Case Study
Durango Wastewater Treatment Plant Foils Energy Heist And Lowers Maintenance Costs
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•Case Study: Durango Wastewater Treatment Plant Foils Energy Heist And Lowers Maintenance Costs
Durango Colorado is a historic town settled in the Animas Valley below the San Juan Mountain range whose heyday hinged on the gold and silver mining boom of the late 1800's. Back then, Butch, Sundance and other tough hombres roamed these parts and each small town lived with the threat that some of these characters would show up looking for easy pickings. Nowadays, the well being and wealth of the town folk are not bothered by shoot-it-out violence of yesteryear. The modern usurper of community cash, like in most places, is the high costs of energy. This report is about how some 'deputy sheriff' types down at the local wastewater treatment plant put a stop to a money grab.
Problem
The Durango wastewater treatment facility is a traditional waste-activated system. The bio-solids (WAS) is collected
from secondary clarifiers, treated with flocculants and thickened before an anaerobic digestion. A centrifuge had been used for
the thickening process which dewatered the WAS to a 8 to 10% consistency. The plant had three 50 hp units and used either
one or two of the units as needed. Typical energy draw was in the range of 75 KW which was a big fraction of the plants total
usage. Additionally, the centrifuges were requiring more maintenance than ever after 20+ years of operation. The service
costs, spare parts and downtime were taking a considerable portion of the maintenance budget as well as operator time.
Click Here To Download:
•Case Study: Durango Wastewater Treatment Plant Foils Energy Heist And Lowers Maintenance Costs
SOURCE: IPEC
