A thermally efficient wastewater treatment system by Purestream Services has been deployed at a commercial wastewater disposal facility in Warren, Pennsylvania.
The Avara vapor recompression system is now operating within a wastewater disposal and treatment plant’s existing train of treatment technologies. The Avara vapor recompression technology completes the overall water treatment process at the Warren facility, bringing the discharge water quality levels to regulatory compliance by meeting new discharge criteria in the state of Pennsylvania.
The system treats about 2,000 barrels (84,000 gallons) of water per day.
Avara is a patented vapor recompression technology with a smaller footprint that Purestream says easily integrates into existing plant and field operations.
Purestream originally developed the Avara project in partnership with Utah State University’s Space Dynamics Research Lab scientists. The Avara system includes thermal management processes, automated functions and remote monitoring capabilities.
It consistently provides a clean, distilled quality, water effluent stream, the company says. This advanced vapor recompression process concentrates the waste stream for significant waste volume reduction.
The Avara technology has been commercially utilized for over four years in various onshore oil and gas wastewater operations. Current active Avara deployments are operating in Arkansas, Texas, and Wyoming to treat produced and frac water in oil and gas operations for volume reduction, re-use and discharge. It has demonstrated consistent ability to meet stringent NPDES discharge limitations in a number of applications.
In light of EPA guidelines released in late September, Purestream also sees Avara as a solution for steam electricity power generation plants that are required to meet the new criteria for wastewater discharge in the coming years.
Vapor recompression technology is effective in removing heavy metals, such as mercury, arsenic, selenium, nitrates and other pollutants to meet the new standards outlined in the EPA regulations.
Clean distilled water from Avara may be re-used in plant operations or discharged under regulatory authority. The system demonstrates outstanding capabilities as it integrates into existing water treatment operations and reduces volume by concentrating waste stream brine to higher levels than other technologies such as reverse osmosis, the company says.