Grantee Research Project Results

Final Report: Tertiary Wastewater Treatment through Aquaponics

EPA Grant Number: SU840154
Title: Tertiary Wastewater Treatment through Aquaponics
Investigators: Murray, Kelsey , Mitchell, Bryan , Loverich, James , Eisenbraun, Kaden , Anderson, Todd
Institution: Western Dakota Technical Institute
EPA Project Officer: Page, Angela
Phase: I
Project Period: December 1, 2020 through November 30, 2021 (Extended to November 30, 2023)
Project Amount: $24,995
RFA: P3 Awards: A National Student Design Competition Focusing on People, Prosperity and the Planet (2020) RFA Text |  Recipients Lists
Research Category: P3 Awards , P3 Challenge Area - Safe and Sustainable Water Resources

Objective:

The primary goal of this project was to design an aquaponics system suitable for treating wastewater effluent to both recapture nutrients for use in agriculture (thus preventing nutrient contamination of surface water) and to reduce total coliform bacteria levels (thus preventing bacterial contamination of surface water). 
The winning design was a mobile trailer with a hydroponic/aquaponic system that can be used onsite at a Wastewater treatment Plant.  

Summary/Accomplishments (Outputs/Outcomes):

The following construction deliverables/activities describe the planning, build, and execution of the project design. 

The Computer-Aided Design program completed the following deliverables:

•    Creo assembly model of the design
•    Rendered 3D images of the assembly created with Creo
•    Augmented Reality experience developed with Creo
•    Dimensioned working drawings of the assembly and components

The original thought was that students would create a dome-like structure for the hydroponic/aquaponics system. However, the winning design ended up being an enclosed trailer.  Because the winning design was different than what was anticipated, we had to adapt and find a way to get a trailer. Additional funding for the trailer was acquired, the trailer was purchased, and branding was completed in 2022.

 The build-out of the trailer included: 

•    A sealed floor (waterproofing/anti-slip)
•    A mounting system for NFT trays.
•    A separation wall between the laboratory space and the data collection space.
•    A custom-made water distribution system consisting of two pumps, one continuous loop of Pex and PVC, ports for water quality monitoring equipment, valves to shut off parts of the system, and a manifold to use the main pump either to move water internally or to fill onboard circulation tank.  WDT plumbing students (6 in total) along with their instructor designed and installed the plumbing.  The plumbing system went through the engineering design process and multiple iterations were tested to allow for control over the flow.
•    A worktable and sink
•    A custom-designed control system that can be operated manually through a touch screen (specifically developed for this project) and operated automatically independent of manual control.  Control system includes lighting control with control over full spectrum LED and UV lights, pump timing, water flow rate (adjustable), integration of water quality monitoring equipment for data capture, and a ventilation system.

•  The control system uses Allen Bradley hardware and Rockwell Automation software.
•  Hach Water Quality Monitoring equipment (pH, DO, temperature) was integrated into the system.  The continuous monitoring was written into the process control and we were able to convert the data from Hach monitoring to a trending graph on the human machine interface.

•    Remote continuous water monitoring equipment
•    Plant lighting and convenience lighting
•    A ventilation system was engineered and implemented to control for internal air flow.

The Electrical Trades program completed the following deliverables:

•    Detailed description of the electrical control process, including a flow chart of the sequence of events
•    Working Micro 820 PLC/panel view program

The Environmental Engineering and Controlled Environment Agriculture programs completed the following deliverables: 

•    Detailed environmental monitoring plan, including necessary water quality monitoring equipment, frequency, and criteria for water quality parameters
•    Biological surface area calculations for the system
•    Measurements of nutrients in wastewater effluent and in aquaponics effluent and efficiency calculations
•    Measurements of coliform bacteria in wastewater effluent and in aquaponics

The Farm and Ranch Management program competed the following deliverable:

Justification for the chosen plant and animal species in the system, including ideal growth parameters and approximate harvest cycles.

Conclusions:

For this project, a mobile hydroponics trailer equipped with an automated crop production system was designed, constructed, and is currently being tested for use in tertiary wastewater treatment. For the design work, we have completed a Creo assembly model of the design, rendered 3D images, created an augmented reality experience of the design, and provided dimensioned working drawings of the system.   For construction, we have designed and engineered a NFT mounting system and trays were installed.  A custom-made water distribution system, consisting of a continuous loop with two separate pumps was designed and installed.  The water distribution system has ports for water quality monitoring equipment, a manifold system for control, and valves.  An automated electrical control system (Micro PLC/panel view program) was designed and installed for control over full-spectrum LED and UV lights, pump timing, water flow rate (adjustable), and integration of water quality monitoring equipment and associated database for data capture.  Upon completion of construction of this mobile tertiary treatment plant, data concerning its ability to deplete nutrients from tertiary wastewater using hydroponics will be analyzed.   

Progress and Final Reports:

Original Abstract

2021 Progress Report

2022 Progress Report