodically on site visiting the lift stations, so the incremental time is literally seconds to toss in fresh beneficial microbes while the crew are there.

Significant net-savings attained. Proven to enhance existing processes. Reduced manual labor and oversight hassle. Effective and cost-efficient product. That’s the benefit of putting trillions of microbes to work with each scoop of powder tossed in. It just makes sense.


- A lifelong sailor and water lover, Kevin Mirise lives and works on the coast in Cohasset, near Boston, MA. He’s a Director at a bioremediation and biorestoration company that uses beneficial microbes to naturally eliminate contaminants from water and soil.