There are many new chemical formulations and additives becoming available by suppliers for the pulp and paper industry. In most cases the MSDS documentation of these new chemicals does not provide information regarding the potential risk it could have on a mill’s biotreatment system in terms of the health of the microbiology which could lead to treatment failure. In addition, implications of proposed mill changes or events such as mill spills provide uncertainty regarding the health of the biotreatment system. FPInnovations has developed a tool to assess the potential risk of these circumstances on the health and performance of the biotreatment biomass. Medium term toxicity tests were developed to predict the effects of proposed mill changes, such as new chemicals or mill spills on the health and performance of the specific mill’s biotreatment biomass. The biomass is exposed to the potential toxicant in such a manner as to mimic the exposure which potentially could occur in its biotreatment system. Respirometric and ATP viability tests, collectively known as the Four-Assay Set, are performed on the exposed biomass to assess its impact on the health of the biomass. This webinar will describe the methods used and several case studies.

After his schooling at Concordia University in 1988 he began his career in the Environmental Program at the Pulp and Paper Institute of Canada (Paprican). He has extensive worked in the areas of aerobic and anaerobic wastewater treatment systems for the Canadian pulp and paper industry. In recent years his efforts have concentrated on the identification of beneficial uses of waste streams from pulp and paper mills as well as biotreatment troubleshooting.