Scienco/FAST - a subsidiary of BioMicrobics, Inc. Profile

Scienco/FAST is a global manufacturer of Water Management Solutions: Agriculture disinfection systems, Commercial Food & Industrial Equipment, Municipal Water Treatment, Hospital/Institutional Equipment, industrial and commercial bulk salt dissolver systems (brinemakers), liquid injection systems, and environmentally-friendly maintenance tablets and cleaners. Our global Distributors and Representatives offer a range of our wastewater, greywater, and water treatment products and provide services in wastewater management to the marine, land and commercial industries.

Company details

12977 Maurer Industrial Drive , Sunset Hills (St. Louis) , MO 63127-1515 USA

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Business Type:: Manufacturer
Industry Type:: Water Treatment
Market Focus:: Globally (various continents)
Year Founded:: 1985
Employees:: 11-100

About Us

Our Products, Policies, & Personnel make the difference.

Internationally recognized for quality products an...

Internationally recognized for quality products and top-notch field services, Scienco/FAST is an original equipment manufacturer specializing in sewage and water treatment equipment for the marine industry, these marine sewage systems, and other industrial water management technologies help keep your vessel in compliance. Also, see our line of Mighty Mike environmentally-friendly cleaners and maintenance tablets!

Since the first installation in 1969 on board the Towboat, M/V Missouri, these MarineFAST Sewage Treatment Systems are installed on some of the ‘greenest’ boats in the world to provide total sewage treatment, pretreatment, and (in some cases) water reuse opportunities. The MarineFAST units provide outstanding effluent quality and starts up much faster than conventional suspended growth processes – usually in half the time!

What makes Scienco/FAST so great? Our Products, Policies, and People! With decades of experience in our respective fields, the Scienco/FAST team of marine engineers, drafters, technical engineers for sizing and regulations, manufacturing,and field experts brings creative and diverse perspectives for marine sanitation solutions.

Corporate Profile
What do you value most in a water or wastewater treatment system? Innovation? Reliability? Proven performance?

Tested to Global Standards
Fully certified for EFFLUENT STANDARDS: If you are unsure of your requirements, please contact us.

Plan to Attend?
We attend a number of tradeshows, workshops, training events throughout the year. Let us know if you plan to attend; we may see you there.

With over 65 years of history unlike any other, th...

With over 65 years of history unlike any other, the origins of SCIENCO® & FAST® can be traced back to the 1940’s in St. Louis, MO for water and salt management systems. In 1985, Scienco/FAST combined to produce internationally recognizable top-quality water, wastewater, and maintenance products with top-notch field services. SCIENCO®’s current commercial product lines combine proven performance with long-term reliability and many low-cost options.

awarded the 2015 Innovation in Marine Environmental Technology Offshore Excellence Award
named a finalist for Lloyd’s List 2016 North American Maritime Awards in Innovation Category
received the 2017 North American Integrated Water Technology Leadership Award
along with BioMicrobics, named a 2019 Top 10 Wastewater Management Solution Provider! by Utilities Outlook Magazine

Our global Distributors and Representatives offer a range of our wastewater, greywater, and water treatment products and provide services in wastewater management to the marine, land and commercial industries.

Scienco Commercial Water Treatment Equipment Division

Scienco SciCHLOR Sodium Hypochlorite (NaOCl) Generators: A cost effective and reliable method of safely producing liquid chlorine for onsite disinfection.
Scienco SciBRINE Bulk Salt Dissolver & Brinemakers: produce and store a liquid brine solution that can be used in various applications, such as a food additive, a chemical feed for various chemical processes or an ion exchange/water softening process, etc.
Scienco Danolye Sodium Hypochlorous Acid (HOCl) Generators: A cost effective and reliable method of safely producing an environment-friendly surface disinfectant.
Scienco FloCRON Liquid Injection Systems: A system that provides economical, accurate and reliable dispensing equipment for industrial and food processing markets. Dispensing ingredients such as water, brine, citric acid, calcium chloride, oils and sauces.

Decades of Innovation!

1969
The prototype marine FAST sewage treatment system was installed aboard the towboat M/V Missouri while the vessel was underway. It was an immediate success.

1973
After years of successful operation aboard three towboats, FAST unit sales and production began. Even though there were no Federal rules before 1975, towboats operating on the Great Rivers had to meet individual State regulations.

1975
The US Coast Guard (USCG) issued Marine Sanitation Devices 33 CFR Part 159. Official testing was done aboard the towboat M/V United States while underway, the FAST unit passed all tests and FAST obtained USCG certification.

1978*
Canada issued their Pollution Prevention Regulations for the Canadian waters of the Great Lakes. At that time, it was the strictest marine standard in the world.

A production FAST Model 40D with UV disinfection passed all tests with results that were so outstanding that the testing laboratory personnel were amazed. Additional tests were run for USCG with chlorine disinfection and the results were similarly outstanding.

St. Louis Ship Company approached S&L to develop a marine wastewater treatment device that would allow onboard wastewater to be reused for toilet flushing. Through a collaboration with the University of Kansas (KU), this sparked the inception of an aerobic, wastewater treatment system that utilizes a completely submerged, fixed film process along with a passive recycle system without pumped recirculation or drying of the bacterial growth on the media – the FAST® System was born. The first Fixed Activate Sludge Treatment (FAST®) system as a prototype for installation aboard the river towboat M/V Missouri in 1969. This prototype installation was an immediate success. Additional prototypes were produced and immediately installed aboard M/V Herman Pott and M/V Tom Talbert.

2011*
A production FAST Model L-3X passed all tests specified by Navigation and Vessel Inspection Circular (NVIC) No. 01-09 including but not limited to IMO Resolution MEPC.159(55) with results every bit as outstanding as those achieved in 1978.

2012*
USCG certified all standard and custom FAST Models under MEPC.159(55) and NVIC No. 01-09.

Transport Canada certified all standard and custom FAST Models under Regulations for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships and for Dangerous Chemicals (SQR/2007-86).

2016*
USCG and Transport Canada certified all standard and custom FAST Models under MEPC.227(64) using either chlorine or peracetic acid (PAA) disinfection. PAA is environmentally friendly and does not produce harmful byproducts. Also, use of PAA substantially reduced the cost of MARPOL certified FAST units.

Over 2,000 Marine & Offshore Installations
Installed aboard towboats, tugs, offshore supply vessels, diving support vessels, semisubmersibles, offshore platforms, drill ships, crane barges, pilot boats, shop and office barges, container ships, tankers, bulk carriers, research vessels, icebreakers, survey ships, school ships, river towboats, harbor tugs, cruise ships, float homes, etc.

Over 80,000 Land Installations
Serving single homes up to and including small cities. The system at Tokoroa, New Zealand processes 6,000 m3/d (1.5 MGD) from 15,000 people.

All claims for the FAST process and for FAST sewage treatment systems are supported by more than 70,000 installations worldwide and over 40 years of research, development and real world operating experience.

The Fast Process

General
FAST (Fixed Activated Sludge Treatment) was developed under our research grant to the University of Kansas. It is a submerged fixed film aerobic sewage treatment process.

That is:

Fixed media are submerged beneath the surface of the water in the media tank.
A microbial film grows on the surfaces of this fixed media.
Oxygen is provided by an aeration blower.
The microbial film uses the incoming organic matter in the sewage as food.
One byproduct of this biological oxidation is carbon dioxide which is vented to atmosphere.
Another byproduct is a fine residual sludge of partially oxidized organic material that settles into a storage compartment at the bottom of the tank.
The effluent is clear odorless water with high oxygen content.
For marine and offshore applications, this effluent is disinfected and then discharged to the surrounding waters.

Advantages Inherent in the Process

The water in the media tank is clear and does not require any clarifier, filter or membrane to meet discharge requirements. This eliminates most of the problems associated with other sewage treatment processes.

FAST reacts to changes in loading in one-half the time of conventional biological processes. That is, it will start up twice as fast and adjust to changes in loading twice as fast so that performance is consistent without human intervention.

Many biological systems have problems with light loading. The only effect on FAST is that excellent effluent quality gets even better.

The biota (the critters that eat the sewage) is much more complex than that in suspended growth processes. FAST supports not only bacteria but segmented sludgeworms, insect larvae and other higher ordered organisms that predate on the lower forms of life, an extra stage of digestion.

The result is a much lower sludge accumulation rate than other units. Also, the sludge is heavier and more concentrated than that obtained from any suspended growth system, including membrane bioreactors (MBR’s).

So, when it comes to sludge, less is produced by weight, it is more concentrated and the rate of accumulation is about as low as you can get in the real world.

There are no moving parts in contact with sewage and no adjustments. Clogging is virtually impossible and proper operation does not depend upon the skill of the operator.

In the July 2011 official testing for MEPC.159(55) and without filters or membranes of any kind, a standard FAST Model L-3XM produced:

(a) BOD5 = 4.1 mg/l versus 25 required.
(b) TSS = 5.8 mg/l versus 35 required.
(c) COD = 30 mg/l versus 125 required.
(d) Coliform = 4 versus 100 required.

State of the Art
In 2016, USCG and Transport Canada certified all standard and custom FAST units under MEPC.227(64) using peracetic acid (PAA) for disinfection, this in addition to previous certifications with chlorination and dechlorination. PAA is environmentally friendly and has no harmful byproducts.

Maintenance
The only maintenance required is:

Inspect and clean the blower inlet air filter from time to time.
Replenish chemicals used for disinfection as required.
Pump out the tanks at sea every one to three months or process the sludge with a MarineFAST® Biosolids Management System.

There is no other maintenance.

Flushing Medium
FAST can handle any combination of seawater, freshwater, blackwater, graywater, ground food waste, conventional toilets and vacuum toilets without adjustment.

Performance Based on Experience and Knowhow
The advantages and reliability of FAST sewage treatment systems are inherent in the FAST process. It is a winner where consistently good performance is required, where loading and operating conditions vary and where trained operators are not available.

These applications include but are not limited to commercial marine and offshore. The advantages and reliability of the FAST process also makes it ideal for many land applications.

Every claim made for the FAST process is supported by more than 70,000 installations worldwide and over 40 years of research, development and real world operating history.

Why Buy FAST?

Great Process
The FAST process is a winner. It meets the strictest effluent regulations without filters, membranes, microprocessors, adjustments, gimmicks or trained operators.

FAST actually works on ships and platforms in the real world and not just in land certification tests. There are no adjustments and performance does not depend upon the skill of the operator.

The FAST process can handle any combination of blackwater, graywater, ground food waste, freshwater, seawater, vacuum toilets and conventional toilets.

Reliable

Reliable
We see inquiries for sewage treatment systems from time to time where a spare sewage treatment unit is specified.

FAST units can be fitted with dual blowers or duplex discharge pumps if desired. But, there is no need for a spare FAST unit.

Strong Tanks

Strong Tanks

Steel tanks are designed to ABS Deep Tank Standards. In a manner of speaking they are as strong as the ship and will probably last just as long.

Polyethylene tanks are so strong that they are certified by DOT for transport of hazardous waste on common carriers. These tanks are also immune to marine corrosion and vibration.

Superior Protection against Corrosion

Superior Protection against Corrosion

As a standard, FAST units are designed to handle seawater sewage. Steel tanks employ large access hatches for efficient blasting and painting.

All tank seams and penetrations are full welded both sides (some standards only require this for fuel tanks and allow water tanks to be welded on one side only).

Surfaces are grit blasted to white metal with the right profile and then given two good coats of epoxy resin. All weld seams are brush coated.

Threaded penetrations and all fasteners and assembly hardware inside and outside are 316SS.

Long Service Life

Long Service Life

In 2011, one of the first FAST units ever sold was retired after 38 years of continuous commercial marine service. The operator replaced it with another FAST unit.

When vessels are scrapped, it is not unusual for operators to remove the FAST units and transfer them to newly purchased vessels.

Older Units Can be Updated and Upgraded

Although FAST process technology is state of the art, the components are simple and economical. The internals of any existing FAST unit can be brought up to the latest configuration and upgraded as required to meet the newest regulations.

Worldwide Technical Support

We provide long term technical support from this office to our customers at no charge and have done so for many years. When on-site service is required, it is available worldwide.

It seems that most of the firms that obtained marine sewage treatment certifications in the 1970’s are no longer active or even present.

We are truly in the sewage treatment business, we have been building marine sewage treatment systems for over 40 years and we will continue to support our customers in the foreseeable future.

Certified

All standard FAST units are certified for installation on USCG inspected vessels. This not only insures safe and high quality equipment, it also recognizes that as regulations change previously uninspected vessels are increasingly becoming USCG inspected vessels.

All claims for the FAST process and for FAST sewage treatment systems are supported by more than 70,000 installations worldwide and over 40 years of research, development and real world operating history.

BioMicrobics and its subsidiaries (SeptiTech &...

BioMicrobics and its subsidiaries (SeptiTech & Scienco/FAST) provide sustainable and cost effective water, wastewater, greywater, and stormwater solutions for a multitude of applications and industries in over 80 countries and marketing in 17 different languages:

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