Section Nine
INDUSTRIAL WASTES -
D. COKE, FOUNDRY, AND STEEL MILL WASTES
86    BIOLOGICAL TREATMENT OF WASTEWATER FROM
BYPRODUCT COKING OPERATIONS: AN INNOVATIVE
APPROACH
Paul M. Sutton, Principal
P. M. Sutton & Associates, Inc.
Bethel, Connecticut 06801
Igor J. Marvan, Director
Dearborn Chemical Co., Ltd.
Mississauga, Ontario L5A 3T5
Fraser Craig, Supervisor Environmental Control
Algoma Steel Corporation
Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario P6A 5P2
INTRODUCTION
The production of metallurgical coke for use in operation of iron-making blast furnaces is achieved
through the pyrolysis of coal. Byproduct coking operations result in the generation of complex
wastewaters containing high concentrations of conventional organic and inorganic contaminants,
such as phenolics and ammonia, as well as trace organic contaminants.
The Algoma Steel Corporation operates a byproduct coke plant at its facility located in Sault Ste.
Marie, Ontario, Canada on the bank of the St. Mary's river. The St. Mary's is an international
waterway and as such discharges of certain compounds including phenolics to the river from industrial sources are limited in accordance with an international agreement developed between Canada
and the United States. In order to meet the phenolic discharge limitations set forth by the agreement,
Algoma is required to reduce the level of phenolics in the wastewater from its byproduct coking
operations. In the past Algoma has reduced the level of phenolics by operation of a phenol extraction/
recovery system. This dephenolization plant was recently upgraded and although costly to operate and
maintain, generally performs adequately provided its capacity is not exceeded. Recently Algoma
agreed to a control order issued by the Ministry of the Environment (MOE) of the Province of
Ontario to reduce the level of phenolics discharged from the coke plant to equal or less than 22.7 kg/
day (50 lb/day). It was determined by Algoma that coke production would have to be limited in order
to meet this criteria or the level and consistency of phenol removal would have to be improved. As a
result of the evaluation of alternative wastewater management options and treatment alternatives, a
decision was made to replace the dephenolization plant with a biological treatment system. The
aerobic fluidized bed (AFB) process configuration was selected for implementation.
The purpose of this paper is to briefly review the byproduct coking operations on-going at Algoma,
to describe the design of the Algoma AFB system, to present the results from a biological treatability
study conducted in support of the process design of the plant and to discuss the full scale AFB plant
operating status.
ALGOMA BYPRODUCT COKING OPERATIONS
The Algoma byproduct coke plant consists of four cokeover batteries capable of producing approximately 3810 metric tons/day of coke. It is anticipated the coke plant wastewater flow associated with
this production level will be approximately 47.3 mVh following certain byproduct plant modifications. The source of the major process wastewater stream from the coke plant is the excess flushing
45th Purdue Industrial Waste Conference Proceedings, © 1991 Lewis Publishers, Inc., Chelsea, Michigan 48118.
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