Client Needs

The City of Westport is located on the Washington coast, one of the rainiest spots in the USA. Westport needed the capability to produce Class A biosolids compost in a year-round operation, without the expense of indoor composting. In addition, Westport had:

• Few operational staff;
• A highly corrosive salt air environment; and,
• A growing population base and limited funds to pay for future capacity.

ECS Solution

Westport selected a four-vessel container in-vessel system to process 100 dry tons per year of biosolids into Class A compost. The CompTroller™ Aeration Control and Monitoring System includes future capacity for a total of eight vessels.

For operational efficiency, the container in-vessel system is integrated with the treatment facility’s dewatering press and discharge conveyor. The mixer is equipped with scales that automatically signal the press to turn off when the desired weight of biosolids is achieved. Biosolids are conveyed directly from dewatering press into the four-auger mixer where they are blended with wood chips before being loaded into the vessels. The design allows facility operators to leave the equipment unattended until a “batch” is ready for loading. It also limits worker exposure to materials that are potentially pathogenic.

Additionally, Westport invested in a skid steering front-end loader for moving materials and a trommel screen to screen the final product and recycle wood chips.