Field Day: Low-Carbon Wastewater Treatment Pathways

Wastewater treatment is energy and carbon intensive. Energy costs can account for 30 -40% of the total operations and maintenance costs of wastewater treatment. Energy use generates greenhouse gas emissions, such as carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O), which contribute to climate change in Illinois. Through using energy efficient and low-carbon treatment technologies, plants can not only reduce their impacts on the climate, but also reduce overall energy use and costs.

This field day will begin with a workshop, hosted at the Village of Gardner Village Hall. In this workshop, we will highlight low-carbon wastewater treatment pathways and technologies. We will discuss natural treatment technologies, such as algae or wetlands, and their applications for distributed and side stream treatment. We’ll cover how these technologies reduce energy use, increase plant efficiency, and reduce costs for your facility. Funding opportunities to support low-carbon wastewater treatment pathways will be shared, as well as technical support to accomplish your plant’s energy saving goals.

After the workshop, we will take a tour of an Algaewheel treatment system at the Bookwalter Woods Manufactured Home Community. This technology is an innovative nature-based treatment technology that consumes up to 90% less energy than conventional systems, while absorbing more CO2 than it emits and abating methane emissions. We’ll explore how this system works and its applications for side stream treatment for larger plants, industrial pre-treatment, small and mobile home communities, or how you can add it onto your larger treatment system as your community grows.

We look forward to seeing you at the event!