Engineered biofilter product line gains greater acceptance nationwide by offering reliable performance, low lifecycle costs and environmental sustainability

Envirogen Technologies Inc. announced today the successful start-up of new biofiltration odor control systems at municipal wastewater lift stations in Pinellas Park, FL; West Boylston, MA; and Sugarland, TX.  These modular installations, designed to customer specifications by Envirogen Technologies, all include the required blowers, irrigation systems, feed tanks, controls, proprietary media and nutrients as well as inspection and staff training services to ensure trouble-free system performance at start-up. Envirogen Technologies conducted these projects in conjunction with local consulting engineering firms, providing its specialized expertise in biofiltration to augment these firms' capabilities and deliver an expanded solution to their customers.

According to Michael M. Stark, President and Chief Executive Officer of Envirogen, these latest installations provide strong evidence of the company’s focus on meeting the full range of municipal treatment needs with innovative, proven technology. “We’re proud to be offering our advanced biofiltration systems at a time when municipal water utilities are especially pressed to control costs across the board without any sacrifice in performance,” said Stark. “The widespread acceptance of this ‘green’ technology speaks for its operational effectiveness, and municipalities can now actually achieve improved odor control results while significantly reducing their operation and maintenance costs.  With over 150 of these systems in place and more than a dozen new start-ups in the past year, we at Envirogen Technologies feel confident that this technology is the best solution to the industry’s need for more efficient treatment at lower lifecycle costs,” he continued.

The Pinellas Park, West Boylston and Sugarland systems all consist of modular biofilter vessels including internals and peripheral equipment, with oversight and staff training provided by Envirogen Technologies personnel through start-up. The systems’ design capacities range from 525 to 1,600 cubic feet per minute (cfm) of air with a 99% or greater removal efficiency for hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) (<0.05 parts per million at outlet). The equipment also requires a relatively small site footprint, with the largest of the three systems – a dual-biofilter installation for Pinellas Park – needing only a 20’ x 20’ area. Envirogen Technologies can design its modular engineered biofilter systems to handle air flows from 50 to 10,000 cfm and a wide range of H₂S concentrations, along with other odor-causing compounds.

According to Stark, the key to implementing advanced technology is a cooperative relationship between the industry and its suppliers. “As with many emerging technologies, biofiltration is moving into a market with established odor control methods. Roughly 50% of that market is still being handled by costly chemical- and energy-dependent processes such as scrubbers,” Stark said.  “We see Envirogen’s role as a cooperative one, where we partner with our clients to implement high-performance technology+services solutions with superior process engineering, enabling them to meet all of their treatment goals economically. Whether it is new infrastructure or an upgrade of existing facilities, our biofiltration systems offer municipalities a high-efficiency, sustainable treatment option with a great upside in the future,” he concluded.