Water Resource Recovery Facilities (WRRF) undergo continuous monitoring of multiple parameters and compounds throughout the treatment process on a daily basis. And the monitoring and subsequent control of those parameters and compounds during the process is essential to optimizing efficiencies of the plant on a daily, weekly, and annual basis.
One of the compounds that is critical for treatment plants to measure at many stages during the process – from primary settling to the aeration tanks and to the effluent – is orthophosphates (also known as soluble reactive phosphorus and commonly referred to as phosphate).
Since phosphorus is the nutrient in short supply in most fresh waters, even a modest increase in phosphorus can, under the right conditions set off a chain of undesirable events in a stream, including accelerated plant growth, algae blooms, low dissolved oxygen, and the death of certain fish, invertebrates, and other aquatic animals.
Monitoring phosphate during the wastewater treatment process allows for fine-tuning and optimizing chemical dosing for removal of phosphate, which provides significant cost savings to the plant while protecting the aquatic environment downstream of the facility.
Additional Blog Posts of Interest:
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Troubleshooting Nitrification and Denitrification in Wastewater
ORP Management in Wastewater as an Indicator of Process Efficiency
Wastewater Process Control - Which Strategy is Right for You?