Aquatec's ground-breaking odour control system known as OdoZone, the first of its kind in Australia, proves its effectiveness at a problematic sewer pump station in Shepparton, achieving 99% odour removal and drastically reducing corrosion within the wastewater network.
Responding to challenges faced by the water industry globally
Odour and corrosion within wastewater networks are a significant challenge for water authorities and councils around the world. Over the years, many systems have been introduced to combat odour, from carbon air filters to chemical dosing systems. However, feedback from utilities and operators identified the need for a solution to lessen on-going maintenance and substantial operational expenses, whilst still significantly reducing odour and corrosion.
This led to the development of Aquatec’s ozone-based dosing system known as OdoZone. An OdoZone Mobile Diagnositc Unit (MDU) was built to prove the technology at troublesome sites, and SHPS21 in Shepparton was selected by Goulburn Valley Water (GVW) as a suitable site for the trial, with H2S levels peaking at 200ppm.
“Other odour control solutions were explored, but Aquatec’s was the most promising one due to the possibility of doing a trial and checking effectiveness of the product with low risk and low expenditure.”
— Rodrigo Marquina, Wastewater Treatment Specialist, Goulburn Valley Water
Innovative, long-term solutions for eliminating odour
The pump station selected by GVW for the OdoZone trial, known as SHPS21, is situated alongside commercial tenancies on one of Shepparton’s main thoroughfares. The asset was experiencing severe internal corrosion as well as producing high levels of hydrogen sulfide (H2S or ‘rotten egg gas’) that extended to the downstream sewer network. The 3 metre diameter well receives a combination of residential and industrial waste with a Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD) of 600 mg/L. Odour loggers placed inside the pump station recorded H2S levels of 14.65ppm on average, peaking at a dangerous 200ppm. A solution was urgently required to identify and target the odour, eliminate the safety hazard and prevent the deterioration of vital infrastructure.
The OdoZone Mobile Diagnostic Unit (MDU) is a containerised system capable of generating up to ten times the ozone required for a typical pump station, designed for trial and evaluation purposes to determine the most efficient dosing rate to meet the site-specific odour profile.
SHPS21 Results – Dosing vs Not Dosing
Just two weeks after the installation of the OdoZone MDU, H2S levels were reduced to a peak of 7.9 ppm and an average of just 0.15 ppm – representing 99% odour removal.
The OdoZone not only attacks the H2S, but also removes other odourous elements such as volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and ammonia. At the SHPS21 site, this brought the total recorded Odour Units (OU) down from over 110,000 to just 5,800.
Downstream Effect – Hourly Average H2S at SHPS5
The OdoZone technology also has significant benefits for downstream infrastructure. Third party tests were performed in the recieving manhole 6 kilometres from SHPS21, and the results were profound. H2S levels were reduced from peaking at almost 600 ppm to averaging a mere 4.5 ppm.
Delivering remarkable outcomes while reducing operational expenditure
The impressive trial results encouraged GVW to commit to a permanent OdoZone installation to protect their site from further odour and corrosion issues. The key benefits for GVW are:
- Odour and corrosion minimised both at the pump station and in the downstream network
- The ability to monitor odour levels and equipment operation remotely through SCADA
- Small footprint of the OdoZone system, which is almost identical in size and aesthetics to the pump station switchboard
- Only operational cost to run the OdoZone system is power, with no maintenance required
- Outstanding results without the need for ongoing cost of chemical dosing, dangerous chemical handling, truck parking and large bunded areas.
“Working with Aquatec was a great experience. Aquatec staff were always receptive to listen to customers’ concerns, enquiries and requests. I would recommend the OdoZone unit because the trial proved that the system is effective and met the criteria to overcome all the challenges in this particular case.”
— Rodrigo Marquina, Wastewater Treatment Specialist, Goulburn Valley Water
