The Impact of Surfactants & Disinfectants on Wastewater Treatment

Wastewater treatment facilities play a crucial role in safeguarding public health and preserving environmental integrity. However, wastewater and water treatment possesses hidden challenges exacerbated by the omnipresent presence of inhibitory contaminants like surfactants and antimicrobial products. Though effective in cleaning applications, surfactants and disinfectants are disruptive in wastewater treatment processes, undermining efficiency and leading to capacity constraints.

Surfactant & Disinfectant Inhibition on Wastewater Treatment: Unraveling the Intricacies

Surfactants and disinfectants, due to their amphiphilic properties disrupt wastewater treatment processes. Solids separation, crucial in wastewater treatment, is hindered by surfactants, impeding the settling of suspended solids and reducing treatment efficiency. This results in treatment capacity constraints and overloaded wastewater treatment plants. Biological processes, necessary for organic matter breakdown, suffer in the presence of surfactants, inhibiting microbial activity and contaminant degradation that affects water quality. Oxygen transfer, vital for maintaining aerobic conditions, faces obstacles as surfactants hinder oxygen molecule diffusion, affecting the respiratory functions of aerobic bacteria.

Case Studies on Surfactants & Disinfectants on Wastewater Treatment

Real-world evidence highlights the adverse effects of surfactants  and antimicrobial products on wastewater treatment  facilities. Foaming, often triggered by surfactant contamination, disrupts operations within treatment tanks, leading to operational challenges and necessitating costly remediation efforts. Odor concerns arise in treatment plants affected by surfactants, emitting unpleasant fumes and potentially impacting the surrounding community's quality of life. Treatment effectiveness diminishes as wastewater laden with surfactants and disinfectants proves resistant to conventional methods, prompting the search for innovative solutions to address these challenges.

Surfactants & Disinfectants are Common in Both Industrial and Municipal Wastewater Treatment

Miller Poultry, an egg-to-farm operation in Indiana, treats its wastewater in lagoons. Food processors like Miller use antimicrobials and cleaners like benzalkonium chlorides (BACs) and quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs) for food safety and disinfection standards. These products end up in their wastewater treatment  lagoons, causing significant challenges in their wastewater treatment process, most notably foul odors.

In municipal wastewater, surfactants from homes, hotels, businesses and industrial waste end up in wastewater treatment plants. These concentrations cause issues with biological processes, reducing treatment efficiency and capacity constraints. A municipal wastewater treatment plant in California faced these challenges at their plant, which were exacerbated by drought and water conservation measures.

Mitigating Surfactant Challenges with Nanobubbles

In the face of challenges posed by surfactants and disinfectants, innovative nanobubble technology from Moleaer helps mitigate surfactant contamination to offer wastewater treatment plants enhanced efficiency and performance.

Nanobubbles are a chemical-free solution that when deployed in the right locations, selectively attract and inactivate surfactants to reduce their inhibitory effects. Wastewater treatment plants see improved treatment efficiency, reduced scum, lower energy and chemical demand and much more.

Miller Poultry solved its foul odor problem at the wastewater treatment lagoon using Moleaer’s nanobubble technology. Reducing the inhibitory effects of the surfactants enabled the natural biological processes in the lagoon to work more effectively. In addition to solving their odor problem, nanobubble technology also allowed Miller to improve effluent water quality.

Nanobubbles also helped this California wastewater treatment plant reduce surfactants, leading to reduced aeration energy usage, reduced chemical demand and better treatment efficiency. These benefits helped reduce O&M inputs and produce better-quality effluent.

A Future with Nanobubbles: Navigating Surfactant Inhibition with Resilience and Resolve

The impact of surfactants looms large, challenging the efficiency and resilience of wastewater treatment and water treatment facilities worldwide, however, nanobubbles provide a viable, cost-effective and chemical-free solution to this looming problem. Moleaer’s technology is easy to integrate and maintain, offering wastewater treatment plants a simple solution. In addition to the results at Miller and the California plant, Moleaer’s customers in both municipal and industrial wastewater treatment have seen better treatment efficiency, reduced inputs, lower costs, and increased capacity.