THE SMELL OF SUCCESS: AN ODOR STUDY OF THE BROOMFIELD WASTEWATER RECLAMATION FACILITY

Broomfield Wastewater Reclamation Facility
Denver, Colorado

Wastewater treatment facilities in urban vicinities face the continuing challenge of reducing odor
emissions to maintain public favor. This is the case for the City and County (City) of
Broomfield Wastewater Reclamation Facility (WRF) located outside of Denver, Colorado. The
Broomfield WRF has recently undergone upgrades to proactively address odor issues but
occasionally receives odor complaints from neighboring residents. This paper presents the
findings from a thorough odor sampling campaign to evaluate odor generation and emissions at
the Broomfield WRF.
The Broomfield WRF was constructed in the 1950s in a rural area northwest of Denver. Today,
the WRF is surrounded by a large community of townhomes and houses bordering on the north
and west sides of the facility. Odor complaints are occasional and the City has implemented a
number of improvements to reduce odor emissions. The Broomfield WRF is a secondary
wastewater treatment plant that includes preliminary treatment, primary clarifiers, aeration
basins, secondary clarifiers, dissolved air flotation thickening (DAFT), anaerobic digesters,
solids handling, and ultraviolet (UV) disinfection. The facility underwent a plant-wide upgrade,
Phase 1 completed in 2005, which included the final phase of installing foul air treatment
including six odor control fans and a BIOREM biofilter. This recent study focused on
identifying emission sources at the plant and providing recommendations for the Phase 2
upgrade.
The odor study involved an intense liquid and gas sampling effort that included gaseous and
liquid phase sulfide, air pressure evaluations in rooms and covered tanks, Nasal Ranger® testing
of facility boundaries, and smoke testing of the existing biofilter which treats the foul air from
the process buildings. The main sources of odors were detected around the digesters, in the
digester gas, and in the centrate liquid stream and holding tank foul air. Gas from the digesters
measured around 2,000 ppm hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and the gas from the centrate holding tank
measured 100 ppm H2S. Also, the influent stream of the facility showed unusual daily spikes in
H2S gas and it is very possible that wastewater from one of the collection system lift stations is a
major contributor to the high influent sulfide in this stream. The biofilter had little odor and
appeared to effectively treat the facility’s foul air. However, during the smoke testing, there was
a noticeable separation of the smoke on the surface of the filter media although there are no
partitions to separate the air flow. The main recommendations from the odor study included the
following activities:
• System Negative Pressures. Increase exhaust air flow from buildings and covered tanks
to ensure negative pressure and avoid fugitive emissions.
• Sulfide Spikes. Confirm that the cause of the afternoon sulfide spike at the influent
channel is an upstream pump station operation.
• Digesters. Consider ferric chloride addition to reduce sulfide concentration in the sludge
and consequently in the digester gas and in the dewatering centrate.
• Centrate Recycle. Consider rerouting centrate recycle stream to an aerobic zone of the
aeration tanks.
• Biofilter. Check air pressures and conduct smoke tests at least every year.
Overall, the study found that the facility has improved its odor emission with recent upgrades
and odors detected at the facility were minimal. The biofilter appears to be providing effective
treatment of the collected foul air. The proposed upgrades for Phase 2 are generally in line with
the findings from this study and will further improve odor control.

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Posted: May 3rd, 2011 | Filed under: Waste Water Treatment | Tags: Effective Treatment of Odor Emissions, Improved Customer Service, Plant Improvement, Reduced Odors | No Comments »

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