FCI Featured Articles

41. How To Extend The Life Of Your Wastewater Pumps 3/20/2018

    Wastewater treatment plants use numerous pumps in a variety of types and sizes to move water through the process. Depending on plant configuration, they may pump influent, activated sludge, thickened or digested sludge, biosolids, scum, filtrate, effluent, or reuse water. Each matrix has specific characteristics that engineers consider when designing pumping systems.

42. The Challenges Of Combined Heat And Power Generation From Biogas 3/16/2018

    Driven by tight budgets and competing needs for limited CAPEX funds, wastewater treatment plants are increasingly looking to reduce their operating expenses. Many are now referring to themselves as water resource recovery facilities (WRRFs), reflecting a heightened focus on recovering nutrients, methane, and a host of other properties from their waste flows. The largest boon to date has come from thermal energy, but producing biogas comes with its own set of challenges, including accurate gas flow measurement.

43. Money Down The Drain: The High Cost Of Poor Air Flow Metering 3/14/2018

    The most common method of aeration for activated sludge systems is diffused air, but the energy costs associated with this process are often the largest non-labor-related expense a wastewater treatment facility has to bear.

44. 10 Fluid Measurement Plant Imperatives That Increase Process Efficiency And Reduce Costs 1/1/2018

    Accurately measuring the flow and level of the various liquids and gases that travel through a process industry plant is a critical function for effective and efficient plant operations. Read more to learn ten important industrial process plant functions that can benefit from accurate, repeatable and reliable electronic flow or level measurement.

45. Greenhouse Gas Flow Monitoring 12/27/2017

    While GHG certified flow meters have been in the news, the government is not certifying specific flow meter technologies or manufacturing companies that supply them. The important thing is to focus on is the specific process flue gas monitoring requirements while simultaneously meeting EPA’s regulations and maintaining company budget goals over the life cycle of the flow meter.

46. Wastewater Plant Relies On Thermal Flow Meter For Co-Gen Power Gas Blending Process 12/18/2017

    The Rahway Valley Sewerage Authority (RVSA), which operates a large wastewater treatment plant in New Jersey, embarked on a green co-generation waste-to-energy project to power a portion of its operations. The plant’s management team became interested in pursuing the gas-to-energy power co-generation system for both environmental and cost reasons.

47. Air/Gas Mass Flow Meter Improves Wastewater Treatment Processing Efficiency 12/15/2017

    One of the most common processes in wastewater treatment is the activated sludge method, which biologically treats the wastewater through the use of large aeration basins. This process requires the pumping of compressed air into the aeration basins where a diffuser system ensures the air is distributed evenly for optimum treatment. The energy needed to provide compressed air is a significant cost in the operation of a wastewater treatment plant.

48. Flow Switches For Refinery Water / Wastewater Control 12/15/2017

    To ensure quality production of petroleum-based products in oil refineries, including gasoline, diesel, kerosene, heating oil, and byproducts for plastics and a variety of lubricants, operators must establish reliable water monitoring and treatment. There are three refinery process areas that require large amounts of water: cooling water units, desalter units and wastewater treatment plants.

49. Flow Conditioning Improves Flow Measurement Accuracy And Reduces Plant Cost 12/15/2017

    If you're planning to expand, upgrade or retrofit your plant in the near future, chances are that you'll be facing a real estate crisis when it comes to finding a place for all your new or upgraded equipment. 

50. Thermal Flow Meter Helps Semiconductor Manufacturer Solve Boiler Fuel Gas Mystery for Multi-Building Campus 12/15/2017

    When the plant team at a large semiconductor manufacturer in the northwestern region of the U.S. found its boilers were consuming an unusually large quantity of natural gas, the numbers simply didn’t add up. Something mysterious was going on with the boilers, which incorrectly showed gas consumption above plant permit levels, and this situation would eventually cause regulatory reporting problems later on.