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Mercury
Work Group
Other Reports >> RFP Guidelines
For more
information, contact David Eppstein by email at
deppstein@masco.harvard.edu,
or by calling 617-632-2860.
Guidelines for the Preparation of a Request for Proposals for an
In-Situ Pilot-Scale Feasibility Study of Mercury Removal Technology
1.0 Introduction
This Request for Proposals (RFP) describes the requirements of an in situ
pilot-scale feasibility study (FS) of an industrial wastewater treatment (IWWT) system
specifically designed for mercury removal. The requirements for completing this FS are
described more completely in the following sections, but the following summary is provided
to introduce potentially interested vendors to this project.
The Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA) presently has an enforcement limit
of 0.001 milligram (mg) per liter (L) or 1.0 parts per billion (ppb) for mercury
discharged by permitted users to the MWRA collection system. This standard has proven to
be difficult to achieve for many MWRA customers even when using aggressive pollution
prevention methods coupled with traditional end-of-pipe IWWT systems. Therefore, pilot
testing of mercury-removal IWWT systems is being requested by a consortium to investigate
mercury removal technologies that have the potential to meet the stringent MWRA
requirements.
The successful bidder (Vendor) will be required to provide all necessary IWWT equipment
components, appurtenances, interconnections, resources and labor as may be required to
install the equipment on-site, establish its performance as "steady state" over
a period of two to three weeks, then operate the equipment for a period of not less than
two (2) consecutive processing weeks (14 straight days) to demonstrate its ability to
lower effluent mercury concentrations to minimum levels. The vendor will also be
required to conduct sampling and analysis, as described below, necessary to obtain
information on serial process operation removal efficiency under load. Following
completion of the pilot testing, the vendor will be required to remove the equipment and
restore the area to its original condition. The vendor will then be required to prepare a
report summarizing field conditions and results obtained, interpret the analytical results
of the testing, identifying any operational and maintenance difficulties encountered, and
provide a detailed estimate of scale-up costs for the full-system design inclusive of
design parameters, sustained system performance and costs (capital, installation and
operating). A proposed report outline is presented in Section 4.0.
2.0 Wastewater Characterization / Design Basis
The mercury content of the wastewater produced by the facility undergoing pilot-testing
will vary depending upon whether the facility includes clinical laboratories, research
laboratories, incinerators and/or laundry facilities. Extensive studies have been
conducted to help quantify the mercury concentrations present in wastewater streams
discharged from each of these specific hospital facilities. A summary of the mercury data
is presented in Table 1. A more complete summary of mercury and other pollutant parameters
known to be present is presented in Table 2.
Table 1: Total Mercury Concentration in Typical Wastewater by Area
| Area |
Minimum(ug/L) |
Maximum(ug/L) |
Average(ug/L) |
| Clinical Laboratory |
15.4 |
35.5 |
21.7 |
| Research Laboratory |
3 |
20.3 |
8.4 |
| Incinerator |
47.9 |
97.4 |
68.5 |
| Laundry |
4.3 |
43.5 |
20.6 |
| Other |
0.4 |
3.2 |
1.4 |
Table 2 - Typical Wastewater Composition by Facility Type -
In HTML format
Table 2 - Typical Wastewater Composition by Facility Type -
download as an Excel file.
The pilot system must not increase the concentration of any other
regulated pollutants to levels greater than that allowed by the MWRA standards as are
codified in Section 360 CMR 10.024, a copy of which is included as Attachment A. [Note:
This section must be completed for the specific wastewater stream(s) to be included in the
pilot test, and the entire RFP must be tailored specifically for your institution as noted
in the cover letter accompanying this RFP. For technical assistance in how to modify this
generic RFP into a site-specific document, you may wish to contact Bob Gingras, Vice President Wastewater Compliance Programs,
EBI Consulting, 617-715-1816, bgingras@ebiconsultants.com.]
3.0 Scope of Work
The scope of work has been separated into activities that are the responsibility of the
institution (client) and those that are the responsibility of the vendor.
For this pilot study, the client agrees to:
- provide supervised access to the facility, as needed, to design and install the pilot
test equipment.
- provide access to electricity, potable water, process water, compressed air, and other
common industrial utilities present at the facility during the time of this pilot test. Note:
The vendor will be responsible for plumbing into the existing wastewater collection and
discharge system(s) to obtain the side stream to be tested and for connecting into
whichever of the other facility utility services as may be required to operate the pilot
test equipment.
- provide disposal of all aqueous process wastewater residuals from testing. For
this project, aqueous residuals are limited to the wastewater being subjected to the pilot
testing. Note: As specified in the vendor's responsibilities below, the
vendor is responsible for disposal of all hazardous wastes, concentrated backflushing
wastewaters (that may contain pollutants at concentrations in excess of MWRA discharge
limits), excess treatment chemicals and any other chemical wastes generated by the pilot
test system.
- provide access to historical wastewater monitoring records.
- conduct sampling and/or perform analysis of split/duplicate samples, provided by the
vendor, at a Massachusetts certified contract analytical laboratory at the client's
expense.
In the proposal responding to this RFP, bidders must:
- provide a detailed description of pilot testing equipment for technical feasibility
review, including the system type (resin-based, adsorption, electrolytic, etc.) and
materials of construction (PVC, stainless steel, etc.). The pilot testing equipment must
include, at a minimum, an equalization vessel providing 30 minutes retention time, a
prefilter system, of specified rating, and sampling ports in the effluent line from each
of the unit operations included in the system. See Figure 1 for an illustration of where
sampling ports would be required for a conceptual system.
- specify the utilities required for the pilot-scale pretreatment system.
- provide a detailed breakdown of the fixed price cost that will be incurred by the client
in bidder's completion of the in situ pilot trial as described herein.
Figure 1. Illustration of Process Sampling Requirements
Note: Five sampling points would be required for this treatment system. The number of
process samples required to be taken will vary based upon the design of the treatment
system. The vendor must estimate the number of samples to be analyzed to demonstrate
attainment of steady-state based upon anticipated wastewater characteristics and ease of
treatment system startup.
- estimate the personnel and operating space requirements of the pilot-scale system.
- estimate the residuals to be generated by the pilot-scale system, and specify how they
will be managed.
- specify the lead time required for delivery of the pilot test equipment.
- include references from three recent clients that have used the same technology proposed
for use in the pilot study.
Subsequent to award, the vendor must:
- submit a draft pilot test workplan to the client for review and comment prior to
equipment installation. This workplan must specify how the vendor proposes to remove the
side stream to be tested from the facility piping. Following receipt of client's comments
to the draft pilot test workplan, a final workplan must be submitted.
- design, deliver, furnish and install all equipment, labor and appurtenances required to
establish, to steady state operation over a period of 2 to 3 weeks, an in situ
system designed for mercury removal. The system must be provided with sample ports
designed to allow sampling following each of the unit operations (as indicated in Figure
1) to allow determination of serial mercury removal rates throughout the system.
- plumb into the existing wastewater discharge line to obtain the side stream needed for
the pilot testing.
- conduct sampling as per 40 CFR 136 requirements and submit flow proportional samples
taken over a complete process day to an EPA-approved and MA DEP certified laboratory for
analysis. Grab samples should be obtained to analyze for pollutants that cannot be
accurately analyzed from composite samples. EPA method 245.1 capable of achieving a method
detection limit (MDL) of 0.2 ppb (g/L) must be used for mercury analysis (see Attachment B
for method specifications). The vendor is expected to have and follow a standard quality
assurance/quality control (QA/QC) procedure during this sampling. The QA/QC procedure may
be either an EPA protocol or a vendor-developed procedure, if it meets EPA minimum
requirements. One set of flow proportional day-long composite samples must be collected
from each sampling port present in the system on each day for the last ten (10) days of
the pilot test period following attainment of steady-state. These samples shall be
subsequently analyzed by the vendor for mercury content (at a minimum). The client
reserves the right to split a portion of each sample for his own analysis.
Subsequent to completion of field activities, the vendor must present his findings in a
summary report which shall address each of the following issues in sufficient detail as
may allow interpretation of the information by the client.
- specify the utilities required for the full-scale treatment system.
- prepare equipment lists and process schematics of the proposed full-scale treatment
system.
- summarize the data obtained during the pilot testing and estimate the capital,
installation and O&M costs for a full-scale system. See Section 4.0 below.
- estimate the spatial (envelope) requirements of the full-scale system.
- estimate the residuals to be generated by the full-scale system.
- conclude that the pilot test, as conducted, should be considered a success or provide
recommended steps to improve the performance of the system tested. If the results indicate
that the IWWT system tested is not likely to achieve the desired mercury concentrations,
provide suggestions on how to enhance the existing equipment or suggest equipment to be
used in place of the equipment tested.
4.0 Deliverables
As noted above in Section 3.0, the primary project deliverable will be the pilot test
summary report. In this report, the vendor must provide: a succinct presentation and
interpretation of the pilot test data; an estimate of the design and implementation
(capital and installation) costs (+10 percent); and the expected performance of a
full-size system. This report must include an appendix or attachment containing all raw
mercury concentration data obtained during the pilot testing.
The report shall be of a format chosen by the vendor. The following format is
suggested, as it may facilitate inclusion of all information required by this RFP:
1. Introduction/Background
2. Test Materials, Procedures, and Experimental Protocol
3. Pretreatment Considerations (including interferences)
4. Test Results (including total and dissolved removal rates for mercury and the 12
Priority Pollutant Metals)
5. Full Scale System Considerations (cost estimate for recommended full-scale treatment
system to within +10 percent, O&M Requirements).
6. Discussion/Conclusions
7. Appendices (including detailed including information on reactor design information
such as hydraulic retention time and loading rates, all analytical test results generated
during the study, sampling QA/QC procedures followed, quantification and characterization
of all residuals generated, and a summary of any operating and maintenance difficulties
encountered during the pilot testing)
5.0 Cost and Schedule
Each bidder is required to include a firm (not-to-exceed) cost for this project and an
anticipated schedule of execution based upon the information provided in this RFP. The
not-to-exceed cost estimate must include allowances for the equipment, labor and
appurtenances required to install and operate the system for a two week period after
attaining steady state (2 to 3 weeks). The information contained in this RFP is expected
to provide all of the information necessary to allow each bidder to prepare an accurate
cost estimate and implementation schedule. However, the person specified in the cover
letter accompanying this RFP may be contacted if clarifying information is required.
This RFP should specify the length of time required to initiate installation of the
pilot test equipment after authorization to proceed has been received, along with an
estimate of how long it will take the wastewater pretreatment system to attain steady
state. Bidders should provide an estimate of the time that will be required to debug and
reach steady-state operations.
Pilot test equipment must be removed within two weeks following completion of the ten
(10) day effluent testing period. The Report, described in Section 4.0, must be submitted
to the client no later than six weeks following completion of the pilot test.
Guidelines for the Preparation of a Request for Proposals for an In-Situ Pilot-Scale
Feasibility Study of Mercury Removal Technology
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