Bringing Cyclor Turbo to North America: Establishing a Local Reference 

This six-part series captures the journey of validating Cyclor Turbo in North America—from early concept through full-scale implementation. 

In Part 1, we explored why local validation matters when introducing new biological treatment technologies into the market. 

In Part 2, the focus shifts to site selection—how the right municipality and facility were identified to reflect real-world operating environments and constraints. 

Read Part 1 here: Bringing Cyclor® Turbo to North America: Establishing a Local Reference – Nexom

Part 2: Identifying the Right Site for Cyclor® Turbo in North America 

Defining Site Criteria Early with the Consulting Engineer 

Establishing a credible North American reference site for Cyclor® Turbo required more than identifying available infrastructure. From the outset, Nexom approached site selection as a technical exercise conducted in close coordination with Stantec, the consulting engineering firm supporting Nexom on this initiative.  

Stantec played a key role in identifying a suitable application and connecting the technology to a municipality where the need, infrastructure, and the operating conditions aligned. This early engagement ensured that site selection reflected real-world design constraints, operational considerations, and the expectations typically aligned to municipal projects across North America. 

That collaboration helped define clear criteria for what the site needed to represent. The objective was not to demonstrate Cyclor® Turbo under ideal conditions, but to validate performance in a setting that mirrored common North American realities: existing infrastructure, operational constraints, long-term growth pressures, and increasingly stringent regulatory expectations. 

Several factors guided the evaluation. Retrofit relevance was a key requirement—the site needed existing secondary treatment infrastructure where Cyclor® Turbo could be integrated without disrupting ongoing plant operations. It also needed clear performance drivers, such as capacity or treatment improvement opportunities, where intensified biological treatment could provide measurable value. Equally important was an engaged utility willing to operate a full-scale demonstration system within a live treatment environment. 

Why East St. Paul Worked Technically and Operationally 

East St. Paul, Manitoba aligned well with these requirements. Serving a growing community, the facility operates an established treatment train that includes rotating biological contactors (RBCs) and sequencing batch reactors (SBRs). This made it a strong candidate for evaluating how Cyclor Turbo could be implemented within an existing facility as part of a practical upgrade pathway.  

The ability to retrofit a portion of the existing SBR system while maintaining normal plant operations was a key consideration. It created an opportunity to demonstrate the technology in a controlled, low-risk manner, while continuing to meet ongoing treatment requirements and helping the utility evaluate how Cyclor Turbo could support near-term performance improvements and future planning decisions. Just as importantly, it provided a practical foundation for building operator familiarity and confidence ahead of broader implementation. 

Cold-climate operation further strengthened the case. Seasonal influent temperatures challenge biological treatment processes across much of North America, and winter conditions in Manitoba reaching approximately -25°C (-13°F). Demonstrating process stability and settling behavior under those conditions was therefore an important way to evaluate the technology’s robustness across a broad range of operating environments. 

With the site selected and the key operating conditions clearly defined, the focus shifted from identifying where Cyclor Turbo could be demonstrated to determining how those process principles would be translated into a site-specific design. 

In Part 3, we will explore how Cyclor Turbo was adapted to the East St. Paul facility and the key design considerations involved in implementing it within an existing SBR system.