Theia’s Oxygenator Eliminates H2S without Chemicals

A small shore community in Massachusetts not far from Cape Cod has been fighting constant odor issues in its lift station and its plant.  While the town’s population of 20,000  is mostly stable, they sometimes see an uptick in population in the spring and summer.  The pump stations and plant are sized to meet the peak demand.  As such wastewater can often take longer to get to the plant than is optimal.  As the wastewater sits in the lift station and resulting lines, the Hydrogen Sulfide levels can build up creating issues.  The odors and corrosion were present in the stations themselves as well as in the discharge lines from the stations.

The Town had tried a variety of chemicals in hopes of eliminating the Hydrogen Sulfide.  Some of the chemicals were partially successful but the cost to continually purchase them became unacceptable.  Other chemicals just failed outright.  Because of the low lying nature of the area, some of the stations had entries which were elevated making the supply of chemical more difficult.  Storing the chemicals outside was not acceptable and getting them into the stations was difficult at best.   Some of the chemicals represented handling and safety concerns.

The Town had also contacted a couple companies offering air or oxygen injection in hopes of eliminating the need for chemicals.  However, the cost and complexity of these systems made them a non-starter for the town.   Beyond the prohibitive costs, the systems required a great deal of space and would have required additional power be brought to the stations.

One of Theia’s local distributors contacted the town and offered another solution.   When they received Theia’s proposal for the solution to the problem, they were very skeptical.  Theia’s solution was a pump and an Oxygenator Nozzle which represented a cost which was a tiny fraction of the other systems they had looked at.    The cost was so low and the system so simple, they just could not believe it could work. Theia made it very easy to try the system, offering a no cost trial, asking simply that, if it worked, the Town would purchase it.

The trial system consisted of a small 2 Horsepower dewatering pump and a 2 inch Oxygenator nozzle.   The pump and nozzle would be connected using hard hose.  The only upgrade the station required was to install a single phase 240 volt starter/switch to allow the pump to be wired in.   The system was installed using an innovative “lobster cage” around the pump to protect it from the dangers of lift station life.    The system was turned on and a day later the odor issues were gone.    After a couple of months went by, Theia asked the authority if they would place an order for the proposed permanent system.  Instead, the town asked to purchase the existing pilot unit that was in place.

That was 3 -1/2 years ago.  The “pilot unit” is still in place and the Town purchased two(2) more for the other two lift stations.    The systems have eliminated the need for any chemicals and represented a 6-9 month payback.