<< Return to News

Optimizing WAS Holding Systems

Before we walk through how to help your customers optimize their WAS holding systems, it’s important to understand how they work.

How does a WAS Holding System work?

Waste Activated Sludge (WAS) holding systems are a common part of operations in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). A WAS holding system, typically in the form of a sludge tank or lagoon, holds sludge after it has been wasted or removed from a clarifier. WAS systems may have aeration and mixing to help digest more sludge before hauling. Some systems will only hold sludge until it’s hauled away (liquid disposal), while others will concentrate the sludge by periodically allowing the sludge to settle and remove water from the top (decanting). After the sludge leaves the WAS holding system, it’s dewatered through a sludge press and disposed of or hauled as liquid.

Getting to the Bottom of It

If you ask an operator if they have any pains or issues, they may say, “I don’t”. However, they may not know if they do if their system has consistently under-performed and it’s always been that way. Typically, until they see a 20-50% reduction in sludge hauling along with reduced odor and labor costs, they may continue to think that everything’s working as it should.

How a Superior Bioaugmentation Solution Can Optimize a WAS Holding System

Through the process of bioaugmentation, our Biotifx® microbial-based product line reduces the amount of sludge disposal needed, making the system more efficient and treatment more cost effective (Figure 1). The bacterial strains in Biotifx were scientifically selected for their ability to degrade a broad range of organic material, increase sludge digestion, homogenize the sludge composition to allow for better dewatering and improve settling.

Figure 1. Biotifx and WAS Holding System Economics Table

MDG Has You and Your Customer’s ‘Bac’ with Bacillus

As evident in this case study, Biotifx can help a facility save significantly on costs by reducing sludge disposal, labor, odors and chemical usage and improve the quality of life for operators. For more information about how to rollout our Biotifx program within your company and provide solutions for WAS holding systems and other key high-cost challenges, contact us and one of our wastewater experts will reach out to you.

Search Insights
Recently Posted Insights

2B or Not 2B? Success Criteria for Economical Bacillus Scale-Up

Typically, one of the first questions a custom fermentation customer will ask us is how quickly we can get them to economical commercial production. Our years of experience tell us that if the customer can get their strain to two billion (2B) CFU/ml in a standard...

Upcoming Webinar: Overcoming Odors with Microbial Cleaning Products

Odor reduction and prevention are essential to maintaining cleanliness in industrial and institutional applications. In our upcoming webinar, we will dive into the science behind how microbial-based cleaners mitigate odors and provide long-term solutions for your...

The Science Behind the Stink

Odors are everywhere: from tiled surfaces to carpets, from portable toilets to pet waste. When you’re creating microbial products to combat odors, you want to offer solutions specific to the challenges your customers are facing. This means diving into the “science...

MDG Selected as a 2024 Wisconsin Innovation Award Finalist

We are proud to have been recognized as a finalist for the 2024 Wisconsin Innovation Awards! This annual award is given to companies and individuals across multiple business sectors who are developing groundbreaking ideas and driving innovation in the state of...

MDG: Your Key Partner for Probiotic Ingredients

At MDG, our foundation is Real Science. We have over twenty years of experience creating Bacillus-based solutions for our customers across various markets, and we stand behind the ingredients we produce. As the Human Health market grows, our emphasis on research and...

MDG’s Trusted Process in Developing Probiotic Ingredients

We apply our Trusted Process to everything we do, and we customize the individual steps for each market we work in. In the human health market, for example, the process of developing and manufacturing high-quality probiotic ingredients may look different from our...

Planning Ahead: Start Early with Your Custom Fermentation Partner

At MDG, we are dedicated to helping you scale up your bacterial ingredients efficiently and economically so you can find success in your microbial product lines. The process of formulating those product lines can include quite a few steps. You need to identify your...

MDG’s Wastewater Team Attends WEFTEC 2024

We are excited to announce our attendance at WEFTEC 2024, the largest annual water quality event in North America, taking place October 5–9 in New Orleans. As leaders in bioaugmentation with Bacillus, we will be showcasing our innovative solutions designed to improve...

Optimize Water Quality with Bioaugmentation: MDG Webinar Recap

As experts in Bacillus, we’re dedicated to teaching our partners and potential customers about bioaugmentation and its benefits in the wastewater industry. Throughout the year, our microbiologists and technical support leads host webinars on a wide range of topics,...

Related News