Cost Effective
HydroMentia’s pollution control systems can be designed to reduce pollutants to natural background levels at a fraction of the capital and operating costs of competing technologies. No other technology has been shown to reduce nutrient pollutants to background levels (10-40 ppb total phosphorus) while converting residuals to a marketable commodity.
Passive wetland treatment systems currently serve as the primary technology for regional stormwater treatment to achieve low-level phosphorus standards. However, a number of challenges confront passive wetland systems including: (1) long-term effectiveness at higher pollutant loads (non-sustainability without sediment management); (2) restricted applicability in settings where land is limited; (3) and detrimental impacts to communities when land is taken off the local tax roll and out of productive use.
Algal Turf Scrubber® systems minimize these challenges through high hydraulic loading rate capabilities, and the regular recovery and recycling of algal biomass developed during decades of research and implementation.
A study by the University of Florida concluded that Algal Turf Scrubber® phosphorus treatment costs ($/kg P-removed) for proposed treatment systems in the Lake Okeechobee watershed were 53–69% lower than costs for wetland stormwater treatment areas, even when assigning value to the wetland stormwater treatment areas for water storage and recreational benefits.
Scalable / Adaptive
Algal Turf Scrubber® systems offer custom solutions that can be sized to meet nearly any pollution reduction goal and water flow condition.
Individual treatment units are constructed in standard modules from one to 25 mgd. For larger flows, standardized 25 mgd Algal Turf Scrubber® units are combined into a single treatment facility that can handle hundreds of millions of gallons per day. This approach further reduces land area requirements while significantly enhancing operational efficiency.
The standard module approach allows implementation of reliable, cost-effective systems customized to site-specific water quality and flow conditions.
Reduced Land Requirements
Algal Turf Scrubber® systems are optimized to create flow conditions that maximize the nutrient uptake of the algal turf. Optimal hydraulic loading rates for Algal Turf Scrubber® systems are typically 40-100 times higher than constructed wetland systems. Higher hydraulic loading results in greater biomass production and higher pollutant removal rates, thus less land is needed.
In typical stormwater applications, Algal Turf Scrubber® systems will remove 200-1,000 pounds of phosphorus, and 500-8,000 pounds of nitrogen for every acre of process area. At these rates, Algal Turf Scrubber® systems require only 3-5% of the land area of comparable treatment wetlands.
The footprint for a 10 mgd treatment module requires as little as 2.5 acres, making the Algal Turf Scrubber® ideal where land is limited.
Learn more about applications for the Algal Turf Scrubber® or contact us with questions.