MMP DiriGoH2O Technology Featured in BDN
Biddeford Wastewater Superintendent Alex Buechner stands in a small treatment facility at Biddeford Pool on Oct 2 between a yellow barrel of chlorine bleach and a new invention that takes the place of the corrosive disinfectant. Credit: Troy R. Bennett / BDN
MMP DiriGoH20 Technology Featured in Maine Department of Enviornmental Protection O&M Newsletter July 2024
Senator Collins Visits Biddeford Pool Wastewater Treatment Plant for Demonstration of Clean DiriGoH2O Technology
(Collins pictured with UMO Prof. Bill DeSisto and MMP Partner Craig Cunningham outside Biddeford Pool WW Treatment plant)
BIDDEFORD, ME, May 20, 2024 – On Friday, May 17th, Senator Susan Collins visited the Biddeford Pool Wastewater Treatment Facility for a tour and demonstration of the new Maine Manufacturing Partners (MMP) DiriGoH2O technology that converts wastewater effluent into on-demand chlorine disinfectant. Senator Collins commended MMP and the City of Biddeford for collaborating to introduce this innovative clean technology to Maine.
The electrolysis unit, integrated into the plant, produces a disinfectant that can replace concentrated bleach used in most treatment plants throughout Maine. “What’s remarkable about this technology,” says William DeSisto, chemical and biomedical engineering professor at the University of Maine, Orono, “is that it uses wastewater to create a disinfectant to treat the wastewater that we discharge into our oceans and rivers. We eliminate the trucking of concentrated bleach and transition to on-site production of a safer product.”
The sodium chloride disinfectant is also far safer to handle than bleach. Professor DeSisto and MMP managing partner Craig Cunningham have tested the technology at Biddeford Pool over the last 12 months with funding from MMP. “The technology uses a flow-through electrolysis reactor,” explains Cunningham. “Over the trial period, we’ve measured the chlorine concentration, typically between 500 and 1500 ppm, and reported successful results keeping up with treatment demands during peak hours and seasons.”
Biddeford Pool is home to a small seaside community just south of Saco Bay on the coast of Maine. The treatment facility is managed by Alex Buechner, the Biddeford wastewater treatment director. “During several trials over the 12-month period, the DiriGoStream unit successfully treated 1.3 million gallons of wastewater effluent by reusing 6,600 gallons of wastewater, and replaced the concentrated bleach we normally use,” says Buechner. “On behalf of the city of Biddeford, we are excited about the potential this technology has to save money, decrease the safety concerns of working with a hazardous chemical, and improve water quality by decreasing the concentration of disinfection byproducts going into the receiving waters.”
In addition to units for wastewater treatment, MMP produces electrolyzers for on-demand odor control, cleaning, and sanitation. The by-product of the MMP technology is hydrogen gas that can potentially be converted to clean energy for wastewater treatment and other applications. More information at MMPH2.COM.
About Maine Manufacturing Partners (MMP)
MMP produces DiriGoH20 electrolysis units that convert low-cost tap water, seawater, or wastewater to a powerful nontoxic disinfectant and clean hydrogen gas. This green technology reduces the need for toxic disinfectants like chlorine bleach, and fossil fuels like oil and gas. Today’s applications for the MMP technology are immense and endless, from generating disinfectant and odor control to producing clean hydrogen gas with zero carbon emissions.
For a tour and demonstration at the facility, please send us a request.
DirigoH20 