MAY/JUNE 2022 | watertechonline.

com

High-purity water
treatment: Using
membranes to
protect membranes
Page 14
Solutions for Industrial Water Management
Predictive monitoring:
Achieving sustainability
through self-service
data analytics
Page 19

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 INSIDE
MAY/JUNE 2022 | VOL 45 | ISSUE 3

COVER STORY:
10 Bioaugmentation: When secondary
treatment is of primary importance
Two case studies present examples of how
a bioaugmentation program combined
with a monitoring program improved the
secondary wastewater treatment operation
in two challenging conditions.

FEATURES

14 High-purity water treatment:

Using membranes to protect

10
membranes
Exploring important details of
microfiltration and ultrafiltration design
and operation and how a unit can further
optimize makeup system performance.

cover: 28773193 © Antikainen | Dreamstime.com

19 Predictive monitoring: Achieving
sustainability through self-service
data analytics
Analyzing water and wastewater
process data not only contributes to
sustainability and energy efficiency,
DEPARTMENTS but it also optimizes processes and
improves the quality of production.
2 Editor’s Note
4 WaterTechOnline.com
6 Product Focus: New Products
22 Case Study: Bioaugmentation
program rebalances food
processor's wastewater system
8 Industry News
14 Kurita America’s innovative
technologies solved a long-
24 Advertiser Index term customer’s most complex
challenges to deliver optimal results.

Facebook
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7
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twitter.com/WaterTechOnline

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Online
watertechonline.com 19
MAY/JUNE 2022 | watertechonline.com 1

EDITOR''S NOTE
EDITOR
elcome to the May/June
W issue of Water Technology.
Our third issue of 2022 con-
tains a mix of content we
are excited to share with our readers.
This issue’s cover story comes from
Grégoire Poirier-Richer of SUEZ - Water
Technologies & Solutions, and focuses
on secondary wastewater treatment —
specifically how bioaugmentation and
monitoring can assist in those efforts.
Poirier-Richer writes: “Biological
wastewater treatment processes are
quite stable when the incoming waste-
water is of relatively consistent quality
and contains the right proportion and
quantity of biological nutrients, such
as municipal sewage treatment pro-
cesses. But when industrial processes
are involved, the fluctuation in influent
wastewater quality can cause upsets
with little or no warning. This contrib-
utes to a higher cost of treatment and
increases the risk of discharge viola-
tions and environmental impacts.”
Poirier-Richer goes on to describe, via
case studies involving a dairy processor
and a refinery, how a bioaugmentation
program improved secondary wastewater
treatment operations at those facilities.
Next, Brad Buecker and Katie Per-
ryman examine important details of
microfiltration and ultrafiltration de-
sign and operation, and how a unit
can further optimize makeup system
performance. They write:
“Purified makeup is important for
preventing corrosion and fouling in
high-temperature steam generators.
EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD
Brad Buecker, Buecker & Associates, LLC | Nidal Samad, Saudi Aramco | Dr. Ming Yang, TÜV SÜD |
Matthew Wirth, Pargreen Water Technologies | Trever Ball, Emerson Automation Solutions
2 WATER TECHNOLOGY | MAY/JUNE 2022
However, over the last several decades,
many makeup systems have either been
retrofitted or equipped up front with
reverse osmosis (RO) for bulk deioniza-
tion, followed by ion exchange polishing.
A well-designed pretreatment system
can help protect RO membranes from
particulate fouling, among other issues.
The development of micro- and ultrafil-
tration technologies (MF and UF, respec-
tively) has been a boon in this regard.”
Charlotte Fischer of TrendMiner fol-
lows with an article that outlines how the
analysis of water and wastewater process
data can provide multiple benefits in in-
dustrial environments. She writes:
“While some industries have adapted
quickly to Industry 4.0, the water and
wastewater industries have been slower
to adapt. Analyzing water and wastewa-
ter process data not only contributes
to sustainability and energy efficiency,
but it also optimizes processes and im-
proves the quality of production.”
Lastly, this issue’s case study comes
from Shawn Dittrich and Daryl Man-
doza of Kurita America. They describe
how a food processor rebalanced its
wastewater system through the use of
innovative technologies.
I hope you find the content in this is-
sue both interesting and informative. As
always, thank you for reading.
Sincerely,
®
Solutions for Industrial Water Management
CONTENT
Publisher Jim Semple
jsemple@endeavorb2b.com
Chief Editor Jesse Osborne
josborne@endeavorb2b.com
Managing Editor Daniel Gaddy
dgaddy@endeavorb2b.com
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rcarlson@endeavorb2b.com
Production Manager Diane Carlton
dcarlton@endeavorb2b.com
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Editorial and Executive Offices: 7666 E. 61st St.; Ste. 230, Tulsa, OK 74133.
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Water Technology magazine,
PO Box 3257, Northbrook, IL 60065-3257. Tel. 1-847-559-7598.
© Endeavor Business Media, 2022
Water Technology magazine assumes no responsibility for validity of
claims in items reports.
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From technical writer

Del Williams: Achieving
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Q&A: Making the most of water in food processing
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 P R O D U C T

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7
 IN D U S T R Y N E W S
MAY/JUNE 2022 THE LATEST NEWS & EVENTS FROM AROUND THE INDUSTRY watertechonline.com

COMPANY NEWS
Kiely acquires Industrial Treatment
Technologies Inc.
The Kiely Family of Companies recently an-
nounced the acquisition of Industrial Treatment
Technologies, Inc., a wastewater systems and
solutions company.
Industrial Treatment Technologies (ITT),

Courtesy of Solenis LLC

headquartered in Fernandina Beach, Florida,
is a national provider of wastewater treat-
ment facility design, construction and opera-
tions services. With 30 years of experience in
process water, wastewater treatment, sludge
dewatering and energy and plant operations,
ITT reduces water and wastewater operat-
ing costs and ecological footprints for large
SOLENIS NAMES INTERNATIONAL PAPER A SUSTAINABILITY AWARD industrial and manufacturing facilities. The
WINNER FOR WATER-SAVING PROJECT AT ALABAMA MILL services provided by ITT will further expand
Kiely's water resources capabilities.
olenis LLC, a leading global producer of specialty chemicals, recently “We welcome the team members of In-

S recognized International Paper’s Pine Hill, Alabama, containerboard mill

as a winner of the 2021 Solenis Sustainability Award. The installation
of an ultrasonic bed depth monitor and chemical automation on the
dustrial Treatment Technologies to the Kiely
Family,” says John M. Kiely, CEO of the Kiely
Family of Companies. “The addition of ITT to
plant’s raw water clarifier resulted in water savings of 1.3 million gallons annually. our portfolio of engineering and construction
The Solenis Sustainability Award recognizes specific and verifiable customer projects companies will bolster our efforts to empower
that have delivered meaningful, measurable results against one of five sustainability team members, partner with customers, and
indicators — reduced water use, reduced energy use, improved carbon footprint, advance the communities we serve.”
reduced waste and optimized raw material use.
The design of Pine Hill’s raw water clarifier requires operators to monitor the CECO Environmental acquires Compass
height of the sludge bed in the bottom and keep it from getting too high or too low Water Solutions
by adjusting blowdown or polymer flocculant. At least two to three times a month, CECO Environmental Corp. recently announced
especially in dark or rainy conditions, operators were unable to see the sludge bed it has acquired Compass Water Solutions, Inc.,
adequately, leading them to increase blowdown frequency and/or consume more a leading global supplier of membrane-based
polymer. Solenis recommended installing an ultrasonic bed depth monitor to report industrial water and wastewater treatment sys-
the height of the sludge bed to the control room. This allowed operators to know the tems that help customers achieve regulatory
height of the sludge bed regardless of external conditions and to receive alerts when compliance of water discharge at the lowest
the bed height fell out of range. Polymer dosing was also tied to this measurement lifecycle cost. The transaction adds to CECO's
for automatic adjustments via Solenis’ OnGuard monitoring and control platform. growing industrial water technologies, which
After installing the monitor, Pine Hill was able to eliminate one to two mill water is anchored by its Peerless-Skimovex brand.
upsets per month and to eliminate polymer over- and under-dose issues. "Compass adds critical engineered solu-
“Our collaboration with Solenis has enabled our facility to implement a small change tions, and an experienced leadership team,
that has led to enormous impact,” said Vern Gomonit, an area process manager at to our growing industrial water capabilities,
International Paper. and we are excited to welcome them to the
CECO organization," said Todd Gleason, CEO
of CECO Environmental. "CECO has completed

8 WATER TECHNOLOGY | MAY/JUNE 2022

three industrial water acquisitions in 2022 and
each share our common mission to protect
people, the environment, and industrial equip-
ment. We expect that these businesses, when
coupled with our global footprint and leading
brands, will continue to drive strong revenue
and income growth in this strategic market."
Xylem named Net Zero Champion at Global
Water Awards
Global water technology leader Xylem was re-
cently named “Net Zero Carbon Champion” at
the 2022 Global Water Awards, recognizing
the company’s work to accelerate the decar-
bonization of the water sector. In addition to its
own commitments to achieve net-zero carbon
emissions, Xylem is partnering with businesses
and water managers around the world to help
reduce their carbon footprint.
Xylem provides advanced solutions that
optimize energy consumption across water
networks. The company’s high-efficiency
technologies have helped customers reduce
their carbon footprint by 0.7 million metric tons
of CO2, the equivalent to keeping 150,000
cars off the road for a year.
“The water sector is uniquely positioned to
make a meaningful contribution to containing
climate change,” said Austin Alexander, vice
president, sustainability and social impact at
Xylem. “We could become one of the fastest
sectors to decarbonize. This award belongs to
our 17,000-strong team at Xylem, and to our
customers and partners, who are all making
sure we’re part of the solution.”
Anue Water adds Falcon Environmental for
wastewater treatment in New Mexico
Anue Water Technologies, manufacturer of
eco-friendly wastewater treatment equip-
ment for odor, corrosion and FOG control,
announces Falcon Environmental as the ex-
clusive representative of its product line in
New Mexico. Anue’s Cleantech equipment
is replacing and eliminating the skyrocketing
costs of calcium nitrates and other chemicals
for municipal and industrial wastewater treat-
ment, odor, corrosion and fats, oil and grease
(FOG) control.
According to Anue Water VP and general
manager Greg Bock, “We are happy and proud
to have Falcon Environmental as our exclusive
channel partner serving customers in New
Mexico. The Falcon Environmental team of
2204WT_EasiSetWorldwide_RM.indd 1
water treatment experts will introduce mu-
nicipalities and industrial customers in New
Mexico to Anue’s eco-friendly systems that
replace increasingly costly chemicals and
labor, and pay for themselves in operational
savings within a couple of years.”
Surge Energy America announces
agreement with Gravity to install
produced water recycling facility
Surge Energy US Holdings Company recently
announced it has entered into an agreement
with Gravity Water Midstream, LLC to install
a produced water recycling facility in Howard
County, Texas.
Surge initially began utilizing recycled pro-
duced water for completion operations in 2017.
This practice both conserves fresh water and
reduces operating expenses. This new facility
built with Gravity will be the fourth recycling
facility commissioned to support Surge's
acreage position and will allow Surge to use
recycled produced water in substantially all
completions going forward while reducing the
water volumes distributed to saltwater disposal
wells in the area.
"Surge has a long track record of using
recycled produced water for fracking as dem-
onstrated by the conservation of over 3.5 bil-
lion gallons of freshwater since we initiated the
practice in 2017 and we are now expanding this
practice with this facility to the acreage acquired
in 2021," stated Linhua Guan, Surge's CEO.
"Gravity is excited to enter into this partner-
ship with Surge as we continue to expand our
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produced water recycling operations leveraging
our dominant Howard County produced water
gathering, disposal, and reuse supersystem,"
said Gravity's Trace Hight.
PWTech adds to leadership team
Process Wastewater Technologies LLC (PW-
Tech), an American manufacturer of sludge
handling products, recently welcomed Chris
Hubbard as joint business development man-
ager and regional sales manager. Hubbard
brings more than 20 years of water industry
experience, joining the executive team at a
critical juncture in wastewater treatment
marked by a heightened focus on efficiency
and environmental challenges.
“We are thrilled to have Chris at PWTech,”
said Alex Davey, who has been with the com-
pany since 1998 and was promoted to president
last year. “The industry is always evolving to
meet the needs of our end users, which in re-
cent years, seems to be accelerated by things
like secondhand impacts of the COVID-19 pan-
demic and an enhanced focus on emerging
contaminants. PWTech is ramping up efforts to
ensure we’re equipped to provide adequate sup-
port and solutions that make plant processes as
efficient as possible for all parties involved.” 
Send news and events for consideration to Jesse Osborne at
josborne@endeavorb2b.com.
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MAY/JUNE 2022 | watertechonline.com 9
 WASTEWATER TREATMENT

All images courtesy of SUEZ - Water Technologies & Solutions

Bioaugmentation: econdary wastewater treat-

When secondary treatment S ment, also known as bio-

logical treatment, commonly
utilizes an activated sludge
system that can be subjected to significant

is of primary importance performance and reliability challenges.

This is true when used in industries
whose manufacturing processes dis-
Two case studies present examples of how a charge variable quality wastewater to
the treatment plant. Food and beverage
bioaugmentation program combined with a processing and oil refining are among

monitoring program improved the secondary

wastewater treatment operation in two
challenging conditions.
By Grégoire Poirier-Richer, SUEZ — Water Technologies & Solutions
the industries that often have issues
due to the frequent releases of varying
levels of contaminants, including toxic
substances, into wastewater streams
by process units. These challenges are
made worse at start-up, which can be a
long and challenging process when the
biomass has not established itself in the

10 WATER TECHNOLOGY | MAY/JUNE 2022

new system or if it was idled during a Unfortunately, all these and other com- secondary wastewater treatment up-
shutdown. A lack of reliable monitoring monly used tests are just inferential or sets early is SUEZ’s BioHealth monitor-
methods to catch and address these up- approximate means to relate biomass ing. It is a field test that can be com-
sets can add to the performance issues of activity and often only show a notice- pleted in less than five minutes that
secondary wastewater treatment plants. able change after the system has suf- relies on comparing total and dissolved
The activated sludge biomass con- fered from the upset conditions. adenosine triphosphate (ATP) to as-
tains a population of living organisms One biomass health monitoring sess biomass health so that actions can
that consume, degrade and remove method that has been proven as a be taken before the contamination sig-
biodegradable organic and inorganic fast and reliable means of catching nificantly deteriorates the performance
nutrients. This process is essentially
the same as what would occur in the
natural environment. The difference
here is that the engineered process is
designed to achieve the same objective
in a much shorter period of time and
without potential environmental side
effects. To optimize the health, growth
and processing capacity of the micro-
bial population within the sludge, the
process is ideally controlled to ensure
optimal growing conditions such as pH,
temperature, mixing, oxygen delivery
( for aerobic processes) or suppression
( for anaerobic processes), and the cor-
rect levels of macronutrients, such as
nitrogen and phosphorus. Overall per-
formance is often supported through a Inhibit scale formation,
bio-population supplementation pro-
gram known as bioaugmentation. not process flow
Bioaugmentation can either refer to
the addition of specialty microorganisms
to artificially strengthen the existing bio-
mass or to the addition of specific nutri- Brenntag offers a complete line of inhibitors that
ents to balance the biomass regime. can help keep your process flowing. Brennsperse
Biological wastewater treatment Dispersants and Antiscalants keep scale at bay
processes are quite stable when the in- across a wide variety of industrial applications.
coming wastewater is of relatively con-
sistent quality and contains the right If your process flow is hampered by any of the
proportion and quantity of biological potential scales below, call your local Brenntag
nutrients, such as municipal sewage Water Specialist to help provide a solution.
treatment processes. But when indus-
■ Barium sulfate
trial processes are involved, the fluctua-
■ Calcium carbonate
tion in influent wastewater quality can
■ Calcium oxalate
cause upsets with little or no warning.
■ Calcium phosphate
This contributes to a higher cost of treat-
■ Calcium sulfate
ment and increases the risk of discharge
■ Magnesium silicate
violations and environmental impacts. Strontium sulfate
■ Scan to view the Dispersants
To try to prevent these upsets, treat- ■ Struvite and Antiscalants line now.
ment plant operators have a multitude
of testing and monitoring tools avail-
able to them, from qualitative meth-
ods such as solids concentration and
settleability to quantitative ones like
respirometric or water quality analyses.

MAY/JUNE 2022 | watertechonline.com 11

2206WT_BrenntagNA.indd 1 5/10/22 9:57 AM

 Figure 1.
and reliability of the process. Total ATP
(tATP) measures all ATP contained in-
side a sample, including ATP from liv-
ing cells plus extra cellular ATP coming
from dead or dying biomass. Dissolved
ATP (dATP) measures only the extra
cellular quantity which is released by
dead and highly stressed microorgan-
isms. The difference between the two
is referred to as Cellular ATP (cATP),
providing information on the total liv-
ing biomass quantity. The ratio of the
two is termed the Biomass Stress Index
(BSI). It indicates the relative amount
of dead or stressed biomass, which is
especially useful in giving an early warn-
ing of system upsets. When combined
with the conventional measurement of
mixed liquor suspended solids (MLSS),
cATP allows the calculation of the Ac-
tive Biomass Ratio, which is considered
a direct proportion of living biomass in
the sludge and also very useful to deter-
mine system health.
The following case studies present
examples of how a bioaugmentation
program combined with a BioHealth
monitoring program improved the sec-
ondary wastewater treatment opera-
tion in two challenging conditions, for a
food and beverage plant and an oil re-
fining industry application.
Case study 1: New dairy secondary
wastewater treatment plant start-up
The construction of a greenfield food
and beverage production plant was
completed in late 2020. The new 2.2
million-pound-per-year-capacity dairy
plant included a new sophisticated,
integrated fixed-film activated sludge
(IFAS), biological nutrient removal
(BNR) wastewater treatment plant.
The wastewater treatment plant was
12 WATER TECHNOLOGY | MAY/JUNE 2022
designed to treat the high-strength
wastewater produced by dairy opera-
tions anticipating an average daily flow
of 65,000 gallons per day.
As construction neared completion,
the start-up schedule was accelerated,
providing less than three months to
reach normal production rates. This
meant that the wastewater treatment
plant had to be fully commissioned and
ready to treat the wastewater in compli-
ance with permitted local discharge lim-
its prior to discharge to the community
sewer collection system on start-up day.
Importing biomass from a local mu-
nicipal wastewater treatment system
— a common practice for secondary
treatment start-ups — would have taken
months to reach the target production
rate. Instead, the decision was made to
use a bioaugmentation program com-
prised of commercially available biomass
to seed the bioreactors, in combination
with a nutrient supplementation pro-
gram, to rapidly grow the microorgan-
ism population to full capacity. SUEZ
provided two products from the BioPlus
bioaugmentation portfolio as an initial
source of biomass to seed the bioreac-
tors: one a source of heterotrophic, COD-
reducing microorganisms; and the other
a source of autotrophic nitrifiers. As the
dairy plant was not yet in operation,
wastewater containing nutrients was
not available to send to the bioreactors.
To sustain the newly seeded biomass
until start-up day, a BioPlus nutrient
supplementation product was fed into
the system, providing a balanced blend
of carbon, nitrogen and phosphorous.
To complicate the startup of the bio-
logical wastewater plant, the laboratory
facilities were not completed, and there-
fore, a full complement of conventional
laboratory tests was impossible. The
local team relied on daily COD tests
from the bioreactor and SUEZ’s Bio-
Health monitoring. BioHealth was used
to directly measure the growth of the
biomass in the bioreactors, while COD
removal efficiency was monitored to de-
termine the extent to which the organics
were consumed by the biomass. Guided
by the sensitive BioHealth monitoring,
additional food and microorganisms
were added as needed to ensure continu-
ous growth and COD removal.
In just three short weeks, as shown in
Figure 1, the biomass in the bioreactors
reached acceptable levels, which allowed
process wastewater to be introduced to
the wastewater plant and discharged to
the community sewer system. Meeting
the aggressive start-up calendar would
simply not have been possible using the
conventional method of importing mu-
nicipal sludge, which would have likely
postponed production for the whole fa-
cility. Since its start-up, the wastewater
plant has relied on BioHealth Monitoring
and BioPlus bioaugmentation technolo-
gies, and the results are that the high-
strength IFAS wastewater treatment has
produced effluent to levels that have con-
sistently met approved discharge limits.
Case study 2: Refinery prevents
downtime and effluent violations
A refinery’s wastewater was character-
ized by high loading of organics and
ammonia and high variability. Nitrifying
bacteria in the wastewater biological
system is essential to the degradation
and removal of these high ammonia
levels, but a period of high stress saw
the nitrifiers’ population being depleted.
During this time, the ammonia removal
rate dropped significantly. The refinery’s
production rates had to be reduced to
prevent potential environmental im-
pacts and discharge permit exceedances.
The onsite SUEZ team used the Bio-
Health monitoring technology to assess
the health of the biological wastewater
operation. As shown on the left side of
Figure 2, the BSI gradually increased,
with the Active Biomass Ratio (ABR)
gradually decreasing during the months
when the high-stress condition took
place. Nitrification became unstable
and eventually was lost completely
when the nitrifier population fell too
low. When that happened, high effluent
ammonia was observed.
The refinery required a solution to
quickly regain ammonia removal ca-
pacity at the treatment plant before the
high ammonia levels led to a costly loss
of productivity and, eventually, fines or
other penalties from the regulator. Con-  Figure 2.
tinued system monitoring led SUEZ to
recommend implementing a commer- As seen on the right side of Figure 2, refinery an estimated $850,000 in pro-
cially available nitrification program. with the applied bioaugmentation treat- duction loss. In addition, wastewater
Based on system conditions and feed ment and proper monitoring, system plant discharge permit compliance was
rates, nitrification recovery using Bio- recovery was observed within a few maintained throughout the event. 
Plus could be expected to occur within days. It was estimated that the BioP-
a week. In comparison, nurturing the lus treatment combined with the Bio- Grégoire Poirier-Richer is marketing manager
remaining nitrifier population back to Health monitoring program allowed for SUEZ WTS and has over 15 years of expe-
a level that would allow full production the treatment plant to recover at least rience in water treatment in the roles of prod-
would take many weeks, with the risk two weeks faster than the conventional uct application specialist and technical sales
of another upset depleting the biomass method, allowing the production rate to executive.
further. resume that much faster and saving the

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2204WT_JWCEnvironmental.indd 1 MAY/JUNE 2022 | watertechonline.com 13

2/28/22 3:48 PM
 WATER TREATMENT

High-purity water treatment:

Using membranes to protect membranes
Exploring important details of microfiltration and ultrafiltration design and
operation and how a unit can further optimize makeup system performance.
By Brad Buecker, Buecker & Associates, LLC, and Katie Perryman, ChemTreat, Inc.

n article in the July/August (RO) for bulk deionization, followed by RO preliminaries

A 2021 issue of Water Tech-

nology outlined important
details regarding the pro-
duction of high-purity steam genera-
tor makeup by ion exchange. Purified
makeup is important for preventing
corrosion and fouling in high-temper-
ature steam generators. However, over
the last several decades, many makeup
systems have either been retrofitted or
equipped up front with reverse osmosis
ion exchange polishing. A well-designed
pretreatment system can help protect
RO membranes from particulate foul-
ing, among other issues. The develop-
ment of micro- and ultrafiltration tech-
nologies (MF and UF, respectively) has
been a boon in this regard. This article
explores important details of MF and
UF design and operation and how a
unit can further optimize makeup sys-
tem performance.
During the heyday of large utility boil-
er construction and operation in the
middle of the last century, the common
method for high-purity water produc-
tion was ion exchange (IX). A common
IX configuration was cation-anion-
mixed bed to produce makeup per the
following guidelines:
• Sodium: ≤2 parts-per-billion (ppb)
• Silica: ≤10 ppb
• Specific conductivity: ≤0.1 µS/cm

14 WATER TECHNOLOGY | MAY/JUNE 2022


 Figure 1. Cutaway view of a spiral-wound RO membrane.
 Figure 2. Basic diagram of RO elements in a pressure vessel.
But even freshwater supplies such as
lakes or rivers usually contain several
hundred parts-per-million (ppm) of dis-
solved ions. With ion exchange alone,
IX resin beds exhaust rather rapidly and
require frequent regeneration. This can
be costly and sometimes disruptive to
steady-state processes. The develop-
ment of reliable RO technology offered a
method to remove the bulk (99-plus%) of
dissolved ions, thus greatly reducing the
load on downstream polishing resins.
Proper pretreatment is an impor-
tant aspect of reliable RO operation,
particularly with respect to feedwater
particulate control, as well as biologi-
Courtesy of ChemTreat, Inc.
cal control. As Figure 1 illustrates, in the
common spiral-wound configuration,
a flat membrane sheet and supporting
layers/spacers are all wrapped around a
central, perforated plastic core. Feed en-
ters the front end of each element and
passes along the feedwater carrier while
pressure pushes water through the
membrane. The purified water, known
as permeate, flows to the central core,
while the increasingly concentrated
feedwater (reject) exits the element.
Each RO pressure vessel typically has
several elements arranged in a series.
Brine seals can help prevent feedwa-
ter from short-circuiting the elements.
A typical RO pressure vessel will have
five or six elements.
The configuration purifies water via
the mechanism known as crossflow
filtration.
The surface area of a modern spiral-
Courtesy of ChemTreat, Inc.
wound RO membrane may be 400
square feet, and, as Figure 1 suggests,
the tolerances are tight between the
membrane and spacers. Accordingly,
feedwater particulate reduction is an
important aspect of minimizing RO
fouling. Suspended solids usually ac-
cumulate in the lead membranes of an
RO system, but it should be noted that
dissolved ions concentrate as the water
passes from one element to the next, in-
creasing the scaling potential in down-
stream elements.
Courtesy of ChemTreat, Inc.
“Proper pretreatment is an important aspect of reliable RO operation,
particularly with respect to feedwater particulate control, as well as
biological control.”
 Figure 3.
A general
schematic of
crossflow
filtration.
Courtesy of
ChemTreat, Inc.
MAY/JUNE 2022 | watertechonline.com 15

“A well-designed pretreatment system can help protect RO membranes
from particulate fouling, among other issues. The development of micro-
and ultrafiltration technologies has been a boon in this regard.”
 Figure 4. Pressure vessel configuration for the 300-gpm (maximum) system outlined in the case study.
Courtesy of Brad Buecker
An important measurement for de-
termining RO particulate fouling po-
tential is the silt density index (SDI).
Typical RO design has 10- or 5-micron
(µm) cartridge filters upstream of the
unit to remove particles. SDI tests may
be performed on the effluent from these
filters. A flowing sample of RO feed is
passed through a 0.45-µm filter at 30
psig pressure. Measurement is taken of
the time for 500 milliliters (mL) of water
to pass through the filter at the begin-
ning of the test (ti) and again after 15
minutes (tf ). The SDI is calculated as
shown below:
SDI15 = (1-(ti/tf))/T x 100
As an illustration, consider the follow-
ing data taken from an operating RO unit:
ti = 34 seconds (s)
tf = 66 s
T = 15 minutes (min)
SDI15 = 3.2
16 WATER TECHNOLOGY | MAY/JUNE 2022
A general rule of thumb is that SDI
should be below 5, and preferably below
3, to protect the membranes. However,
SDI may not be the only criterion that
determines RO application suitability.
The type of water and/or the nature of
contaminants could be an important
consideration. For instance, in one ap-
plication, the SDI readings of the RO
feed always ranged between 1 and 3. Yet
the membranes fouled with very fine
iron oxide particles.
RO feed particulate removal
Clarification followed by multimedia
filtration was a common method for
high-purity makeup pretreatment in
the last century. Circular clarifiers with
low rise rates of less than 1 gallon-per-
minute per square foot of clarifier sur-
face area (gpm/ft2) were a familiar sight.
Because of the low rise rate, these units
typically had a very large footprint. Dur-
ing steady-state operation, a well-de-
signed clarifier-filter of this type could
produce water with a turbidity at or
below 0.5 nephelometric turbidity units
(NTU). However, flow and temperature
changes can induce upsets in clarifiers
and cause filter fouling that could carry
over to RO systems. Modern clarifier
designs such as CoMag, Acti-Flo, and
DensaDeg have much greater rise rates
and can efficiently remove particulates
in a significantly smaller unit.
As an alternative or supplement to
these advancements, the membrane
technologies of micro- and ultrafiltra-
tion have demonstrated excellent re-
sults for particulate protection of RO
membranes. To offer a brief case study:
in the mid-2000s, one of the authors was
involved in a project to replace an aging
clarifier with a microfilter for RO pre-
treatment in which the makeup system
served a large, supercritical steam gener-
ator. This was an instance where RO had
been retrofitted upstream of an existing
IX demineralizer. The microfilter could
operate for long periods without main-
tenance, except for a quarterly off-line
chemical cleaning. Additional details are
woven into the discussion below.
Hollow fiber membranes are typical
for MF and UF design. Both pressur-
ized and vacuum systems are available.
Figure 4 shows an example of a pres-
surized system.
Figure 5 illustrates the filtration rang-
es of MF, UF, nanofiltration (NF) and
RO. MF and UF are intended strictly for
particulate filtration, whereas NF and,
of course, RO remove dissolved ions.
Expanding upon the aforementioned
case study: when the clarifier/media
filter was swapped out for the micro-
filter, the turbidity of the RO feedwater
dropped from a typical range of 0.3–1.0
NTU to less than 0.05 NTU, where it re-
mained. Unfortunately, data from any
SDI tests that might have been per-
formed at the time no longer exist, but
another indicator was available to show
the improvement. Prior to the change-
over, the plant chemistry technicians
normally had to replace the RO cartridge

filters every two to three weeks based on
the increase in differential pressure as the
filters accumulated solids. The cartridge
filter replacement frequency decreased
to once every two to three months fol-
lowing startup of the microfilter.
Modern pretreatment trends
The power industry has undergone sig-
nificant changes, especially in the 21st
century. Many coal-fired power plants
have been shut down, and more are dis-
appearing all the time. Replacements
include renewables and natural gas-fired
power. Many of the latter facilities are
combined-cycle units, with a portion
of the power coming from combustion
turbines and the balance from steam
turbines driven by heat recovery steam
generators (HRSGs). Combined-cycle
power generation has lower capital and
operating costs and higher net efficien-
cies than coal plants; they are also able
to start up and shut down quicker. These
factors mean clarifier technology is not
always a good fit. A very popular makeup
 Figure 6. Common
configuration for HRSG
high-purity makeup.
Courtesy of
ChemTreat, Inc.
treatment configuration for new com-
bined cycle plants is shown in Figure 6.
With respect to the polishing aspect
of this design, portable, mixed-bed
“bottles” are often selected. In this set-
up, an outside vendor removes a vessel
at a pre-determined throughput and
replaces the bottle with one containing
fresh resin. Exhausted resin is regener-
ated off-site. It is common practice to
have two bottles in a lead-lag arrange-
ment, with the trailing unit moved for-
ward and the fresh bottle placed in the
tail position.
Protecting MF and UF systems
While MF and UF systems may be su-
perb for protecting downstream RO
membranes and can typically operate
for long periods with little to no main-
tenance, some care may be required for
system reliability.
MF/UF operates via what can be
thought of as a combination of cross-
flow and dead-end filtration, in which
the raw water flows parallel to the
 Figure 5.
Filtration spectrum
of various
technologies.
Courtesy of
ChemTreat, Inc.
membrane surface. Water that passes
through the membranes is permeate,
with a small fraction that flows along
the surface to carry away many of the
suspended solids. This reject water
flows to waste.
Operating pressures for these systems
may range from 10 to 40 psig, because,
unlike RO, the membranes do not induce
an osmotic pressure. However, during
normal operation, particulates and mi-
crobes can accumulate in MF/UF mem-
branes; regular flushing may be needed
to mitigate irreversible fouling. A com-
mon example is permeate production for
20 minutes followed by a one-minute au-
tomatic backwash/air scour with return
to permeate production in a continuous-
ly repeating pattern. Modern units typi-
cally include a periodic backwash with
chemical treatment to help clean the
membranes. If iron oxide particulates are
the primary issue, citric acid may be very
effective at both chelating and dissolving
the iron. If organics are the problem, a
mild caustic and/or bleach solution may
MAY/JUNE 2022 | watertechonline.com 17
be best. The typical membrane materi-
als are polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) or
polyestersulfone (PES).
Beyond backwash cleanings, some
additional protection may be needed.
A common recommendation is a quar-
terly (or some similar frequency) off-
line cleaning with warm citric acid,
followed by a rinse and warm caustic,
or perhaps vice versa depending on
the nature of foulants that might ac-
cumulate. This cleaning can often be
performed in one shift.
Also, it is important to note that
membranes can be sites for microbio-
logical fouling. Although the microbes
will not typically attack the PVDF mate-
rial, formation of bacterial colonies can
inhibit flow and may eventually cause
irreversible fouling. Accordingly, a con-
tinuous dosage of an oxidizing biocide
upstream of the unit is typically recom-
mended to minimize microbiological
fouling. Removing the oxidizer ahead
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18 WATER TECHNOLOGY | MAY/JUNE 2022
of the RO is recommended to help miti-
gate membrane damage.
Please remember that each system
is different and has unique treatment
needs. Due diligence is necessary for
determining the feasibility for utilizing
the methods discussed in this article.
Difficulties have arisen at some sites
where the inlet water had impurities
that reacted with pretreatment or back-
wash chemicals to produce foulants or
scale-forming deposits. Always consult
your equipment manuals and guides
and contact a water treatment profes-
sional before making changes to your
systems and treatment processes.  company’s Early Career Program. Her 8 year
References
• AlGhamdi, A., “Production of High-
Quality Demineralized Water for
Steam Generation Units”; Water
Technology, July/August 2021.
• Buecker, B., “Microfiltration: An
Up and Coming Approach to
piprocessinstrumentation.com
Pre-Treatment for the Power Indus-
try”; presented at the 26th Annual
Electric Utility Chemistry Workshop,
May 9-11, 2006, Champaign, Illinois.
Brad Buecker most recently
served as senior technical pub-
licist with ChemTreat, Inc. He
has more than four decades of
experience in or affiliated with the power and
water treatment industries. He is a member of
Water Technology’s editorial advisory board.
Katie Perryman is manager of ChemTreat’s
pretreatment technical team as well as the
career at ChemTreat has focused on mem-
brane separation and ion exchange with an
emphasis on consulting on and troubleshoot-
ing pretreatment systems in different water
treatment applications. Katie holds a B.S. in
chemistry from Virginia Tech.
The Measurement of Process Parameters
 MONITORING
 An engineer uses
a self-service data
analytics solution to
help his company
achieve its water and
wastewater optimization
and sustainability goals.
Digital transformation and
the advent of Industry 4.0
have improved process
data collection and
empowered engineers
to interpret the data
themselves.
All images courtesy
of TrendMiner

Predictive monitoring:
Achieving sustainability through
self-service data analytics
Analyzing water and wastewater process data not only
contributes to sustainability and energy efficiency, but it also
optimizes processes and improves the quality of production.
By Charlotte Fischer, TrendMiner

he chemical compound we can cost companies millions of dollars. Processors have specific requirements

T know as water is one of the

most vital natural resources
for human existence and
needs to be monitored closely. Not only
is clean drinking water essential for life
itself, but acceptable water quality is nec-
essary for a variety of industrial processes
that create products to improve life.
Yet, H2O is scarce. Water treatment
processes are energy intensive. Further-
more, regulations — global, national
and regional — increasingly challenge
companies to adhere to water use and
discharge regulations, as well as energy
consumption. Although fines vary by
region, violating environmental limits
Digital transformation and the ad-
vent of Industry 4.0 have improved pro-
cess data collection. The collected data,
saved in a database known as a histo-
rian, can be useful in determining pro-
cess variations or anomalies that could
lead to water quality issues or an energy
spike. Once a process expert can isolate
and address the issues, a company can
achieve its optimization and sustain-
ability goals.
Water and wastewater: A closer look
Water is a part of nearly every indus-
trial manufacturing process. The quality
of water coming into a plant is critical.
that vary for utility water, such as cool-
ing water, and for water used in the
manufacturing process itself.
Eventually, companies must address
used process water that is not fit for
release into the sewerage system or the
environment. The wastewater byprod-
uct is an additional industrial water
use challenge. Some companies invest
in water recycling systems, while oth-
ers treat the water before discharging it
safely back into the environment.
The problem? Treating water requires
extreme high-volume flows that require
large, energy-intensive plants. These
water treatment plants use pumps and

MAY/JUNE 2022 | watertechonline.com 19


“Processors have specific requirements that vary for utility
water, such as cooling water, and for water used in the
manufacturing process itself.”
extra treatment steps that can put a
dent in a company’s sustainability pro-
gram. Process experts also must use ad-
vanced separation techniques to ensure
the quality of water is correct, which, in
some cases, is down to the concentra-
tion of a few nanograms per liter.
Monitoring process data
Engineers are not data scientists. Raw
process data requires the use of ad-
vanced analytics to reveal useful infor-
mation. Historically, companies have
turned to a data scientist to evaluate
the process data. Unfortunately, data
scientists are scarce. Furthermore, en-
gineers and data scientists do not nec-
essarily communicate in the same way.
Data scientists likely would need signif-
icant support from engineers to under-
stand the processes they are analyzing.
Self-service data analytics plays a key
role in optimizing processes and im-
proving sustainability. With a self-ser-
vice solution, process engineers are em-
powered to analyze trends themselves
without the help of a data scientist.
By looking at these trends over time,
20 WATER TECHNOLOGY | MAY/JUNE 2022
process experts can create a golden fin-
gerprint that establishes ideal param-
eters from the collected process data.
They then can set up monitoring sys-
tems and alerts to inform them when
limits fall outside the ideal range.
Correlating water quality
with live process data
To ensure water quality, monitoring
concentrations of wanted or unwanted
substances in the water is essential.
Online concentration measurements
often are complex and expensive. For
some substances, it can be difficult or
impossible. Therefore, many parameters
of wastewater monitoring often are not
available as live process data but are de-
termined by sampling and lab analysis.
Lab analyses can take hours or days. As
a result, plant operators do not receive
the analysis until it is too late to adjust
the process operation.
Correlating lab analysis results with
available live process data can help
overcome this obstacle. The correlation
can act as an indicator for adjusting the
process operation in the future.
 Engineers
were able to
import lab
results into a
self-service data
analytics solution.
This allowed
process experts
to determine
there was a
clear correlation
between the
redox value and
the n-butyric acid
concentration five
days later.
As an example, a chemical company
in the Netherlands wanted to review
the correlation between various process
and wastewater parameters. Process
engineers were especially interested in
learning the influence factors on the
concentration of organic acids.
To identify the correlation between
the different parameters, the company
established a self-service data analytics
solution. Because organic acid concen-
trations were not part of the company’s
historian, the first step of the solution
was to import the lab reports into the
self-service solution. This allowed the
process engineers to evaluate the lab
concentration measurements as time-
series data.
The second step was to find influence
factors for the organic acid concentra-
tions. In this case, the redox value, avail-
able as live process data, was expected
to have an influence on organic acid
concentrations. The influence factor
functionality of the self-service analyt-
ics solution allows linear regression to
correlate multiple parameters at once.
Process experts used this function to
search for parameters that explain acid
concentrations. The company also used
the solution’s time-shift function to
search for optimal correlation.
Process experts determined there was
a clear correlation between the redox
 With the help
of self-service
data analytics, a
Canadian mining
company was able
to save a view of
corrected flowrates
and pH values.
The company can
send the report
to the Canadian
government
monthly to
maintain
compliance.
value and the n-butyric acid concen-
tration five days later. They also found
a correlation with other organic acids.
With this knowledge, process engineers
learned the redox value could be used to
determine the acid concentration and
intervene in the process in time if the
water quality was not optimal.
The company saved time and money
by ensuring it was complying with qual-
ity requirements.
Monitoring and reporting effluent quality
A Canadian mining company has strict
government regulations regarding the
quality of water that the mines dis-
charge into the environment. The aver-
age flowrate and pH value of effluents
(liquid waste discharged into a river or
the sea) must be reported monthly to
the Canadian government.
The plant processing wastewater
shuts down frequently. When a shut-
down occurs, the pH reports show
sharp peaks and drops. This leads to in-
exact average calculations in the overall
pH of the discharged wastewater.
The plant had been using a spread-
sheet to evaluate the minimum and
maximum values each day and manual-
ly removing them if the values appeared
to be incorrect. It made the decision to
move to advanced self-service analytics
so it could smooth out the pH level.
“To ensure water quality, monitoring concentrations of
wanted or unwanted substances in the water is essential.”
Process experts created new tags and
filters in the self-service solution so they
could see the relevant data without irrele-
vant values interfering. They then extract-
ed the average, minimum and maximum
values of the pH over time. Engineers
then created context items to find events
where the pH level was excessive.
With the help of self-service data
analytics, the mining company was able
to save a view of the corrected flowrates
and pH values. Once a month, process
experts can open the saved view. The
comparison table immediately shows
all relevant and correct pH levels during
the month. In turn, the company can
send the report to the Canadian govern-
ment and remain in compliance.
The mining company not only saved
a lot of time, but also achieved greater
sustainability by complying with regula-
tory requirements quickly.
The journey to digital transformation
Companies go through a series of techni-
cal advancements over time. Each step
demonstrates a growing digital, and
even analytical, maturity. Plants move
from a state of capturing data to analyz-
ing it for continuous improvements.
While some industries have adapted
quickly to Industry 4.0, the water and
wastewater industries have been slower
to adapt. Analyzing water and wastewa-
ter process data not only contributes
to sustainability and energy efficiency,
but it also optimizes processes and im-
proves the quality of production.
Once a company has enabled a self-
service data analytics solution, process
engineers can manage by exception.
The solutions allow process engineers
to view time-series data, create an ideal
profile and monitor for events outside
the scope of the profile.
In this way, self-service data analytics
saves time, cuts costs, reduces environ-
mental fines and contributes to overall
sustainability — both inside and out-
side the plant. 
Charlotte Fischer is a customer
success manager at TrendMiner
where she helps companies and
software users become success-
ful with their self-service analytics programs.
MAY/JUNE 2022 | watertechonline.com 21
 CASE STUDY: FOOD & BEVERAGE
Case Study:
Bioaugmentation program
rebalances food processor’s
wastewater system
Kurita America’s innovative technologies
solved a long-term customer’s most complex
challenges to deliver optimal results.
By Shawn Dittrich and Daryl Mandoza, Kurita America
food processing facility in
A the Upper Midwest was ex-
periencing an upset due to
a breakdown in its process
equipment and production changes,
which allowed for a high level of fats,
oils and grease (FOG) to pass into its
waste stream.
The additional FOG that was dis-
charged into the aeration basin was not
sufficiently removed during the primary
treatment. As a result, the increased
loading to the aeration system put a
strain on the active bacteria in the sys-
tem and decreased treatment efficiency.
With FOG and other contaminants not
being effectively removed, FOG began
to layer in the aeration basin and cre-
ated a two-foot-thick fat cap. Therefore,
the wastewater could not be discharged
to the municipality and was instead re-
directed to the facility’s holding ponds.
If the problem was left untreated,
the facility would have continued to ex-
perience poor contaminant removal,
increased surcharges and extended re-
covery times of four to eight weeks. The
facility already had a long-term partner-
ship with Kurita America and its local
representative, who had been providing
bioaugmentation solutions for more
than five years. Bioaugmentation is the
addition of specific bacteria to stabilize
22 WATER TECHNOLOGY | MAY/JUNE 2022
and improve the efficiency of biological
treatment systems, including removal of
FOG and soluble biological oxygen de-
mand (BOD) and other contaminants.
 (Top) The aeration
Solution/Approach basin with the overload
Kurita America’s application team col- of FOG.
lected samples at the facility and did an  (Bottom) The aeration
onsite micro-examination. The samples basin approximately
four weeks after
were then sent to the in-house laboratory the supplemental
for additional analysis. Kurita America bioaugmentation program
collects these types of samples to identify was implemented.
which bacteria are active in the system. In All images courtesy
this case, Kurita America recommended a of Kurita America
bioaugmentation program to assist in re-
moving the FOG in the system.
Based on the analysis and a review of
the facility’s needs, the aeration basin
had become overloaded and biodefi-
cient. Essentially, the bacterial popula-
tion in the aeration basin was unable to
thrive and remove the necessary con-
taminants in its current state. Kurita
America recommended the blended mi-
crobial supplements of KURIBIO 8002
and KURIBIO 8018 to provide the much-
needed micronutrients and specific bac-
teria designed to stabilize the system.
KURIBIO 8002 contains a combina-
tion of specially selected and patented
microorganisms adapted to degrade
FOG and is designed for food pro-
cessing wastewater applications that
 Microscopic exams help to identify the bacteria population and health of the treatment system and next
steps to improve efficiency.
contain fats, oils and grease. KURIBIO
8002 improves chemical oxygen de-
mand (COD) removal efficiency and
maintains plant stability by degrad-
ing the FOG. KURIBIO 8018 is a liquid
formulation containing selectively
adapted bacterial spores, enzymes and
degradable surfactants. Beneficial mi-
croorganisms in KURIBIO 8018 have an
affinity to FOG and attach themselves
to the contaminants and degrade those
contaminants in place.
Results
The facility was able to continue nor-
mal operations while Kurita America
worked on improving the aeration basin
capabilities by removing the FOG cap
with bioaugmentation over 12 weeks.
Long-term results are focused on avoid-
ing any upsets in the future and know-
ing that a proven solution exists.
Much of the success came from Ku-
rita America’s ability to recognize the
upset and by running the micro-exami-
nations to identify the bacteria and rec-
ommend a product to combat the FOG
overload. Patience is the key to any bio-
augmentation support, and in this case,
the Kurita America team set up a dos-
ing schedule for the bacteria as well as
the follow up micro-examinations that
indicated the health of the recovering
aeration basin.
Micro-examinations typically provide
indicators of microorganism growth
before the stark visual difference that
took almost three months to realize.
This improved operation will not slow
down production or cease production
to recover the aeration basin. This ap-
plication is a one-time fix for an upset
condition, so no additional long-term
testing or dosing is needed to maintain
the system outside of what the facility
currently does.
Kurita America’s innovative technolo-
gies solved this long-term customer’s most
complex challenges to deliver optimal re-
sults while conserving natural resources
for a better, more sustainable world. 
Shawn Dittrich is a senior account man-
ager at Kurita America, working in the Up-
per Midwest. Shawn has over 15 years of
experience in the water treatment indus-
try. Shawn has a bachelor’s degree from
North Michigan University and is a Certi-
fied Water Technologist and a member of
the Association of Water Technologies.
Daryl Mandoza is a product manager for
wastewater treatment solutions at Kurita
America specializing in liquid solid separation.
He has a bachelors and masters degree from
Augsburg University and has worked in the wa-
ter treatment industry for over 20 years.
MAY/JUNE 2022 | watertechonline.com 23
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24 WATER TECHNOLOGY | MAY/JUNE 2022

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