Turbo Blowers Evolving For Large Sewage Plant Efficiency

Until recently, multi-stage centrifugal blowers and gear-driven single-stage turbo blowers have dominated larger wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) operations. Turbo blowers in the 50 HP to 300 HP range have historically been popular for their low total lifecycle cost in mid-range WWTP applications (from 1 MGD to 20 MGD). Today, new developments in turbo blowers — from 400 HP to 800 HP — are extending the inherent energy efficiency of that design into larger plant applications (> 20 MGD). Now, regardless of plant size, turbo blowers are available to trim the aeration energy usage that represents as much as 60 percent of total biological oxygen demand (BOD) plant energy costs.