
Project in Brief
- Project Name: Eastern Municipal Water District
- Location: San Jacinto, CA
- Installation Date: March 2022
- Source of Odors: Wastewater treatment facility
- System Type: Biofilter
- Media Type: Enhanced Cell-Max, Crater-Max®
- Airflow: 22,500 cfm per bed
- H2S Removal Efficiency: >99%
The Situation
Visual inspection of the facility's two 75′-0″ x 75′-0″ biofilters led to the discovery of depressions and overall degradation of the organic media bed. GES Biotek conducted smoke testing and found that smoke was not uniformly distributed throughout the biofilter cells. Removal of existing organic biofilter media, rehabilitation of biofilter cells, and installation of new engineered biofilter media was required.
The Solution
GES Biotek installed a dual-media ecosystem to properly distribute the foul air and remove the H2S foul air, complex odors and VOCs.
The bottom bed consisted of Crater-Max® media, a porous inorganic substrate with a large surface area that acts as an ecosystem for the growth of acidithiobacillus microorganisms. This layer would begin to break down the hydrogen sulfide gas and effectively distribute the H2S foul air throughout the biofilters.
In the top bed, Enhanced Cell-Max, with its proprietary formula of nutrients, adsorbents, minerals, and food sources, provided an ecosystem for microorganisms and fungi that feed on complex odors and VOCs. These organisms consumed the remaining H2S, virtually eliminating all odorous emissions.




Additional Case Studies

Hono'uli'uli WWTP, Honolulu, HI
Enhanced Cell-Max
Three biofilters required outfitting with a complete odor control system, including all media, equipment and accessories.

Woodlands Pump Station, Cary, NC
Enhanced Cell-Max
GES Biotek manufactures engineered nutrient-rich open-cell substrate from recycled glass material that would otherwise end up in a landfill.

Headworks Bar Screens Project, Hayward, CA
Crater-Max®
Biofilter beds were refitted with porous Crater-Max® media, which served as the ecosystem for the microorganism growth.