Wastewater Treatment Plant Upgrade

Project (WWTP)
Marlon Cabrera
Engineering Department
Cervecera de Puerto Rico
Mayaguez, PR

Introduction
A common challenge for breweries is meeting current
wastewater discharge standards while accommodating
growth and anticipating more stringent discharge
regulations in the future. Cervecera de Puerto Rico
wastewater treatment system had been in operation for a
long time, but years of service and increased hydraulic and
organic loadings had made it difficult to meet treatment
objectives.
For years Cervecera de Puerto Rico wastewater treatment
plant was affecting the image of the company and had
become a priority for the future of the company.

Potential Issues

Regulatory Compliance of Waste Water Discharge

Possible surcharges

Controls were mostly manual, there were no instrumentation automated monitoring

parameters of waste water treatment process

Operation of Return Activated Sludge Systems (RAS) was inconsistent due a to past
retrofits and obsolete equipment

Operation and maintenance of the treatment systems rotating biological contactors had
become a very high total operational costs

Increased hydraulic and organic loadings

Bad odor generation at the treatment plant

Bad image of the company

Before Process Diagram of WWTP

Pump #1

Digester/
Thickener

Equalization Tank
Pump #2

Pressed if
needed

Pista-Grit
Blocked
discharge
connections
to/from reactor

Reactor

Clarifier

Previous Rotating Biological

Contactors

Previous Rotating Biological

Contactors

Previous Clarifier

Legal Limits and Requirement of

Samples Applied Load

PARAMETERS

DOWNLOAD LIMIT

BOD (mg/L)

250

TSS (mg/L)

250

Before - Graph of BOD

Biochemical Oxygen Demand
1600

BOD (g/ml)

1400
1200
1000
800
600
400
200
0

Month/Year

Before - Graph of TSS

Total Suspended Solids
2500

TSS (g/ml)

2000
1500
1000
500
0

Month/Year

Challenges

Regulatory compliance with the permit.

Reduce the environmental footprint of the plant

Cost effective technologies

Limited budget of 1.3M

Space construction limited

Withstand large changes in demand while maintaining efficient

Reduce odors

Make changes without stopping operation

Reduce total operating costs

CERVECERA DE PUERTO RICO PILOT

study
MOVING BED BIOREACTOR
(MBBR) TECHNOLOGY

CERVECERA DE PUERTO RICO

WWTP MBBR PROJECT
ACID PUMP

ACID PUMP

INFLUENT LINE

INFLUENT
PUMP

AIR CONTROL
VALVES

AIR PRESSURE
REGULATOR

EFFLUENT
MBBR #1
MBBR #2

ACID TANK

CERVECERA DE PUERTO RICO

WWTP MBBR PROJECT

CERVECERA DE PUERTO RICO

WWTP MBBR PROJECT

Paramecium

Epistilys

Vorticella

Vorticella

CERVECERA DE PUERTO RICO

WWTP MBBR PROJECT
SOLUBLE BOD 10/23/2009
4000.00

SOLUBLE BOD (PPM)

3500.00

3578.00

3000.00
2500.00
2000.00
1500.00

1193.00

1000.00
500.00

186.00

29.30

250.00

0.00
INFLUENTE SOLUBLE BOD

WWTP REACTOR

SOLUBLE BOD MBBR #2

PRASA BOD PERMIT LIMIT

SOLUBLE BOD MBBR #1

CERVECERA DE PUERTO RICO

WWTPMBBR PROJECT
SOLUBLE BOD REMOVAL 10/23/2009

100.00%

93.93%

90.00%

99.04%

80.00%
70.00%
60.00%

61.08%

50.00%
40.00%
30.00%
20.00%
10.00%
0.00%
BOD REMOVAL % WWTP REACTOR
BOD REMOVAL % MBBR #2

BOD REMOVAL % MBBR #1

Solution: Upgrading the WWTP

The Engineering Department along with EH&S evaluated
different treatment alternatives to determine the viability of
upgrading the existing facilities to achieve permit
parameters.

Moving Bed Biofilm Reactor (MBBR)

Tank Dissolved Air Flotation (DAF), system without air

saturation

MBBR Design Basis

PARAMETER

UNITS

INFLUENT

EFFLUENT

Flow

MGD

0.15

0.15

BOD5 (Soluble)

MG/L

1,800

<250

TSS

MG/L

2,000

<250

COD (Soluble)

MG/L

2,350

<425

Ammonia

MG/L

No data available

MG/L

No data available

20-38

Temperature

Project Scope
Tasks

Original Scope

Currently Achieved

Reactor Tank Retrofit

Blowers Replacement

DAF Installation

Acid Dosing Station Automation

Caustic Soda Station Automation

Caustic Soda Receiving Station Automation

pH/Temp Monitoring EQ Tank

pH/Temp/DO Monitoring Reactor Tank

Influent Flow Metering

Influent Temperature Monitoring

Central process overview

Tank Levels

Belt Press automation

Electrical Utilities

Air Utilities

Water Utilities

Pads/Dikes/Civil Work

Instrumentation and Integration

Aesthetical Improvement

Waste Water Lift Station Upgrade

New Laboratory Furniture

Project Budget
Project Budget $1,394,036
Discharge Overcharges $98,069
Negotiated PRASA Limits
BOD - 5,633 mg/L
TSS - 2,628 mg/L
Currently consumed $1,358,641

Actual Process Diagram of WWTP

Equalization
Tank
292,000 gals

Moving Bed
Biofilm
Bioreactor
(315,000 gals)

Blowers

X X X

Screens
Digester
89,000 gals

X X

DAF

Blowers

Lift Station

Utilities
Brew House
Cold Block
Packing Lines

PRASA

Belt Filter
Press &
Container

Moving Bed Biofilm Reactor

(MBBR)

A stand-alone biological treatment system with no need

for media backwashing

Wastewater treatment plants of this type operate as

fixed-film processes without activated sludge recycle
between the bioreactor and clarification units

Aeration supplied provides oxygen, essential for

microbial growth, and the energy required to disperse
the carriers completely throughout the system

Moving Bed Biofilm Reactor

(MBBR)

MBBR System

Moving Bed Biofilm Reactor

(MBBR)

Process uses 25 mm-diameter cylindrical plastic carriers

that provides environments in which bacteria and
protozoa can grow effectively.

Moving Bed Biofilm Reactor

(MBBR)

Dissolved Air Flotation

Operation (DAF)

Separates and optimizes solids prior to dewatering

Dissolved Air Flotation

Operation (DAF)

Dissolved Air Flotation

Operation (DAF)

WWTP Retrofit

WWTP Retrofit

WWTP Retrofit

WWTP Retrofit

WWTP Retrofit

WWTP Retrofit

Belt Press

Month/Year
12

Jul-12 15

20

May-12 15

1250

Mar-12

1500

Jan-12

1600

1750

Nov-11

Sep-11

Jul-11

May-11

Mar-11

Jan-11

Nov-10

260
230
240
220
200
150
140
110
150
270
280
143
135
121
110
90
30
30
20

250

Sep-10

500

1020

750

Jul-10

20

0
May-10

Mar-10

Jan-10

Nov-09

Sep-09

Jul-09

May-09

Mar-09

Jan-09

Nov-08

Sep-08

Jul-08

May-08

Mar-08

Jan-08

TSS (g/ml)

Now - Graph of TSS

Total Suspended Solids Efficiency

2500

2250

2000

Actual TSS

Before TSS

1000

Limit

Nov-09

Sep-09

Jul-09

May-09

Mar-09

Jan-09

Nov-08

Sep-08

Jul-08

May-08

Mar-08

Jan-08

Month/Year
Jul-12

May-12

Mar-12

Jan-12

10.00
7.00
8.00
8.00

800

Nov-11

1000

Sep-11

Jul-11

May-11

Mar-11

Jan-11

Nov-10

Sep-10

700.00

200

133.00
111.00
193.00
128.00
101.00
121.00
193.00
133.00
42.00
24.00
24.00
40.00
30.00
18.00
21.00
14.00
11.00
6.00
8.00
7.00

400

Jul-10

10.00

May-10

Mar-10

Jan-10

BOD (g/ml)

Now - Graph of BOD

Biochemical Oxygen Demand Removal Efficiency

1600

1400

1200

Actual BOD

Before BOD

Limit

600

-200

Summary Savings

Maintenance Costs 70%

Chemicals 50%

Generation of H2O

Power Cost 35%

Odor reduction

Regulatory compliance without overcharges 100%