Northumbrian Water Opts For Energy Efficient Atlas Copco Screw Blower Technology

Northumbrian Water, a leading provider of water and sewerage services in the North East of England, has chosen Atlas Copco screw blower technology to help reduce energy consumption and minimize service costs at its sewage treatment works in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham.

The company, which has been awarded the ‘Queens Award for Enterprise: Sustainable Development’ and ‘Water Company of the Year’ previously, needs a constant, reliable supply of air in the region of 480mbar for aerobic treatment of waste water at its site in Newton Aycliffe. This process uses bacteria to break up waste particles and requires large amounts of air to be blown into the aeration tanks to maintain the desired level of dissolved oxygen within the wastewater containment system - a biological process that typically utilizes up to 70% of the energy consumed on site. There is a changing perspective within the water industry that the widely-used lobe blower design principle no longer meets the needs of today’s low carbon economy and that operators can benefit substantially from energy savings through the replacement of conventional lobe equipment with innovative screw technology.