Innovate to Grow_ Final Report

School of Engineering
University of California, Merced
Engineering Capstone Design – Spring 2016
Griffith Brown, Matthew Gehring, Marnae Green, Emile Goguely,
Thomas Spankowski, Lillian Vu
6 May 2016

Capstone 2016 – Liquid Solutions
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Contents
Table of Contents
1. Executive Summary ...............................................................................................................................3
2. Introduction ............................................................................................................................................4
2.1 Problem Objectives.................................................................................................................................4
2. 2 Mission Statement..................................................................................................................................4
3. Overall System Design...........................................................................................................................5
3.1 System Design ........................................................................................................................................5
4. Prototype ................................................................................................................................................6
4.1 Prototype Rationale.................................................................................................................................6
4.2 Prototype Design.....................................................................................................................................6
4.3 Prototype Cost.........................................................................................................................................9
5. Results ..................................................................................................................................................10
6. Risk Assessment...................................................................................................................................10
7. Summary and Recommendations.........................................................................................................10
8. References ............................................................................................................................................12
9. Appendix ..............................................................................................................................................13
Appendix A: Calculations ............................................................................................................................13
Appendix B: Bill of Materials and Data Sheets............................................................................................14
Appendix C: Example Programs for ChronTrol Controller ..........................................................................27

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1. Executive Summary
Liquid Solutions mission is to create a mobile biological treatment system for agricultural or
industrial use. Wastewater is an ever expanding field. Developing new technologies to test various
wastewater treatment systems will be pivotal in addressing this growing need. The objective for this
project is to create a pilot system that can utilize both aspects of biological treatment, aerobic and
anaerobic. To complete this objective a single tank batch reactor (SBR) was created after much
discussion. The tank is capable of cycling between the two treatment cycles, aerobic and anaerobic, by
autonomously switching the air pump off and on. All other aspects of the system, the mixer, influent
pump, and effluent solenoid valve, can be operated using the same programmable logic controller. To test
the wastewater, sampling ports allow for sampling at two separate heights in the tank. Battery powered,
manually operated, sensors can then be used to examine the characteristics of the wastewater over time.
The total cost for this system is $8,197, below our initial budget of $10,000. Biological treatment within
this system has yet to be tested.

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2. Introduction
Wastewater is waste material that includes waste sewage and industrial liquid waste. Wastewater
can originate from domestic, industrial, commercial or agricultural activities, inflow or infiltration, and
even sewage. Wastewater treatment systems remove contaminants from wastewater and help improve the
quality of wastewater. There are generally three levels of wastewater treatment: primary (mechanical)
treatment, secondary (biological) treatment, and tertiary (advance) treatment. Biological wastewater
utilizes bacteria to break down and decompose organic material. In a biological wastewater treatment
system, there are two types of treatment: aerobic and anaerobic. Aerobic treatment is the process where
bacteria uses oxygen to degrade organic matter and anaerobic treatment is the process where wastewater
is broken down by microorganisms without the aid of dissolved oxygen. In aerobic treatment, the
common type of aerated wastewater systems are activated sludge system using a sequencing batch
reactor, and while in anaerobic treatment systems, the main anaerobic systems are batch systems and
continuous systems.
2.1 Problem Objectives
Our sponsor would like the pilot system to be representative of a system that can be:
A) Scalable
B) Treat a minimum of 100 gallons per day
C) Be portable so that the system can be move to different locations with a medium duty flatbed truck
D) Capable of aerobic and anaerobic operations, which does not need to run simultaneously and can
run sequentially
E) Capable for real- or near real time monitoring of pH, temperature, and dissolved oxygen in the
treatment tank
2. 2 Mission Statement
Liquid Solutions’ mission is to be able to create a mobile biological wastewater pilot system capable
of reducing the chemical oxygen demand in the waste stream by 85%. The mobile pilot system will
be used to determine the viability of treating wastewater using biological processes.

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3. Overall System Design
The design that we constructed was a sequencing batch reactor (SBR). The sequencing batch reactor
is a batch fill and draw activated sludge treatment process. The activated sludge aeration and liquid solids
separation occur in the same tank. We are constructing this design because our sponsor had expressed that
he would like a sequencing batch reactor after our two proposed solutions to the design.
Our design process consisted of researching full scale wastewater treatment systems, analyzing what
components each had in common, and then taking those components and finding a small scale analog.
The necessary components are described in full detail in the following section.
3.1 System Design
Our prototype is a sequencing batch reactor that consists of a 300-gallon tank with a tank mixer,
centrifugal pump, air pump, disk membrane air diffuser, controller and timer, containment pallet,
operating station, multimeter, and portable turbidimeter (Figure 1).

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4. Prototype
The following section lists the rationale for each component in general, explaining its purpose in
a SBR. Then the specific components are discussed, showing why each was chosen given their
specifications.
4.1 Prototype Rationale
Mixer: Necessary to effectively mix 300 gallons of wastewater, and can be easily mounted for an
operator to remove.
Centrifugal Pump: Necessary for pumping the wastewater into the tank.
Air Pump: Necessary for aerobic treatment of wastewater.
Air diffuser: Necessary to disperse medium-fine bubbles, which is optimal for aeration, and be used in
conjunction with the air pump.
Controller: Necessary for automation. Controls all components autonomously given program.
Multimeter: Used for measuring the conditions of wastewater, in terms of pH, conductivity, dissolved
oxygen, and temperature.
Turbidimeter: To measure total suspended solids in effluent.
Containment pallet: Necessary to help transport the project and be a contingency plan for any
effluent spills.
Operation station: Necessary to transport controller and lab instruments in one container for
organization.
4.2 Prototype Design
Dayton Direct Tank Mixer: The mixer that is being used for this system is a Dayton open drum mixer.
It uses a totally enclosed fan cooled (TEFC) motor powered by 115V to produce ¼ horsepower and is
capable of spinning at 1750 rpm. The shaft is made of ½ inch diameter 316 stainless steel and is 32
inches in length; it is directly spun by the motor. The impeller contains three shallow blades each with
a 2-inch diameter. This component is displayed in yellow in Figure 2.
Dayton Centrifugal Pump: The Dayton centrifugal pump produce ⅛ horsepower and is powered by
115V. It has an inlet of ¾” NPT and
an outlet of ½”. he housing material
and impeller type is brass and is semi
open. TIts maximum head is 14.5 ft.
It has 9 gpm of water at 0 feet of
head, 8.1 gpm of water at 5 feet of
head, and 5.7 gpm of water at 10 feet
of head. It has a motor rpm at 1725
with a length of 10”, width of 8”, and
6- ⅝”. It has a max case pressure of

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200 psi, inlet pressure of 47 psi, and maximum pressure of 3 psi. Its best efficiency head gpm at head
is from 4 to 10 gpm at 5 to 2 ft. Its port rotation is 90 degree increments. This component is displayed
in yellow in Figure 3.
Hakko HK- 120 Air pump: The Hakko HK- 120 Air pump has a cast iron body style that is ideal for
water depth between 4 to 12 feet. Its shut off depth is approximately 18 feet. It has a very low noise
32/38 dB at 1 meter, low power consumption, silent operation, completely oil free, overload
protection with auto off/ on switch for over heat situations. It does not consume a lot of power. It runs
at 110V and does not need oil
lubrication. It has a normal pressure bar
at 2.84 psi.
Hakko Disc Membrane Air diffuser:
The air diffuser emits medium fine air
bubbles and is very low maintenance.
The air pore size in the rubber
membrane is designed to give medium
size fine bubble which is about 3-5 mm.
It is a 12-inch disc that can handle air
flows up to 180 liters per minute. This
component is displayed in yellow in
Figure 4.
ChronTrol Controller: This equipment
can be used to operate solenoid valves,
pumps, and motors. This equipment
provides a push- button control of up to
four independent circuits. It has twenty
independent on/off programs assure
control to the second, every day of week.
It has a 9V battery backup and can plug
into two or four independent 12VAC
grounded outlets on the back panel. Its
dimension is 5L x 8.25 x 4.75 in. This
component is displayed in yellow in
Figure 5.
Containment Pallet: The containment
pallet can be lifted by a forklift, support
the maximum operating weight, able to fit in the back of a flatbed truck and a contingency for any
spills.
Operating station: The operating station will be a storage container on which all the equipment will
be placed.

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HACH sensION+ Multimeter: The multimeter can give fast and simple measurements. It can measure
4 parameters, such as pH, temperature, dissolved oxygen, and conductivity simultaneously. This
allows for ease of use which in turn ensures quality results as well as longevity, as there is not much
necessary maintenance. This multimeter is
shown in Figure 6.
HACH 2100Qis Turbidimeter: The
turbidimeter has easy on- screen assisted
calibration and verification, simple data
transfer, and convenient data logging. This
turbidimeter is shown in Figure 7.

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4.3 Prototype Cost
The cost to build the prototype was $8,197. Figure 8 and Table 1 show a pie chart and table
representing the cost of each component. The largest expenditure was on laboratory instruments the
sponsor requested. Followed by the 300 gallon tank and stand.

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5. Results
The mechanics of the physical components function as expected. All components of the system
have been shown to operate autonomously give the programming of the programmable logic controller.
The team is confident that this system will perform well with actual wastewater and bacteria as these are
not related to the mechanical and electrical functioning of the system. However, we were not able to
acquire wastewater, in order to display the plausibility of biological treatment.
6. Risk Assessment
We assessed the following risks for our design:
Electrical hardware:
The team made sure the voltage supplied by the controller is compatible with all electrical components.
We then confirmed that every terminal is properly secured and fastened. All wiring connections were
covered so that they are water resistant.
Mechanical components:
The mounting of the mixer motor was achieved using a motor mount clamp secured to the side of the tank
opening. This was done to ensure no physical harm to operator or the tank, itself.
Operating guidelines:
The operator will have to wear proper personal protective equipment, such as gloves and safety glasses.
The treatment station should only be moved by a forklift. Before unplugging any hose or pipes, the
operator will have to ensure that there isn’t any running water in it. Before adding any influent water, the
operator must verify that the tank drain is closed. Operator should also monitor the water level in the
sump of the pallet and properly drain it if there is any liquid in it.
7. Summary and Recommendations
Liquid Solutions was tasked to provide a mobile way to test the viability of biological wastewater
treatment. Although there was no initial testing of the pilot system, we can estimate that the device is
capable of treating 100 gallons per day. The pilot system has the capability to treat the wastewater, using
both aerobic and anaerobic treatment. Most importantly, due to its portability, it can easily be transported
in the bed of a flatbed truck. Our system is able to remove any solid build up produced after settling post
treatment. Using the sampling ports, we are able to monitor pH, temperature, and dissolved oxygen at
near real time. Additionally, the SBR is able to monitor the effluent turbidity.
Our design is limited by its anaerobic capabilities as well as its ability to sample autonomously. To
ensure optimal anaerobic treatment the tank should be fully sealable. Also, anaerobic treatment produces
gases such as methane, collecting these gases would be ideal. As for sampling, a system would have to be
designed or an auto-sampler could be purchased.
Improvements to the team’s design could be made by focusing on pretreating of the influent water.
Adding a storage tank would be a benefit as that influent water could be pre aerated before being treated

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in the tank. This would bring the dissolved oxygen level up which would be in less of a shock when it is
introduced in the mixing tank. Literature shows that a jet aerator provides better aeration than a air
diffuser system that we have, potentially that could aid the system to achieve a higher dissolved oxygen
(Luis Abreu).
Adding the ability to monitor the nutrients in the wastewater would be a benefit; this would be
complemented by having the ability to remove nutrients when they exceed a certain point. The
continuation of this project could benefit from a way of managing the solids, where proper removal of the
biomass should be further researched and designed. The further cycling of the treated wastewater
depending on the reduction of COD levels reached by our system. If future goals are to improve the
reduction rate from our system, the following team can explore the possibility of running the effluent
water through a second treatment.
The team was able to provide a solution to the sponsor’s requirements. Although we were not able
test the influent water with microbes, we were able to provide proper aeration to the tank and to mix it for
the appropriate amount of time. We are confident that our design will provide the functionality necessary
for biological wastewater treatment.

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8. References
Carvalho, F., Prazeres, A. R., & Rivas, J. (2013). Cheese whey wastewater: characterization and
treatment. Science of the total Environment, 445, 385-396.
EBS- Wastewater Training and Consulting. Aerobic vs. Anaerobic Treatment in Wastewater Systems.
Aerobic vs Anaerobic Treatment in Wastewater Systems. Web.
EPA. Domestic Wastewater Advice and Guidance. Domestic WasteWater. Web.
Frigon, J. C., Bruneau, T., Moletta, R., & Guiot, S. R. (2007). Coupled anaerobic-aerobic treatment of
whey wastewater in a sequencing batch reactor: proof of concept. Water Science & Technology,
55(10).
Frigon, J. C., Breton, J., Bruneau, T., Moletta, R., & Guiot, S. R. (2009). The treatment of cheese whey
wastewater by sequential anaerobic and aerobic steps in a single digester at pilot scale.
Bioresource technology, 100(18), 4156-4163.
L. Abreu, S. Estrada. Sequencing Batch Reactors: An Efficient Alternative to Wastewater Treatment.
Rensselaer University.
Metcalf & Eddy, B., & Tchobanoglous, G. (1980). Wastewater Engineering: Treatment Disposal Reuse.
Central Book Company.
Pietranski, J.F. (2012). Mechanical Agitator Power Requirements for Liquid Batches. PDH Online.

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9. Appendix
Appendix A: Calculations
Mixer Horsepower Requirement
O2 Requirements

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Appendix B: Bill of Materials and Data Sheets
Bill of Materials

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Chrontrol Data Sheet

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Containment Pallet Data Sheet

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Diffuser Data

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HK-120L Data Sheet

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Influent Pump Data Sheet

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Multimeter Data Sheet

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Tank Data Sheet

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Tank Stand Data Sheet

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Tank Mixer Data Sheet

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Turbidity Meter

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Appendix C: Example Programs for ChronTrol Controller

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