Demonstration of Advanced Primary and Secondary Treatment Technologies for Energy and Performance Benefits to Wastewater Treatment
Caliskaner Water Technologies, Inc.
Recipient
Woodland, CA
Recipient Location
3rd
Senate District
4th
Assembly District
$3,070,153
Amount Spent
Active
Project Status
Project Update
The project team has successfully installed, operated, and evaluated seven APT and AST systems at the Linda County Water District Wastewater Treatment Plant (Linda WWTP). Demonstrations of the Proteus Primary Filter (Proteus PF), Microscreen (MS), and Flex BioFilter (CMBF) as advanced primary treatment systems were completed, and the Cloth Disk Primary Filter (CDPF) systems resumed long-term operations. All advanced secondary treatment systems, including Microvi, Aerobic Granular Sludge (AGS), and Membrane Aerated Biofilm Reactor (MABR), were installed, demonstrated, and operated. The project was successfully completed in Q2 2025, and the project team has submitted the final report and all deliverables for CAM review and comment.
The Issue
Conventional primary treatment (CPT) requires long detention times through the use of large concrete basins, which, in urban or space-restricted areas, can be problematic for expansion. Additionally, conventional secondary treatment (CST) processes are energy-intensive, requiring continuous aeration (24/7) to manage organic and nutrient loads. In the next one to two decades, more stringent discharge permits will also be implemented in areas such as the San Francisco Bay and Los Angeles, where public utilities must reduce nutrient discharges to water bodies (e.g., a total inorganic nitrogen limit). However, most utilities will have to rely on their existing footprint. Therefore, APT and AST technologies will become one of the solutions to meet stringent permitting requirements while reducing footprint and increasing treatment capacity.
Project Innovation
The project includes the design, installation, demonstration, and evaluation of APT and AST technologies, which can achieve significant electrical energy savings at WWTPs compared to CPT and CST systems. Four promising APT technologies, including CDPF, Proteus PF, CMBF, and MS, with unique advantages such as primary filtration with smaller pore size filter media and microscreening, have demonstrated high removal efficiencies on solids and carbon compared to CPT. Three APTsASTs , including MicroVi, AGS, and MABR, have demonstrated robust nitrogen removal capabilities, leveraging unique advantages such as an innovative biocatalyst, granular sludge, and membrane-based counterdiffusion aeration. The impact of APT effluent on AST performance is also an emerging area of research in wastewater treatment. To date, a full-scale combined APT and AST system has not been implemented and operated at a WWTP to quantify the energy savings potential of advanced wastewater treatment and the impact of optimized carbon diversion on secondary treatment. The project documented the first application of combining full-scale APT and AST technologies in a holistic, integrated system that quantifies their complementary performance. Additional benefits shown in the Project from these innovative APT & AST technologies included improved treatment performance and capacity, energy savings, and reduced treatment footprint requirements.
Project Goals
Project Benefits
The project demonstrated that advanced primary and secondary treatment technologies deliver substantial energy and footprint reductions while improving treatment performance and capacity in terms of solids and carbon removal (up to 65% COD and 85% TSS removal with primary filtration only), and ammonium removal (effluent NH4 < 1mg/L). With increased carbon diversion in APT systems, the aeration requirement in secondary processes is significantly reduced, and anaerobic digesters (ADs) at WWTPs can achieve higher energy recovery efficiency as more solids are diverted to the AD. Measurement and verification results showed significant energy savings when advanced primary and advanced secondary systems were combined (up to 42%). Economic analyses confirmed long-term cost savings from implementing APT and AST technologies, particularly for medium- and large-scale wastewater treatment plants (up to 35% reduction in 30-year NPV for a 100 MGD facility). These validated results provide utilities with actionable data to support the adoption of advanced, low-carbon wastewater treatment technologies across California.
Affordability
Advanced primary and secondary treatment technologies can reduce long-term wastewater treatment costs by lowering energy use, decreasing infrastructure footprint, and improving operational efficiency compared to conventional treatment systems.
Environmental Sustainability
Advanced wastewater treatment technologies improve the removal of solids, carbon, and nutrients while reducing energy use and emissions, helping protect water quality and support healthier aquatic ecosystems.
Key Project Members
Onder Caliskaner
Subrecipients
HDR Engineering, Inc
Black & Veatch Corporation
Water Research Foundation
AECOM Technical Services
Aqua-Aerobic Systems, Inc.
Process Wastewater Technologies LLC
Linda County Water District
BASE Energy , Inc.
WesTech, Inc.
George Tchobanoglous
Stantec Consulting Services Inc.
Huber Technology, Inc.
Suez Inc.
Microvi Biotech, Inc.
DR H20 LLC
Match Partners
HDR Engineering, Inc
San Francisco PUC
Water Research Foundation
AECOM Technical Services
Aqua-Aerobic Systems, Inc.
Process Wastewater Technologies LLC
Linda County Water District
WesTech, Inc.
George Tchobanoglous
Stantec Consulting Services Inc.
County Sanitation District of Los Angeles County
Huber Technology, Inc.
Caliskaner Water Technologies, Inc.
Suez Inc.
Microvi Biotech, Inc.
Dynamita
DR H20 LLC
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