Report - Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago

farmland. In the fall of 2004, the District began a research and demonstration project on
farmers' fields in Will and Kankakee Counties to demonstrate the safety of farmland application
of Class B centrifuge cake biosolids and to improve the overall public perception and the
understanding of communities residing in the vicinities of biosolids-amended farmlands. The
field project sites were used by the District and farmland application contractor to host field
days. The data collection component of this project was concluded in 2007. During 2010,
activities on this project included analysis of samples and data analysis for the project report.
Fate and Transport of Biosolids-Borne Triclosan and Triclocarban. Triclosan (TCS) and
triclocarban (TCC) are the active ingredients heavily used in the antibacterial product market and
these compounds are discharged from industries and household drains to become influent to
wastewater treatment plants. In 2008, the District began a study in collaboration with University
of Florida to conduct laboratory and bench scale tests on samples of District biosolids to
determine the levels of TCS and TCC in the biosolids and the fate of these compounds in
biosolids amended soil. Activities conducted by the section on this project in 2010 included
trapping of earthworms in biosolids amended soil for bench scale tests and hosting a project
meeting.
Investigation of Stabilization of Dewatered Biosolids in Lagoons. The District's
exceptional quality air-dried biosolids, which are produced by lagoon aging and air-drying, are
utilized under the Controlled Solids Distribution Program in the Chicago metropolitan area on
golf courses, parks, and athletic fields. The odor potential of the dried biosolids is a major factor
controlling the cost of managing the biosolids, public acceptance, and the economic value of the
product. In 2009, the District initiated a project to investigate mechanisms ofbiosolids stability
and the factors controlling odor potential during processing of District air-dried biosolids. The
first phase of the study was done in collaboration with the Illinois Institute of Technology and
was focused on determination of indices of biosolids stability during lagoon aging. This first
phase of the project was completed in 2010 and a paper reporting the results of the study has
been submitted for journal publication.
Effect of Moisture on Odor Potential of Biosolids During Storage. Air-dried biosolids
used under the District's Controlled Solids Distribution Program are available only during a
limited period of the year, because dried biosolids typically become odorous during storage.
This study began in mid-201O and is designed to determine the effect of various biosolids
moisture contents on odor development in biosolids during storage. The study consists of
stockpiling of biosolids under cover at the HASMA and measuring the odor emission potential
over time.
Greenhouse Gas Accounting of the District's Biosolids Management Program. The use
of biosolids are known to directly and indirectly affect the generation of methane and nitrous
oxides and soil carbon sequestration, which can be translated into carbon debits and credits in
greenhouse gas accounting. In collaboration with the University of Washington, the District
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