WCSEE HiPAF plant and kiosk. (Image source: WCS Environmental Engineering)
The water recycling specialist has introduced automated timers to operate blowers in the biological treatment section of its patended HiPAF (high performance aerated filter) package treatment plants.
Blowers account for more than 95% of the energy used in a typical wastewater treatment plant. They usually operate 24/7 to blow air into biological treatment processes, providing oxygen to the bacteria that decompose organic substances in the wastewater, ensuring high standards of treatment are maintained.
Blowers in WCSEE’s HiPAF range are now timed to pulse air into the process, rather than operate continuously. The timers will be built in as standard to the HiPAF range of treatment plants, cutting the amount of energy used to treat effluent by up to 50%. This can contribute to companies’ net zero carbon emission goals, as well as bringing welcome reductions in energy costs.
WCSEE technical director Andrew Baird said: “Net zero carbon strategies are front of mind for businesses, with energy efficiencies critical to meeting climate goals. At the same time, businesses are facing huge rises in energy bills and cutting power consumption is now a priority for many to try and control costs.
“Building in timers to blowers has proven to be a simple and low-cost option to reduce power consumption by up to 50%, addressing the market need for both net zero and cost efficiencies.”
The timer concept was tested over three years by University of Portsmouth researchers at its facility at Petersfield wastewater treatment works, Hampshire, to ensure compliance was always maintained.
Baird said: “While the concept was simple, finding the right times to turn blowers on and off and for what periods proved more of a challenge. In general, we found the HiPAF only saw a reduction in dissolved oxygen after 20-30 minutes, allowing us to set timers to 15 minutes on and 15 minutes off.
“These intermittent pulses provide effective aeration for reliable treatment, while consuming significantly less energy. The 15 minutes intervals give the added advantage of not exceeding the on off cycles per hour required by the blower manufacturers, to maintain the blower guarantee.”
Substantive research The addition of timers has come as a result of part of WCSEE’s substantive research and development to enhance process efficiency of its HiPAF technology.
These studies have already achieved significant energy and cost savings with the introduction of the patented Hybrid-SAF (submerged aerated filters) technology to the biological treatment section, known as the biozone. The patented technology employs a submerged moving-bed, fixed-film reactor which can treat wastewater with greater energy efficiency compared to traditional submerged SAFs, in a tighter site footprint whilst meeting environmental compliance.
Baird said: “SAF treatment is traditionally viewed as a high cost process due to the energy requirement in delivering high volumes of air, and is generally not considered for larger schemes.
“At the heart of our Hybrid SAF technology are unique flow characteristics that have been patented. These ensure an even and continuous flow of nutrients up through the submerged, moving bed.
“The slowly circulating media gradually descends due to its increasing specific gravity from hosting biomass growth. Calculating the impact of gravity on the process results in a significant reduction in power consumption, improving overall efficiency and enabling a reduction in site footprint and a deployment of a more compact unit.”
Developments in hydraulic control and retention times have also enabled the patented process technology to consistently achieve final effluent ammonia concentrations of less than 1mg/l on a 95%ile basis.
DESMI has installed, approximately, 700 OptiSave systems which altogether have generated accumulated CO2 reductions corresponding to 1-million-tonnes CO2. This equals what a 16,000-hectare Rain Forest consumes a year.
The developers of high-end properties built on a historic Hampshire estate have selected WCS Environmental Engineering (WCSEE) technology to treat wastewater flows to strict environmental standards.
Samotics has launched a new energy efficiency product to market: SAM4 ENERGY. By providing detailed performance and efficiency insights across industrial assets, Samotics’ customers can now realize energy savings of 10-15% and cut CO2 emissions. This is achieved with minimal investment and implementation costs, has short lead times, and benefits are generated quickly.
For more than 100 years, Chicago’s Cook County Hospital was one of the leading healthcare institutions in America and considered one of the world’s great teaching facilities. The massive 3,000 bed facility and complex attracted patients from around the world for innovative treatments and advanced care.
Xylem this week celebrates the production of five million Flygt pumps, continuing its 100-year record of breakthrough water technology innovations. A Flygt Concertor, the world’s first wastewater pumping system with integrated digital intelligence, was the five millionth pump to roll off the production line and will serve the UK-based water utility, Scottish Water.
Armstrong Fluid Technology has emerged victorious in the Project of the Year category at the prestigious Pump Industry Awards 2020/2021.
impeller.net – Inform. Select. Buy.
The international information and sales platform for centrifugal pumps.