Rapid Series™ Slot Injector Expands Oxygen Transfer Capacity Without Basin Expansion
PROJECT TYPES: Food & Beverage, Jet Aeration & Mixing Systems
TECHNOLOGIES: Slot Injector
HIGHLIGHTS
- Adds 8,000 lbs/day of oxygen transfer to a 750,000 gallon nitrification basin — a 25% capacity increase.
- Retrofit within existing infrastructure, with no new basin construction and no added treatment footprint.
- Rapid installation completed without disrupting ongoing plant operations.
CAPACITY EXPANSION WITHOUT NEW CONSTRUCTION
To support higher production rates, a protein conversion facility in Turlock, CA expanded the oxygen transfer capacity of its existing nitrification basin using KLa Systems’ Slot Injector™ technology. Rather than expanding the treatment footprint, the facility added a skid-mounted aerator that dropped directly into the basin it already had — gaining the oxygen needed for a larger production load without new construction, added blower capacity, or downtime. That installation later became the basis for KLa’s standardized RS Slot Injector platform.
CHALLENGES FACED
- Rising Production Demand: A planned increase in production volume required more wastewater treatment capacity than the existing aeration system could deliver.
- Fixed Treatment Footprint: The additional oxygen transfer had to be achieved inside the existing nitrification basin — expanding the treatment footprint or building new basins was not an option.
- No Tolerance for Downtime: Any upgrade had to be installed and commissioned without interrupting ongoing plant operations.
SOLUTIONS IMPLEMENTED
- Slot Injector Modular Series Aeration: Deployed a Slot Injector Modular Series in the facility’s 750,000-gallon circular basin (73 ft diameter, 24 ft depth), delivering high-efficiency oxygen transfer and complete basin mixing from a single system.
- Phased Capacity Build-Out: The original 2010 installation placed 64 Slot Injector nozzles, capable of up to 31,000 lbs/day of oxygen transfer. A 2017 expansion added a skid-mounted aerator with 16 additional nozzles to meet the facility’s growing load.
- Self-Contained Aerator Skid: The expansion package included a 24-hp submersible recirculation pump, with process air supplied by the plant’s existing blowers — avoiding the cost and space of new blower capacity.
- Rapid Retrofit Installation: Equipment installed directly within the existing reactor infrastructure, requiring no basin modification, no new civil work, and no shutdown of the treatment process.
OUTCOME AND IMPACT
- 25% Increase in Oxygen Transfer Capacity: The expansion is capable of delivering an additional 8,000 lbs/day of oxygen transfer within the same basin volume.
- Production Growth Supported: Increased treatment capability allowed the facility to sustain higher production volumes without a wastewater bottleneck.
- Zero Plant Disruption: Rapid installation kept the treatment process and production schedule running throughout the upgrade.
- Capital Avoided: Capacity was expanded without new basin construction, sparing the facility the cost, permitting, and schedule of a civil expansion.
- Reliable Long-Term Performance: The system continues to deliver dependable aeration and mixing within the existing treatment train.
WHY THE RS SLOT INJECTOR?
The success of the Turlock installation demonstrated clear demand for a more repeatable, rapidly deployable retrofit solution. The RS Slot Injector platform was developed to standardize these installations into a packaged product — one that can be deployed faster and more cost effectively for retrofit and capacity expansion projects at facilities facing the same constraints: more load, the same basin, and no room for downtime.
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