Engineering Projects

Representative engineering projects in the municipal and industrial sectors include:

Tampa Bay Water, Tampa, FL
Herschell Environmental was contracted to oversee a large-scale pilot operation for Tampa By Water’s Seawater Desalination Pilot and coordinate the associated involvement of Veolia and other Veolia subcontractors. The equipment included was Kruger Actiflo Clarifier followed by Parkson Dynasand filters and immersed hollow fiber UF membranes by Zenon and a seawater reverse osmosis system. Significant supporting data was generated and a voluminous pilot summary report was written.

Natural Gas Company
A client providing treated water for hydrofracturing to various companies in the natural gas industry must supply water that meets specific water quality requirements of the end user. The water had a yellow-brown color that was outside the limits of the specification. Herschell Environmental conducted a comprehensive water quality study and test plan to mitigate the color issue. First, the source of color was identified and then a test plan was formulated. Four potential issues were identified and water testing validated the color causing compound. A second phase of this project involves the design of a treatment system to remove the contaminant of concern.

General Electric, Weirton, WV
GE operates a mobile fleet of trailer-mounted water treatment systems, some of which include reverse osmosis (RO) technology. GE was interested in addressing elevated pressures and associated higher operating costs at this and other sites and engaged Herschell to investigate process modifications to address fouling. Herschell organized and installed the system modifications needed to facilitate the pilot within the ongoing GE mobile system operation. Herschell commissioned operation of the system and oversaw the operation during pilot testing. The impact on the system operation was determined to be significant and Herschell interacted with GE to develop reports to illustrate the results.

St John the Baptist Parish, LaPlace, LA
The St John Parish (SJP) RO system was installed and commissioned in early 2009 and experienced operating issues associated with biofouling. SJP engaged Herschell in October 2010 to evaluate the installation and oversee testing of a process to mitigate the fouling. Testing was performed on two RO trains, one for 3 months and another for 4 months. During these seven months, it was determined that a number of operational issues contributed to the poor performance of the SJP RO system. SJP further contracted Herschell to study and report on the operation with the objective that the SJP system would operate more efficiently and costs would be reduced. Multiple operational modifications were recommended.

Natural Gas Company
While water is always a scarce resource in west Texas, the severe drought experienced in this area in the early part of this millennia, made the need for water even more acute. The client’s withdrawal permit exceeded their need for water and, therefore, they wanted to explore other uses for the excess water. This feasibility study looked at several options, one was to partially treat the water and sell it to a municipality. The municipality would further treat the water and use it for potable water.

Ben Avon, PA
MS4 Stormwater permitting, as required by EPA regulations, is a permit processes for developing and implementing a municipal storm water management program to reduce pollutants in natural waterways. The permit defines the municipality’s program to safeguard water resources and protect public drinking water supplies and recreational areas from pollutants. This permit will be maintained for the long term with periodic reviews and updates to the borough’s stormwater plan.

Elementis Specialties, Charleston, WV
The SBR installation, which was designed and fabricated by a company in Florida, required troubleshooting and optimization. After two years of operational issues, Elementis Specialties contracted with Herschell Environmental to review, make recommendations and implement modifications to optimize the system. Several areas for improvement were found and the system has operated as designed since the modifications were implemented.

Schlumberger, Denver, CO
Water treatment system piloting was conducted at a salt cavern storage site. Water was injected into the salt dome to dissolve the salt; heavy brine water (19-20% salt) and returns to the surface with other contaminants. The water is to be injected into a deep well injection site. These sites are expensive to construct ($2-2.5M each), so the integrity of the project is important. The pilot study was commissioned and operated to determine how best to filter and remove solids from the water. Following this, Herschell Environmental was contracted to design conventional water treatment systems for multiple installations.

Gas Technology Institute, Chicago, IL
As part of a team organized by the Gas Technology Institute (GTI), Herschell Environmental researched and presented on the “Techno-Economic Assessment Investigation of Water Management Solutions”. This is a study that encompassed a review of regulations and technologies for treatment of flowback and produced water. The study was based on 4 primary drivers: Scarcity of disposal options, Scarcity of fresh water supply, Environmental Restrictions and Seasonality, and Health and Safety.

Universal Well Services, Meadville, PA
Available technologies were investigated for treatment of flowback and produced water in the Marcellus Shale. These were evaluated for “fit for purpose”, ease of transportation, number of skids, complexity of the treatment scheme, cost of treatment, etc.

Ballast water treatment system supplier
An eight (8) week pilot was conducted on a barge in Baltimore Harbor. The pilot consisted of a filtration and disinfection ballast water treatment systems to meet changing maritime regulatory requirements. Herschell Environmenntal’s tasks included start up and optimization of two pilot systems, conducting three (3) consecutive test runs for each filtration system, decommissioning of the filtration systems and a review of the final pilot report.

Veolia – David L. Tippin Water Treatment Facility, Tampa, FL
Herschell Environmental was contracted to review the operation of the surface water treatment facility and recommend repairs, upgrades and/or methods for optimization and process improvements.

Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority (PWSA), Pittsburgh, PA
Herschell Environmental is a subcontractor, overseeing stormwater modeling for an IDIQ (indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity) stormwater contract. The first project was “Washington Boulevard”, an area known for being prone to flooding and experience extreme conditions in August 2011. Multiple options were presented with cost estimates (drainage options, raising the road, green options, etc.) and a recommendation was made to PWSA. Additional stormwater projects in the city are being developed and will be addressed by the team.

Denali Canyon Lodge, Denali, Alaska
The Denali Canyon Lodge is a 135-guest room facility at Denali National Park. The facility uses ground water that requires treatment prior to use. The treatment system consists of oxidation, filtration, RO, disinfection. Herschell Environmental oversaw commissioning, start up and optimization of the water treatment system.

Natural Gas Company
A Texas-based natural gas company had issues with high hydrogen sulfide in water that was to be sold for use in hydrofracking operations. The hydrogen sulfide was sometimes as high as 80 ppm and gave off an offensive odor. Eight (8) options for the removal of hydrogen sulfide were studied. First, the water quality and options for mitigation were researched. A test plan was written and carried out that included each of the treatment options and various concentrations. A test report with detailed cost analysis of the options was submitted to the client. After a decision on the best treatment was determined, the system design was completed and implemented.