We are pleased to announce the completion of a new biological odor control system we recently added to Palm Beach County Water Utilities’ Water Treatment Plant 11 located in Belle Glade, Florida. The new system replaced an older chemical odor control system that treated hydrogen sulfide gas removed by degasification during the water treatment process. Globaltech designed, permitted, and constructed the new system as well as other improvements to reduce odor, increase safety, and decrease maintenance.
Odor Reduction, Cost Savings & Improved Safety
The new system treats foul air with 150 to 200 ppm of hydrogen sulfide. It removes up to 99% of the hydrogen sulfide gas before the air stream is exhausted into the atmosphere. The older chemical odor control system was only capable of removing up to 90% of the inlet hydrogen sulfide. The elimination of the chemical scrubber removed the associated cost of using sodium hydroxide as well as the danger of handling the chemical for this process. Once the new odor control system was functional, there was a noticeable improvement in reduced odors at the plant.
Upgraded BioAir System
The new BioAir system consisted of two parallel biotrickling filter towers, water panels, system control panel, and nutrient tanks. The biotrickling towers use bacteria grown on the media within the towers to consume hydrogen sulfide that passes through. The system was installed on the newly constructed 30′ x 35′ concrete pad with a 6″ containment curb. The two towers are designed to each receive 14,000 cfm of air. Additional 48″ of ductwork and dampeners were installed to convey the foul air from the degasifiers to the new towers.
Also installed were three new 50 hp blowers to replace the existing 25 hp blowers within the existing sound enclosures. The larger blowers are needed to overcome the additional pressure loss from the added biotrickling filter towers. Globaltech also replaced the three existing blower control panels and added three new actuators on each blower discharge dampener. A pressure transmitter was added to the blower discharge manifold to monitor and alarm if pressure set points are exceeded.