Fine Sediment Filtration Required
Federal Marine Terminals in Thorold, Ontario, a major operator of port cargo
facilities in the Great Lakes region, has installed a Jellyfish Filter as an integral
part of its environmental protection plan. The Jellyfish Filter is being used to
prevent untreated stormwater runoff from entering nearby waters.
The Thorold location houses a large coke pile that previously threatened the
safety of local waterways, including the adjacent Welland canal. The Jellyfish
Filter’s ability to filter neutrally buoyant particles made it an effective choice for
treating stormwater runoff at this site.
Runoff from the site’s coke pile is collected in a single catch basin, and is
pumped via a low-pressure line to a Jellyfish JF10 unit for filtration. Due to
the necessity of removing extremely fine, neutrally-buoyant, particles, including small hydrocarbon based particles, installing a
filtration system was essential. Jellyfish’s ability to capture particles less than 10 microns made it a clear choice for this site.
In addition, Jellyfish is also very effective for gross pollutants and hydrocarbon capture, so any oils on this portion of the site will
also be kept out of the environment.
Jellyfish Offers Flexibility in Design
A special challenge posed by this site was the fact that it afforded less than three feet of cover to the top of the discharge pipe
invert. This common site constraint was easily overcome by Jellyfish’s significant design flexibility. To ensure that the system
would not incur any hydrocarbon seepage over time, Imbrium Systems produced this Jellyfish structure out of fiber-reinforced
plastic (a.k.a. FRP or fiberglass).
Ease of installation was also an important consideration. Installation was quick and simple.
The FRP Jellyfish JFF10 is extremely lightweight which allowed the contractor to install it in a
matter of minutes using a very small crane.
Ease of Maintenance
Due to the industrial nature of this site, plant personnel are available to
perform manual rinsing of cartridges if required more frequently than in typical
urban stormwater situations. Because Jellyfish is easy to inspect and maintain,
on-site employees can carry out all inspections and maintenance themselves,
which increases cartridge life and decreases life cycle costs. Jellyfish’s rinsable
and reusable cartridges are lightweight and easy to maintain compared to
traditional heavy granular media filter cartridges or large sand filters.
At the Thorold site, the implementation of an adaptive management strategy
(i.e. adjustment through observation) allows a more regular inspection
and maintenance program to be formulated over time, keeping costs to a
minimum.
Industry Leader Takes Initiative to Protect Environment
Treating stormwater runoff at industrial locations like the Thorold terminal
is crucial to ensuring the safety of nearby surface water and underlying
groundwater resources. Federal Marine Terminals made the environmentally
significant decision to treat its stormwater runoff using state of the art fine
sediment removal technology. This will go a long way in keeping potential
contaminants out of the natural environment.
“Only with transparency and accountability will we succeed in bettering our
marine environment,” Paul Pathy, Chairman of Federal Marine Terminals
stated in a recent press release regarding FMT’s environmental policy. The
organization has made a commitment to implementing pollution prevention
plans at all of its terminals to prevent stormwater runoff from polluting local
waterways. Federal Marine Terminals has operated stevedoring facilities at
ports in the United States and Canada for over four decades.
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