The Du Quoin Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) in southern Illinois runs a Schrieber Plant with an average flow of 2.4 million gallons per day. The plant was running into challenges with their digesters due to waste sludge thickening, which resulted in high solids content, which led to poor digester and dewatering performance. Additionally, the facility grappled with odor problems. To combat aeration issues, the plant was using two blowers a digester that was only one-third full, but this led to unnecessary energy consumption and cost inefficiencies.

To address these issues, Du Quoin investigated no-to-low-cost improvements to significantly enhance operational efficiency and sustainability, achieving significant results without significant expenses.