Hydrocarbon Treatment in Wastewater – A Case Study
Hydrocarbon treatment in wastewater can be efficient and cost effective when using bioremediation. Here’s a case study that illustrates my point.
Biological Hydrocarbon Treatment
Hydrocarbons (oily water) can be treated biologically in a process called bioremediation. In this case study, we used Custom HC a concentrated bioremediation product manufactured by Custom Biologicals.
Custom HC contains billions of petrophilic (oil loving) bacteria. The bacteria in Custom HC has been specifically selected because of their safety and their enhanced ability to break down oil, hydrocarbons, and hydrocarbon components.
Client Category: Hydrocarbon Impacted Wastewater Treatment Plant
Location: Los Angeles, CA, USA
Physical Plant: Four 500,000 gallon clarifiers, a two stage 40,000 gallon flocculation/aeration collection tank and a 2,000,000 gallon lagoon. Retention time is 4-7 days.
Flow: 1,000,000 GPD average (Gallon per Day)
Problem: County surcharges for excess COD and TSS amount to an average $450,000/year. VOC’s are offensive to adjacent neighbors.
Previous Treatment The use of polymers injected at the headworks
Custom Treatment Initial Treatment 3 – 55 gallon drums of Custom HC
Week One 22 GPD of Custom HC
Next Weeks 6 GPD of Custom HC
| BEFORE | 11 Days | 30 days | % Reduction | |
| Parameter | ||||
| COD (mg/L) | 2150 | 289 | 212 | 90.14% |
| TSS (mg/L) | 140 | 30 | 25 | 82.14% |
| Benzene (ug/L) | 700 | 580 | 540 | 22.86% |
| Toluene (ug/L) | 480 | 370 | 290 | 39.58% |
| Ethylbenzene (ug/L) | 34 | 9.2 | 6.8 | 80.00% |
| Xylene Isomers (ug/L) | 232 | 213 | 196 | 15.52% |
| FOG (mg/L) | 72 | 12 | 0 | 100.00% |
| Sludge Reduction (est.) | 75% | 75% | 75.00% | |
| VOC Odors (ppm) | 20-60 | 0 | 0 | |
| Lagoon Quality | Murky | Clearing | Clear |
Project COSTS
423 Total Gallons Custom HC were used over the 30 day project at a price of $8.00/gallon. Total price was $3,384.00. Surcharges amounted to $37,500.00/month. This project resulted in a cost savings of $34,116.00/month.
Custom Biologicals
Custom Biologicals manufactures and distributes a wide variety of microbial products including Custom HC, a bioremediation product. Contact CustomBio for more information about this case study or for information about bioremediation at (561) 797-3008 or via email at Bill@CustomBio.biz.