Gresham Smith Supports City of Atlanta’s First Nutrient Recovery System
Gresham Smith is pleased to announce that the City of Atlanta Department of Watershed Management’s R.M. Clayton Water Reclamation Center (WRC) has completed start-up on its first nutrient recovery system. The firm facilitated the initial pilot study to confirm design criteria and validate the nutrient recovery concept, as well as provided technical review and commissioning for the new Ostara Pearl Nutrient Recovery System.
The Ostara process captures side stream phosphorous and nitrogen that would otherwise be recycled to the main treatment process. It then converts the phosphorous and nitrogen into a marketable struvite fertilizer product, while simultaneously reducing the nutrient load requiring treatment and enhancing reliable compliance and efficiency at R.M. Clayton.
“We are proud to have played a role in bringing nutrient recovery to R.M. Clayton. Conducting the pilot study several years ago demonstrated the value Ostara could provide in terms of struvite yield and reduction in the recycled nutrient load,” said Randy Booker, Jr., Ph.D., P.E., senior vice president and project executive, Gresham Smith. “The Ostara process exemplifies the triple bottom line criteria of social and environmental stewardship aligned with operational and financial value. The City of Atlanta embraced this innovation, making R.M. Clayton a more reliable, sustainable and adaptive plant.”
Gresham Smith has been actively involved on a number of projects to optimize performance at R.M. Clayton. In 2018 as part of the BGR2 joint venture, the firm completed Construction Management Services for the $56M design-build Headworks Improvement Project at the WRC. Gresham Smith recently designed improvements to the digester at RM Clayton and construction is anticipated to begin in the coming months. Additionally, the firm is currently working with the City of Atlanta to develop a Wastewater Master Plan.
