July 18, 2017 3:30 - 4:45 pm
NBC Bucklin Point WWTF Tour: Registration required by email. Bring a hard hat & shoes.
Training Contact Hours awarded for MA (1), RI (1.25), & VT (1.25).
The tour (no cost) will focus on energy efficiency & renewable energy production, including plant-wide LED lighting, optimizing digestion for biogas production, and plans for the new IC engine generator being installed now.
Bring along family & friends if you're headed to the game after.
Tour led by Barry Wenskowicz, P. E., energy specialist, & other NBC staff
Graphics courtesy of Barry Wenskowicz, Narragansett Bay Commission.
The Bucklin Point WWTF, owned and operated by the Narragansett Bay Commission (NBC), serves Pawtucket, Central Falls, Lincoln, Cumberland, and a small section of East Providence, RI, treating an average of about 22 MGD. It accepts septage and treats wastewater from residences and industries combined with a limited amount of stormwater. The facility was upgraded in 2004 to include UV disinfection and use BNR to reduce total nitrogen to below 8.5 mg/l and, in 2012, to use supplemental carbon to enhance de-nitrification and meet a 5 mg/l total nitrogen limit. Solids are treated in 3 one million gallon primary digesters. One secondary digester, with a floating cover, holds biosolids before they are centrifuged and trucked to Woonsocket for incineration with energy recovery.
Careful engineering reviews of digester operations, biogas production, and energy generation options have led to the current installation of a 600 kW engine generator that, through combined heat and power (CHP), will provide about 1/3 of the facility's electricity needs and heat the digesters. Combined with energy efficiencies, such as LED lighting, Bucklin Point is reducing its greenhouse gas emissions dramatically.
Tour size limited; you must send an email to register in advance. Please bring a hard hat & hard shoes.