ArchaeaSolutions, Inc.
Successful Implementation of ArchaeaSolutions, Inc. Bioremediation Technology at Mississippi Refinery to Reduce Hazardous Waste Disposal Background The customer operates a 10,000 barrel per day asphalt refinery in Mississippi. In the summer of 2013, the treated water pond at the plant was nearly full of solids. The customer was considering the conventional and expensive method of dealing with the problem by mechanically dredging the pond and transporting the dredged material to a hazardous waste landfill. ArchaeaSolutions, Inc. (“ASI”) proposed using Arkea®, its proprietary mix of Archaea and bacteria, to biologically reduce the amount of waste in the pond, thereby saving the customer from having to mechanically dredge, haul and dispose of any material that could be degraded. Biological degrading would provide economic savings to the customer by substantially reducing the amount of solids to be landfilled. Executive Summary The average depth of the sludge blanket was reduced from 42 inches on 3/14/2013 to 18.2 inches on 1/10/2014. The reduction in the sludge blanket allowed the treated water pond to perform effectively without the necessity for mechanical dredging. This reduction was achieved even though new process solids flowed into the pond during the period. Daily flow through the treated water pond during the treatment period varied considerably. Archaea Archaea are the oldest living organisms. They look like bacteria, and formerly were called Archaebacteria. Archaea and bacteria (now known as Eubacteria) are similar in shape and size. Both Archaea and bacteria occur as rods, cocci, spirals, plates, coiled etc., but they are completely different organisms. Through rNA tests in 1977, Carl Woess at the University of Illinois showed that the operative Copyright 2014. ArchaeaSolutions, Inc. All rights reserved.
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ArchaeaSolutions, Inc.
mechanisms of Archaea are more closely related to plants and animals than to those of bacteria. Some of the key differences are: •
Archaea and bacteria differ in cell wall composition. Archaea differ in the fact that their cell wall does not contain peptidoglycan, and their cell membrane uses ether-­‐linked lipids as opposed to ester-­‐linked lipids in bacteria. •
As with bacteria, some species of Archaea are aerobic, some are facultative anaerobic, and some anaerobic. However, some species of Archaea are extremophiles. They are found in extreme and harsh environments like hot springs, salt lakes, marshlands, oceans, and the guts of ruminants and humans. •
Enzymes in both bacteria and Archaea degrade a variety of organic matter. Bacteria generally reduce waste to lipids, proteins and polysaccharides. The Archaea further reduce these products to gasses (principally CO2 and methane) and water. •
Some Archaea reproduce slowly, and they are outcompeted for food sources by fast-­‐growing bacteria. In some cases the Archaea form a symbiotic relationship with bacteria, enhancing the performance of both microorganisms. Laboratory Analysis The first step in the Arkea® process was to determine the chemical composition of the pond sludge. To ascertain the composition of the sludge, the refinery provided samples of material from the pond for Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry analysis. This analysis was completed in August of 2012 and showed that several halogenated compounds (compounds containing bromine and chlorine) were present in the sludge. Although these compounds can be degraded biologically, degradation generally is a slow process, and ASI was concerned about the ability of Arkea® to degrade the sludge within a reasonable time frame. Therefore, ASI initially performed bench tests on samples provided by the customer to determine the likelihood of success. Upon completion of the bench tests, ASI concluded that although further work to optimize the Arkea® mixture would probably be necessary, a significant reduction in the amount of sludge could be obtained within a reasonable period of time. Copyright 2014. ArchaeaSolutions, Inc. All rights reserved.
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ArchaeaSolutions, Inc.
Project Execution A six-­‐month trial run was planned. However, due to a plant shutdown during the period and delays in receiving and installing additional equipment that was not in the initial project scope, the actual operational period was extended to approximately 10 months. The timeline for the project is shown below: 2/28/2013 A 75-­‐gallon Arkea® generation tank was installed with the initially calculated dosage of Arkea®. Treatment of the sludge blanket was initiated. 3/14/2014 Measurement Grid Influent
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An initial sludge survey was conducted to 7
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establish the baseline depth of the sludge blanket. A nine-­‐point sampling grid was laid out, and a sample obtained from a sludge judge was used to determine the depth of sludge at Effluent
each point. An average of the sludge depth of the nine grid points showed that the average sludge depth of the pond as a whole at this time was 42 inches. The depth in inches of the sludge blanket at each of the 9 grid points is shown to the left. Copyright 2014. ArchaeaSolutions, Inc. All rights reserved.
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ArchaeaSolutions, Inc.
6/11/2013 A sludge survey to determine progress showed that the average amount of sludge in the pond had been reduced by 27%, from 42 inches to 30.7 inches. A PAD (Pre-­‐Activation Device) was installed on shore on June 12. The PAD allowed the microbes to be incubated and acclimated to the customer’s specific waste stream in a more favorable environment. June 11, 2013 Sludge Reduction (Volume %) Influent
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An analysis of the June 11th sludge survey N
showed that a significant amount of short-­‐
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large reduction, while others showed none. Therefore, an aerator was installed in the pond on July 25th. The aerator enhanced mixing in the pond, thereby eliminating some of the short-­‐circuiting effect and resulted in a notable improvement in the pond condition.
Copyright 2014. ArchaeaSolutions, Inc. All rights reserved.
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ArchaeaSolutions, Inc.
1/10/2014
June 11, 2013 vs. January 10, 2014 Sludge Reduction (Volume %) Influent
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Top number 6/11/13 the graph to the left, a greater uniform Bottom number 1/10/14 showed that the average sludge blanket had reduction was obtained. A final sludge survey been reduced to 18.2 inches, a reduction of 57% of the initial sludge volume. Effluent
However, the results were even more dramatic. Arkea® can only deal with organic matter. The 57 % percentage reduction reflects both organic and inorganic compounds in the sludge blanket. If only the organic matter is considered, Arkea® reduced a much larger percentage.
By the time of the final sludge survey, most of the measurement areas had been reduced to less than 20 inches of sludge. We believe that the addition of the second aerator would have reduced the entire sludge blanket to less than 20 inches.
Other salient points: •
During the August 2013 shutdown, the crude unit desalters were cleaned and inspected. Significant solids deposits were found in the desalters, which was causing a significant reduction in resonance time for separation of oil, water, and solids. Prior to the August Copyright 2014. ArchaeaSolutions, Inc. All rights reserved.
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ArchaeaSolutions, Inc.
turnaround, poor desalter efficiency caused a significant amount of suspended solids to pass through the desalter and eventually into the first pond. After the desalter cleaning, the desalter effluent was noticeably cleaner (reduced oil and solids). This reduced the rate of solids accumulation in the ponds in the period following the August 2013 shutdown, but had no effect on the original sludge blanket. •
As previously mentioned, during the Archaea trial, the amount of new process material flowing into the pond was very inconsistent. During a plant shutdown, the flow was reduced to a trickle. Nevertheless, the reduction achieved is in addition to the amount of additional sludge that flowed into the pond during that period. As can be seen in the graph above, analysis of the sludge survey showed significant improvement in most of the areas that had been subject to the short-­‐circuiting. •
Also as mentioned, a significant amount of improvement in the pond condition was noted when the aerator was added to help mix the Archaea in the pond. It is possible that the agitation in the pond allowed some of the solids to be suspended and flow to the downstream pond. This was not measured. At the same time, however, there may have been a reduction in sludge volume in the downstream pond due to the Archaea action in the downstream pond but again, this was not measured. The technical staff at ArchaeaSolutions, Inc. specializes in providing our patented Arkea® Wastewater Aeration System and bioaugmentation technology with Arkea® microbial cultures for wastewater treatment. Other services are consultation and training for wastewater process control, troubleshooting assistance, and lab analyses, including microscopic analyses. ArchaeaSolutions, Inc.
Aeration.Bioaugmentation.Consulting.
100 Lloyd Avenue, Suite D Tyrone, GA 30290
Phone 770-487-5303
[email protected]
www.archaeasolutions.com Copyright 2014. ArchaeaSolutions, Inc. All rights reserved.
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