Challenge

A county in western Florida operates an extensive wastewater collection and treatment system that serves approximately 85,000 dwelling units. When the county experienced odor control problems at one of its wastewater treatment plants, it contacted Siemens for help. The county had installed nearly 20 odor control systems to deal with the issue, but these systems required high maintenance and operation costs. The county needed a more sustainable odor control solution.

Solution

The county ultimately chose to replace their existing odor control systems at the plant with a ZABOCS® BTF (bio-trickling filter) system from Siemens Water Technologies. The system uses an advanced, non-hazardous biological air treatment technology that combines gas adsorption with biological oxidation to capture and eliminate organic and inorganic odors.  It offered the county exceptional odor control in a reduced footprint with lower operation costs.

Results

The ZABOCS BTF system solved the odor control issue at the wastewater treatment plant, and, by replacing numerous existing units with the single system, the plant significantly reduced their operating cost and footprint without losing any odor control capacity.  Also, the new system eliminated the problem of spent organic biofilter media removal and disposal, as the media life of the ZABOCS BTF system is ten years, versus 6-12 months for the old odor control systems.  And, because the new ZABOCS system at the plant is owned and operated by Siemens, the county incurred no capital cost.  The county pays a fixed, monthly fee to lease the system, which includes a service contract with 24/7 service support.