Trotter and Associates, Inc. (TAI) worked alongside Joseph J. Henderson & Son, Inc, (JJH) to install three new 250 HP Aerzen Hybrid Blowers at the Glendale Heights Wastewater Treatment Plant as part of the Digester Rehabilitation Project. These blowers will serve as the air supply for the facility’s two aerobic digesters, replacing four existing blowers dating back to the 1970’s. The new blowers were installed in a spare bay of the existing Tertiary Filter Building, eliminating the need for a new blower building. Air will discharge to either digester via two new underground 16” stainless steel air main.

The three new blowers are equipped with an advanced control system, improving the energy efficiency and operator control of the digestion process. Each blower is operated on a variable frequency drive with intelligent front-end harmonic mitigation to reduce current distortion. This system is paired with online DO and ORP monitoring in both digesters to provide optimal control across a wide range of flow and loading profiles.

The Digester Rehabilitation Project is the first phase of upgrades required to comply with phosphorus removal requirements. The second phase Biological Process Upgrades will bid in the fall of 2022. Startup of these blowers represents a milestone in the Village’s path to meeting these nutrient removal requirements and improving regional water quality.