IEP and AlgEvolve Launch Advanced Water Treatment Facility

October 31, 2012
AlgaeIndustryMagazine.com

pokane, WA-based Inland Empire Paper Company (IEP) and AlgEvolve, Inc. have commissioned an Advanced Water Treatment System at the IEP facility in Millwood, Washington. This biological system was patented and developed by Montana-based AlgEvolve to remove phosphorus, nitrogen, and other constituents without the use of strong chemicals.

According to Doug Krapas, Environmental Manager at IEP. “This technology has demonstrated significant advantages over other systems, such as chemical precipitation, as it eliminates the use of chemicals and the disposal challenges of chemical sludge. Rather, it is a carbon sequestration process, producing oxygen and algae byproducts.

The AlgEvolve Advanced Biological Nutrient Recovery™ technology uses the production of algae to naturally consume nutrients in a water stream. “All we are doing is mimicking what nature does,” said Mike McGowan, Vice President of Technology at AlgEvolve. “When you look at a flowing stream, you are looking at nature’s way of cleaning water. We are duplicating this in a controlled environment using all natural processes. The algae we use are already present in every wastewater treatment facility we have investigated and it efficiently cleans up excessive nutrients.”

“One of our goals will be to further improve our carbon footprint by taking carbon dioxide produced through our in-house boilers and use it in the AlgEvolve process,” added Krapas.

Inland Empire Paper Company is a 100-year old manufacturer of high quality newsprint and specialty paper products, producing over 500 tons of newsprint every day. AlgEvolve, founded in 2007, focuses on implementing proprietary, algae-based processes and technical systems for advanced water treatment and carbon capture.