Waste Not
Dr Pepper Snapple Installs Bio-Wastewater Treatment System at Houston Bottling Plant

A BioViper™ biological pretreatment system by wastewater treatment systems provider Baswood Corporation is now operating at the Dr Pepper Snapple (DPS) Group’s Houston bottling plant, Baswood announced on Tuesday.

The BioViper delivers an energy-efficient pretreatment solution that significantly lowers the biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) in the facility’s effluent, in keeping with DPS’s environmental sustainability goals. With digestion rates of 75 to 90 percent, the system provides a reduction in the plant’s organic loading, which allows DPS to minimize its burden on the City of Houston wastewater treatment operations and increase the city’s capacity to treat wastewater from other industrial customers.

The BioViper requires 40 percent less energy to operate than traditional digestion systems and 25 percent less energy than other emerging technologies. In addition to a smaller carbon footprint, the system occupies a small physical space, which enabled the pretreatment facility to be built within the existing DPS property boundaries. The modular and scalable system can expand if additional capacity is required for the plant’s bottling operations.

“Baswood’s BioViper system reduces both cost and our impact on the environment and public resources,” said Kendall Yorn, senior vice president of manufacturing and engineering for DPS. “Clean water is in everyone’s interest, and this new technology is a major step forward in our commitment to finding sustainable solutions that positively affect our community.”

“All of us at Baswood are proud that our wastewater treatment technology is making a significant contribution not only to DPS’s sustainability initiatives, but also to its bottom line,” said CEO Michael Walker. “Our system’s modular, efficient solution significantly lowers the cost of wastewater pretreatment, which enables our customers, regardless of their size, to gain a rapid return on their investment.”

The BioViper is based on the patented Aerobic/Anaerobic Integrated Media System (AIMS), which maximizes biological treatment efficiency utilizing Baswood’s Dry Cycle Aerobic/Anaerobic Digestion (DCAD) technology. As wastewater passes through distinct treatment zones within the system, sequential treatment results in accelerated digestion of organic wastes, virtually odor free. The system treats with a reduced hydraulic retention and increased solids retention, resulting in lower horsepower demands; is internally self-buffering, reducing the need for costly chemicals; and uses Baswood’s proprietary control system, requiring minimal operator oversight.

The Baswood technology was developed and patented by Paul Baskis, a microbiologist and inventor, who studied rivers and saw how bacteria worked in different aeration environments. Based on these studies, Mr. Baskis designed an innovative approach to wastewater treatment that replicated the efficient and effective processes that occur in a natural environment.

Baswood's chairman of the board, actor Edward Norton, is the United Nations Ambassador for Biodiversity, a trustee of Conservation International and member of the TEEB Advisory Council and a long-time advocate for sustainable technologies. Norton has a long-standing interest in efficient, modular wastewater treatment solutions from his work in the developing world and was a founding investor in Baswood in 2004. He has been on the Board since 2007 and became chairman in 2008.

“Baswood’s water treatment technology represents an authentic paradigm shift across the whole spectrum of needs, from industrial pre-treatment to primary municipal treatment to the most demanding tertiary sludge reduction,” Norton said. “It hits the trifecta of better performance, lower energy use and modular scalability and it offers highly flexible solutions for all scenarios — from rural communities in developing countries all the way up to the largest municipal and industrial water treatment facilities.

"Dr Pepper Snapple’s installation of the Baswood technology is a great example of how industry can be a leader in promoting cost-effective innovations that improve the bottom line, lower the public cost burden, and protect the sustainability of our most vital resources.”