Operational Excellence Award Presented to Boxelder WWTP

Pictured (l to r): Taylor Jordan, EnviroMix Process and Innovation Engineer, presents the award to Craig Hibbard, Boxelder WWTP Manager.

EnviroMix recently presented its Operational Excellence Award to the Boxelder Sanitation District WWTP. Organized in 1965, the Boxelder Sanitation District provides sanitary sewer services to customers near Fort Collins, Colorado. The district constructed an enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) in 2014.

In 2021, they expanded and upgraded the Boxelder Sanitation District WWTP to accommodate population growth and stringent new effluent discharge limits on nitrogen and phosphorus. The project encompassed many process improvements, including two new aerobic digesters. Boxelder’s design team selected EnviroMix’s BioCycle-D Optimized Aerobic Digestion Process to provide volatile sludge destruction and stabilization in the new aerobic digesters.

BioCycle-D is designed with a diffused aeration system to satisfy process oxygen demand and a compressed gas mixing system to satisfy mixing requirements. This decoupling of aeration from mixing eliminates over-aeration and facilitates independent control over oxygen delivery and mixing. The system automatically transitions between an aerobic cycle for nitrification and an anoxic cycle for denitrification, alkalinity recovery, and energy savings.

“Very shortly after [BioCycle-D] startup, it was clear that nitrate in the return stream was really low — like less than one part — and it didn’t require much effort,” stated Craig Hibbard, WWTP Manager. “Having low concentrations of both ammonia and nitrate in our return streams has helped us achieve the lowest total nitrogen discharge levels in the state of Colorado for a couple of years now.”

Additionally, by utilizing the decoupled system, Boxelder reduced energy consumption by 75% versus conventional aerobic digestion estimates.

The strength of the BioCycle-D technology combined with the excellence of the operation staff ensure the Boxelder Sanitation District WWTP will consistently surpass its goals.