Okaloosa County BOCC — November 17, 2015 — Justification

OKALOOSA COUNTY WATER & SEWER# Sole Source ] ustification for FBS C 1282 Polymer The Arbennie Pritchett Water Reclamation Facility (APWRF) is a biological process where aquatic microorganisms (AMO) are the primary source of treatment. These AMOs feed and thrive on the nutrient rich raw sewage entering the plant at a rate of approx. seven million gallons per day (MGD). AMOs have a life cycle similar to any other living organism as they live, eat, breed, and then die. The dead AMOs create a byproduct of the APWRF commonly known as bio-solids. The APWRF, on average, produces approx. 1200 to 1400 dry tons of hio-solids per year. All conventional WRFs require a means to properly treat and dispose of the dead AMOs. The treatment consists of storage tanks (digesters), thickening, dewatering, and disposing in a regulatory approved land application zone. Thickening and dewatering is necessary to the process for volume control. Thickening and dewatering is accomplished by two separate state-of-the-art machines: a rotating drum thickener (RDT) and a centrifuge for dewatering. Both of these machines require polymer for proper operation. In short, polymer is the primary substance responsible for thickening or solidifying the AMOs to produce bio-solids. Polymer is a viscous chemical and is commonly known in the industry in two forms: cationic (positive charged) and anionic (negative charged). A nionic polymers are used for heavy industrial WRFs with a high inorganic content (heavy metals). Cationic polymers are used mainly in domestic WRFs, such as the APWREF, with a high organic content for solids dewatering. Polymer is a proprietary product and manufacturers typically “brew” their own proprietary formula. The choice of polymer for hio-solids thickening and dewatering at the APWREF is driven by performance requirements that include unit cost, dosages, solids capture, and centrifuge output solids concentration. During plant start-up in 2009, various polymers were tested at the APWRF. Fort Bend Services FBS C1282 polymer was chosen from various available polymers because of its price and compatibility over a wide range of conditions for both sludge thickening and dewatering. Aside from outperforming all other polymers on price and performance, it also performed well with bio-solids received from the Bob Sikes WREF and the Russell Stephenson WRF, blended with the bio-solids at the APWRF. Since 2009, the APWREF has utilized FBS C1282, currently under contract C12-1935-WS. As staff proactively wants open competition and minimum prices, we have been open to utilizing other polymers. Staff has tested several other polymers and found that none offered the same performance and cost efficiency. Although polymer is a commodity bought and sold (and bid) in unit price per pound, it cannot be evaluated simply by price per pound. Other factors such as dosage rate (and ultimately volume), quality/performance, and power costs must also be examined. The plant design-build entity, CDM-Smith, and OCW S staff have found that FBS C1282 is the most cost effective and best performance. As mentioned above, the APWRF’s RDT and centrifuge are state-of-the-art machines that require a high performance polymer for proper and efficient operation. Based on the cost efficiency, high performance, and detailed operational requirements, OCWS staff recommends a sole source contract with Fort Bend Services to continue utilizing FBS C1282. 250 Roberts Biwvd. - FORT WALTON BEACH, FLORIDA 32547 - (850) 651-7133 FAX (850) 651-7593