News
Siemens' Retrofit And Upgrade Technologies And Services Help Wastewater Treatment Plants Meet Regulations, While Saving Energy
October 4, 2010
As today's plants struggle with aging infrastructure and increasingly stringent regulations as well as operations and energy costs, they are looking for cost-effective ways to upgrade their plants to meet current and future requirements. Whether treatment facilities need to rehabilitate, retrofit, upgrade or expand existing assets, Siemens offers sustainable solutions that help plants reduce costs, improve operations, comply with new regulations and save energy.
"We are finding that system retrofits are increasingly popular in the face of more stringent effluent discharge regulations and nutrient removal requirements," said Paul Rice, municipal market manager for Siemens Water Technologies. "Plants can achieve significant operating cost savings by retrofitting their existing infrastructure with newer, energy saving technologies."
Siemens offers equipment that meets or exceeds discharge regulations in a small footprint that can be easily retrofitted into existing space with minimal operator attention. This includes the VLR vertical loop reactor, Cannibal sludge reduction system, VertiCel aeration system, Orbal oxidation ditch, Trident HS filtration and clarification systems, Forty-X disc filter, Gravisand filtration systems and the Memcor CS submerged ultrafiltration system.
Additionally, Siemens continues to develop innovative new technologies and redesign existing technologies that use less energy and reduce long-term lifecycle costs. For example, by combining the VLR system with the MemPulse membrane bioreactor (MBR), a plant can reduce its overall energy by up to 30%. The Link2Site Flex system is a wireless-to-web remote monitoring and control solution that can be added to equipment or processes to optimize operation through reduced maintenance and service costs.
A city in the Midwest significantly reduced wastewater treatment plant operating costs by upgrading its old conventional plant. The plant abandoned its primary clarifiers, converted its fine-bubble aeration tanks to VLR systems and turned the anaerobic digesters into the Cannibal solids reduction system. They also added two new VLR tanks and three new 80-foot diameter final clarifiers with Tow-Bro clarifier suction removal mechanisms. The upgrade has reduced the plant's aeration power costs and solids volume, while improving effluent quality.
A sequencing batch reactor (SBR) facility in Pennsylvania needed to improve its total suspended solids removal, as their slow sand filter had ceased to function properly. The solution was a "plug and play" installation consisting of a Forty-X disc filter placed on top of the existing SBR equalization tank. The filter's small footprint saved the facility additional civil work.
The Sanitary Board of Bluefield, West Virginia experienced filter problems in their wastewater effluent polishing, and decided to upgrade the existing two-pump traveling bridge filters. They chose to replace all three of their traveling bridge filters with a retrofitted system that incorporated the Gravisand filter system from Siemens. After the installation, the plant's operators experienced flawless filter performance and desired effluent quality, as well as an easy to operate system with less required maintenance.
Besides providing innovative technologies and equipment, Siemens also offers retrofit and rehabilitation services, which involve conducting a comprehensive review of the client's water treatment equipment and controls, as well as current operating procedures and data. Siemens then provides a detailed report with recommendations for improving the treatment system.
