JSC "OKO" is establishing biological processes after the completion of the reconstruction of the first stage of the Nizhny Novgorod aeration station.

      The Joint Utility Operator has carried out the technological launch of the facilities and continues the commissioning works (CW) of biological treatment processes after the completion of the reconstruction of the first stage of the Nizhny Novgorod Aeration Station (NAS). The contracting organization engaged to provide commissioning services has developed a program, supplied, and installed a set of technical means for automatic control of the parameters of biological nitrogen removal and chemical phosphorus precipitation for the reconstructed line of the NAS. This was reported by the company. "CW is the final check and 'training' of the facilities after their reconstruction: specialists must ensure that all pipelines, pumps, units, and mechanisms are correctly installed, adjust the 'recipe' for treatment for the most effective operation of the facilities, test them on wastewater, and train the staff so that everything works like clockwork before starting regular operation. Essentially, CW is the 'break-in' of the new system before it begins to treat wastewater in normal mode," emphasized Svetlana Maskaleva, General Director of AKORN-ECO LLC. "Increasing biology is one of the most important and labor-intensive technologies," said Mikhail Likhotnikov, advisor to the General Director of OAO OKO. According to him, in just one month, about 10 species of unicellular microorganisms were grown in the reconstructed aeration tanks. "Biology in aeration tanks reacts very sensitively to changes that may occur in the wastewater. The air temperature and a large amount of snow in the wastewater do not allow microorganisms to reproduce actively and quickly. Snow dilutes the wastewater, and bacteria do not receive the feed base for their active growth. Favorable conditions for their reproduction are a wastewater temperature of 20-25 degrees. We hope that by the summer of this year we will fully increase the active sludge (biology) at the reconstructed line of the NAS and switch to operation on this line, meeting the treatment requirements," said Mikhail Likhotnikov. Executive Director of the Russian Ecological Movement Elmurod Rasulmukhamedov, along with other specialists, is checking the influence of snow on the growing strains and active sludge, discussing all possible ways to mitigate this situation. "It is important to understand that the temperature dependence of the strains particularly affects open reservoirs due to the temperature of the supplied liquid. It can already be said that the decision to close some reservoirs, making them more insulated and thermally stable, was correct – this is where the bioprocesses will begin. The reconstruction itself is going in the right direction. However, since there is currently a heavy load on the unreconstructed line of the NAS, we are trying to do everything possible to ensure that, first of all, the quality of wastewater treatment is not compromised and to minimize gas emissions," added Elmurod Rasulmukhamedov. For reference: The Nizhny Novgorod Aeration Station is the largest wastewater treatment facility in the Nizhny Novgorod region, with an average daily inflow of wastewater ranging from 490 to 790 thousand cubic meters. For the first time since the station was built in 1974, a large-scale modernization is being carried out. The work started in 2022, is divided into stages, and is being conducted without stopping the acceptance of wastewater. The first stage of reconstruction has now been completed, which included 50 facilities. Work is also underway to design the second stage of the NAS reconstruction, which will include 61 facilities. Federal funding for the second stage of reconstruction has been preliminarily approved.