Azura’s Team Plaid is excited to attend the WEAO Technical Symposium & OPCEA Exhibition hosted by the Water Environment Association of Ontario (WEAO) and Ontario Water Works Association (OWWA). The event will be held on April 13 through 15, 2025 in London, ON and is a must attend event for all wastewater professionals.
The Azura team is honoured to once again have three presentations as part of the technical agenda for this year’s conference! Don’t miss this opportunity to hear from James, Michael, and Peter as they share strategies for optimizing operations and maximizing anaerobic digester success.
Startup & Commissioning
Before a biodigester can run smoothly at steady state, it must pass through several critical milestones—from initial seeding and feeding to final acceptance testing Azura’s Optimization Lead, James Arambarri, MASc, will present “The Art of Digester Startup: Tips for Steady State Success” at 9:00am on Tuesday April 15. During this presentation, James will share potential pitfalls and strategies for efficiently navigating the critical startup and commissioning period.
Feedstock Pretreatment
Feedstocks come in many shapes and sizes. Azura’s Process Analysis Lead, Michael Nelson, PhD, MEng, will discuss common and unusual feedstocks and their respective pre-treatment processes in his presentation “When and how to pretreat feedstocks for Anaerobic Digestion.” Learn how to maximize digester performance through feedstock pre-treatment during this session which will take place at 10:30am on Tuesday April 15.
Grit
Grit accumulation in anaerobic digesters costs plant owners by reducing digester capacity and increasing equipment wear. These problems are amplified in anerobic digesters that treat “dirty feedstocks” like post-consumer food waste, OFMSW, primary sludge, and sand-laden manure. To get better data and reduce the risks associated with grit, a method is being developed to compare grit across a range of anaerobic digester feedstocks. During his presentation, “A novel method for characterizing grit in anaerobic digester feedstock,” Azura’s Bioprocess Analyst Peter Quosai, MASc, will share the principles of grit removal, the value of grit testing, and experimental validation of a novel method. Catch this solutions-focused session at 2:30pm on Tuesday April 15.
Team Plaid is eagerly awaiting this event as it is always a fantastic opportunity to connect with industry colleagues and learn about technical and regulatory developments. If you’d like to meet with us during the conference, please send a note to info@azuraassociates.com.
To learn more about the WEAO event, or to register, please visit the conference website.