Apr 15 2008
ThermoEnergy Corporation today announced the release of an engineering study by Parsons-Brinckerhoff, one of the world's leading planning, engineering, and construction management organizations, demonstrating that the use of the Company's Ammonia Recovery Process results in substantial reductions in carbon emissions for municipal and industrial wastewater treatment plants versus conventional biological methods for the treatment and removal of nitrogen/ammonia. The report shows that a generic 100 million gallon per day wastewater treatment plant can expect greenhouse gas emission reductions in the range of 3,000 and 5,000 tons a year - comparable to reducing truck travel by 2 to 3 million miles annually.
Thousands of tons of nitrogen, in the form of ammonia, are being discharged into local waterways everyday by wastewater treatment plants throughout the country. Many states, as well as the federal government, have begun to regulate these discharges to protect the environment. These plants also emit significant air emissions of greenhouse gases in the form of carbon dioxide ("CO2"), nitrous oxide ("N2O") and methane ("CH4"). CH4 has 21 times the warming potential of CO2, and N2O has 310 times the warming potential, making them particularly damaging.
"This important and timely study, combined with the BioWin(R) Report issued by HydroQual, Inc. earlier this year, makes a compelling case for the use of ARP over conventional biological systems," said Dennis Cossey, CEO of ThermoEnergy. Previously, wastewater treatment plant operators were primarily concerned with meeting water discharge regulations, however climate change issues have altered the equation. "Today, many wastewater treatment plants are being forced to address air emissions as well as water emissions," said Cossey. "ThermoEnergy is uniquely positioned to address both pollution issues, as our technology is at the cutting edge of carbon reduction solutions. Plant operators will invariably select the technology that allows them to best meet the regulations at the lowest cost and in both cases, that technology is ThermoEnergy's ARP."
Known as a physical/chemical process, ARP establishes a new standard for cost-effective, energy efficient and extremely reliable treatment of ammonia stemming from wastewater treatment plants. Utilizing a patented design, ARP not only removes ammonia from wastewater streams but converts it into ammonium sulfate; a commercial grade fertilizer used by agriculture around the world. The compact size of the ARP process allows it to be retrofitted into existing wastewater treatment plants, making it the perfect solution for plants seeking treatment in already limited spaces. Along with reducing greenhouse gas emissions, ARP is almost five times cheaper to build than comparable biological systems, require less than one-third the space and results in major reductions in energy requirements, chemical use and sludge production. In addition, it provides for beneficial reuse by converting a pollutant, in the form of ammonia, into a useful product in the form of fertilizer.
The ARP process is the core technology in the Company's planned $12.4 million ammonia removal project for the City of New York. The New York City ARP facility will become the model on which future ARP systems will be designed. A copy of the Parsons-Brinckerhoff Report can be obtained by contacting the Company