Component #1 Prepare a 200- to 300-word history about the National Critical Technology’s technical application the team has selected. Sewage treatment plants have experienced an evolution in their design and purpose throughout the past few decades. They have developed from unstable processors of human waste to advanced waste treatment centers with new high-tech methane conversion devices greatly contributing to the earth’s ecological stability. From the beginning of the industrial revolution and the mass influx of people to the cities, there has been an ever-growing need for waste management. In the beginning, waste was left to decay and fester in the streets, where it developed into a serious health hazard. As time went on, however, new systems of dealing with human waste arose. One of the first known times humans created a system to deal with their waste was more than 4,000 years ago. Residents of the island of Crete built a palace that included a fresh water supply, a complete sewage system and even wooden-seated flushing toilets. (Roto Rooter Plumbers) Over time civilizations slowly perfected the process of dealing with municipal waste. In the past, many sewage plants have had problems complying with environmental standards with regard to capacity and the need for expansion. When the flow of raw sewage exceeds the plant's capacity, they have often resorted to dumping partially treated or raw sewage into bodies of water as a means of disposing it (Deer Island). Even when a plant is running under ideal conditions it is often acceptable to bury the treated sludge in landfills or use it as a component in organic fertilizers both of which often lead to nitrogen runoff when it rains. Or surplus effluent can be released back into the environment through Class I (classes) injection wells. (injection wells) Today, humans have created a very sophisticated system to deal with municipal waste. As a result of better and more thorough processing, the amount of remaining sludge and the concentration of nitrogen in it are greatly reduced. In fact, the effluent that is discharged from modern local treatment plants is often cleaner than the water already there (Brad Taylor). Now, substances formerly viewed as simple dross have now become prospective resources. The technology is now available to use sludge that comes out of the primary and secondary clarifiers to create methane, a very useful fuel. It may be possible to utilize all that is now seeming useless in the near future. Cite three detailed examples of research done in the past 3 to 5 years which focused on the NCT application the team selected. Include: the funding agency, the principal investigator, the institution where the research is or was being conducted, the amount of the dollar award granted for the research, and the duration of the research grant. One example of a grant exists in Portland Oregon, where the Department of Defense paid $200,000 to the implement fuel cell technology. The money provided by the state will be used as part of a 1.3 million-dollar project that uses methane gas that is captured from digesters. The project managers were senior engineer Garry Ott, principal engineer Gene Appel, construction manager Hollie Berry, and electrical maintenance manager Duane Sanger. The Columbia Boulevard Wastewater Treatment Plant, in Portland processes an average of 80 million gallons of Portland’s sewage per day. From this roughly one million cubic feet of gas is produced daily by the digestion of organic compounds in various treatment processes, of which more than five percent will be used in the fuel cell. This applied research project will be a lasting investment, installing and testing the fuel cell technology while providing power and protecting the environment. The Clean Water/Clean Air Bond Act which provided another grant, was issued on September 28, 1998 This $20 million grant to Onondaga County, which was endorsed by Governor Pataki of New York, will be used to improve the water quality of Onondaga Lake. This grant will support six projects aimed at improving the performance of the county's Metropolitan Sewage Treatment Plant and combined sewer overflow system to stop sewage from contaminating the lake. One of these projects will provide between $4.8-$5.6 million to modify and clean waste sludge digesters at the Metro plant. In addition, the plant will upgrade its dewatering and methane compression systems. The plant will also use this money to construct a new chemical storage and feed system for chemicals to enhance phosphorus removal. These projects will enhance the plant's ability to handle the increasing solid waste generated by the growing population while reducing phosphorous loading to the lake, which will help eliminate algae blooms and the offensive odors they cause. This projects aims to research the efficiency and viability of new technology while simultaneously raising the water quality. In 1997, the Ontario government, to address environmental issues involving sewage treatment, established a $200 million grant. This followed a 1994 meeting of Canada's 13 environment ministers preparing an action plan to address waster usage. Canada's water usage is the second highest per capita in the world, yet their wastewater treatment facilities lag behind other developed countries. Furthermore, a "water audit" showed the cost per cubic liter to the government at only 5$. Inefficiencies result from poor consumer pricing policies and, more importantly, aging waste treatment infrastructure. Based upon research conducted, explain how the NCT application your team chose has advanced scientific knowledge. Our team chose the National Critical technology of Pollution Control with an emphasis on wastewater treatment. In the past wastewater treatment was inefficient and sewage under treated sewage was dumped local ecosystems disrupting natural habitats. However as time past and society advanced a small group of cities began utilizing alternative methods of waste treatment such as the anaerobic bacterial Digestion of waste. Today in the field of wastewater treatment, plants are beginning to take full advantage of new technology implementing biomass conversions and capturing methane. Although places around the world like Onodago County, Ontario and Portland are developing and using this technology, problems arise from the sheer quantity of sewage that must be processed. Current methodology and technology provides no solution to the problems of expanding a plant were there is little land to utilize. Our project biomass a vertical solution: provides innovative combinations of technology that can be used to provide an answer to these problems.
ORIGINAL Bullet #3 based on OUR research for OUR product ... use whatever you want! Our NCT application is Pollution Control, more specifically waste elimination and management. Our vertical wastewater treatment plant design involves advanced scientific knowledge in many areas. The knowledge and skills required to manufacture and/or operate these biomass facilities will require professional organizations (FWPCOA) to keep their members constantly updated on new research topics and technologies as well as push institutes of higher education to incorporate additional courses and programs in wastewater biochemical processes, new uses for methane, structural engineering and design along with implementation and safety standards. Not only does our design increase the efficiency of land use, but it has also created a new paradigm for waste treatment plants. This vertical waste treatment plant employs innovative new processes to maximize the collection of methane, a greenhouse gas with destructive potential twenty times that of carbon dioxide, without compromising the level of safety within the plant. This methane can then be used as an energy source, which could be sufficient to make large scale plants energy self-sufficient.(FWPCOA email) It has a clarification system through which the wastewater is purified to such an extent that quite often the effluent is cleaner than the water into which it flows (Brad Taylor). So, in effect, this process prevents nitrogen-saturated water runoff from entering lakes and rivers and causing dangerous algal blooms. These algal blooms are detrimental to aquatic life, irreversibly offsetting the delicate balance of our ecosystem (Chesapeake Bay). Our adaptation of the wastewater treatment plant has not only exhibited advanced technology resulting in higher standards of safety and protection for the environment, but also a productive use for otherwise deleterious materials and replace our ever dwindling supply of fossil fuels. |