(a) Pretreatment.
(1) Pretreatment to remove grit, debris, and excess
oil and grease must precede a rotating biological contactor (RBC).
Grit, debris, and excess oil and grease must be handled and disposed
of in accordance with §217.123 and §217.126 of this title
(relating to Screenings and Debris Handling; and Grit Handling).
(2) The executive director may require primary clarifiers,
fine screens, or grit removal chambers prior to an RBC to control
high levels of grease, oil, grit, or other debris in the influent
waste stream.
(3) Hydrogen sulfide concentration must be considered
to determine whether an RBC system requires pre-aeration.
(b) Enclosures and Ventilation.
(1) An RBC must be covered and must provide at least
six complete air exchanges per hour.
(2) A cover must have working clearance of at least
30 inches above an RBC, unless the cover can be removed with on-site
equipment.
(3) Enclosures must be constructed of a corrosion-resistant
material.
(4) An RBC must include:
(A) access doors on each end; and
(B) observation ports with covers at 3.0 foot intervals
along the RBC.
(c) Media Design.
(1) An RBC must provide self-cleaning action for the
media.
(2) RBC media must be compatible with the wastewater
to be treated.
(3) An RBC design using multiple stages must use low-density
media material for the first stage.
(d) Design Flexibility. If included in the design of
an RBC, the engineering report must include descriptions of the following:
(1) controlled flow to multiple first stages;
(2) alternate flow and staging arrangements;
(3) removable baffles between stages; and
(4) provisions for step feed and supplemental aeration.
(e) Tank Configuration. The design of an RBC must ensure
that each RBC tank:
(1) minimizes the zones in which solids will settle
out; and
(2) includes tank drains to facilitate removal of any
accumulated solids.
(f) Control of Unwanted Growth in the Initial Stages.
Chlorine may be added upstream of an RBC system to control the growth
of filamentous bacteria that oxidize sulfur compounds (e.g., Beggiatoa species).
(g) Maintenance Provisions.
(1) An RBC system with a design flow of 1.0 million
gallons per day or greater must have two or more process trains, each
consisting of three or more stages in series.
(2) An RBC system must be able to treat the design
flow with the largest process train out of service for maintenance
or cleaning.
(h) Bearing Maintenance. The bearings in each RBC must
be easily accessible for inspection, lubrication, and replacement.
(i) Organic Loading Design Requirements.
(1) The design of an RBC must be based on the organic
loading rate.
(2) The maximum loading rate must not exceed 8.0 pounds
of five-day biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5 )
per day per 1,000 square feet (sf) of media in any stage.
(3) The RBC media area must be adjusted to compensate
for the effects of the ratio of soluble BOD5 to
total BOD5 .
(4) Allowable organic loading for the entire RBC system
must not exceed:
(A) 3.0 lbs of BOD5 per
day per 1,000 sf of media area for wastewater treatment facilities
required to meet secondary treatment; or
(B) 2.0 lbs of BOD5 per
day per 1,000 sf of media for a wastewater treatment facility required
to meet advanced secondary treatment.
(j) Hydraulic Loading Design Requirements. A wastewater
treatment facility using an RBC system must include flow equalization
when the peak flow is more than 2.5 times the design flow to prevent
loss of fixed growth from the media.
(k) Stages.
(1) An RBC system designed for BOD5 removal
must have at least three stages in series, unless the engineering
report justifies that equivalent treatment will be achieved with less
than three stages. Justification must use operational data from either
a full-scale operating wastewater treatment facility or pilot unit
with an appropriate scale-up factor.
(2) The first stage of an RBC system must include a
means of spreading the influent flow evenly across the media.
(l) Drive Systems. An RBC drive system must be able
to handle the maximum anticipated media load and may be a variable
speed system. An RBC may be mechanically driven or air driven.
(1) Mechanical Drive Systems.
(A) A mechanical drive system must have a motor and
speed control unit capable of maintaining the required revolutions
per minute.
(B) A fully assembled spare mechanical drive unit must
be kept on-site for each size of mechanical drive unit used in the
RBC.
(2) Air Drive System.
(A) Each RBC using an air drive system must have air
diffusers mounted below the media and off-center from the vertical
axis of the RBC and must have air cups mounted on the outside of the
media to collect the air.
(B) The blowers must provide the capacity to supply:
(i) the airflow rate necessary for each RBC;
(ii) double the airflow rate to any one RBC while the
others are running normally; and
(iii) the required airflow with the largest blower
out of service.
(C) The air diffuser pipe to each RBC must:
(i) be mounted so that the air diffuser pipe may be
removed without draining the tank or without moving the RBC media;
and
(ii) include an air control valve to each RBC.
(m) Dissolved Oxygen.
(1) An RBC system must maintain a minimum dissolved
oxygen concentration of 1.0 milligram per liter in all stages under
the maximum organic loading rate.
(2) The executive director may require supplemental
aeration.
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