Managing three drinking water treatment facilities, multiple pump stations, more than 350 miles of pipelines, and a wastewater treatment facility is challenging even in normal conditions for a small city where agriculture is an economic driver and water demand can exceed 22 MGD.
Ever since Coriolis flow measurement technology achieved mainstream appeal, industry has been fervently striving to take advantage of its benefits. And while Coriolis is clearly a highly advantageous solution for many crucial flow measurement applications, it is not without flaw.
Open channels are an efficient way to feed wastewater treatment facilities but pose a challenge because the flow rate can be difficult to measure with traditional devices. Until recently, radar level measurement devices have been cost-prohibitive for most municipalities. Newer advancements, however, have brought the cost down significantly, so it is now feasible for wastewater plant managers to consider adopting the technology for open-channel applications.
Bbanda is a small rural village of about 1,100 people in southern central Uganda, located 45 minutes from the closest town of Mityana. There is no electricity or reliable source of drinking water. But thanks to the work of some engineering students, that’s about to change.
Technology for wastewater treatment is an ever-changing thing. But as plants continue to rely on instrumentation to assure effective operations, a new level of diagnostics has emerged.
As outlined in earlier articles, increasing public awareness or even seeking legal action are potential tools to help municipalities gain control of the wipes problem. However, many agencies have seen that these strategies are not completely effective in the long term, and they must also employ new technologies to permanently deal with the wipes epidemic.
Because blowers are run continuously, energy costs associated with the aeration basin are typically the largest expense for wastewater facilities. The wastewater treatment plant in the city of Grand Rapids was looking to reduce aeration energy costs and recently upgraded the facility with a Hach Real-Time Control System. The result was a nearly $60,000 energy efficiency incentive payment from Consumers Energy, and the plant is now on track to save the city more than 735,000 kilowatt hours of electricity and $62,000 annually.
Although the city of Bozeman, Montana’s stormwater system has been silently producing front-page news for decades, it has typically only flowed into the spotlight because of an incident or an emergency.
Recently launched by ABB, the VIS (VEGA Isokinetic Sampling) Multi-Phase Flow Meter is the ideal solution for measuring and monitoring flow rates of oil, gas and water close to the wellhead. VIS enables simultaneous measurement of the three different phases with extreme accuracy.
This paper describes a newly developed microprocessor-based thermal dispersion mass flow meter that uses four temperature sensing elements in its flow sensor instead of the traditional two elements and automatically manages changes in gas selection, gas temperature, gas pressure, and outside temperature. By John G. Olin, Ph.D., Founder/Chairman, Sierra Instruments
After deployment of an AMI system that didn’t work properly, initially forcing them to manually read meters, Highland Village was in need of a new vendor and product they could count on. Enter Badger Meter and the BEACON® AMA managed solution, with ORION® Cellular endpoints.
Siemens offers to our customers the ability to both make process measurements and to remotely monitor the activity and health of that instrumentation without the need for SCADA systems or other expensive process control room products. By utilizing Siemens’ ability to offer unparalleled flow, level, pressure, temperature, and weight measurement as well as valve control, we can provide a broad range of process measurements and offer unequaled monitoring of the health and performance of those products.
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.
Facility administrators will find the advanced ST100 Series Thermal Mass Air/Gas Flow Meter from Fluid Components International (FCI) helps them improve the accuracy of specialty gas point of use and sub-metering operations to achieve accurate billing in their labs for better cost tracking and control.
Coriolis measurement has been adopted as a default technology in many application scenarios due to its high accuracy and immunity to process variables (temperature, pressure and flow profile). However, Coriolis wasn't always widely accepted. Two applications, in particular, helped what was once a nascent flow measurement technology gain a foothold in the marketplace.
Fox Thermal Flow Meters use a constant temperature differential (constant Δ T) technology to measure mass flow rate of air and gases.
Dosing of the precipitant was adjusted manually based on the laboratory measurement value of the daily composite sample and so was unable to respond to possible peaks. Although being compliant with the effluent limits, the values observed fluctuate between 0.2 and 0.8 mg/L.
Hach LDO® technology improves the efficiency of pharmaceutical plant’s wastewater treatment process, helping to protect the environment and the community.
Levels of phosphorus, a chemical element that promotes organic growth, must be controlled in wastewater coming from beverage, food and dairy processing plants. Failure to control phosphorus accurately has a negative impact on water quality and can lead to large fines.
Compliance and consistent high quality are two of the key goals within the beverage industry. Hach® provides support for these goals through comprehensive analyses of water and beer.
There are several basic methods for reducing harmonic voltage and current distortion from nonlinear distribution loads such as adjustable frequency drives (AFDs). Following is a description of each method, along with each method’s advantages and disadvantages.
From the Primary to Quarternary treatment process, find the right ISO compliant test kits, standards & CRMs, key tools and application notes for your wastewater analysis.
Wastewater utilities face difficult operational challenges when timely decisions are needed for events associated with a range of conditions, from normal operation to sewer overflows, blockages, and network power outages. You not only need a good sense of what is happening in your network right now, but also the ability to accurately predict what is about to happen, and how to respond to achieve the best possible outcome.
OpenFlows WaterOPS is a real-time operational and optioneering decision support solution for urban water supply and distribution. Integrating live SCADA data with a calibrated hydraulic model, OpenFlows WaterOPS computes real-time conditions throughout water networks, based on existing conditions and forecasted future conditions. OpenFlows WaterOPS empowers water utilities to instantaneously gain better visibility into dark data between monitored locations, predict future performance, and react to events and emergencies.
The OPTISONIC 7300 is a universal 2-path ultrasonic gas flowmeter for process and utility gas measurements in oil and gas refineries or the chemical or petrochemical industries. It is also suitable for non-custody transfer natural gas applications or applications with (compressed) air, mixed or flue gases (up to +180°C / +356°F). Using the transit time differential measuring principle, the OPTISONIC 7300 delivers high performance over a wide flow range (up to DN600 / 24", turndown ratio: 100:1). Its patented titanium transducers are perfectly focused, equalizing process fluctuations and avoiding acoustic feedback.
The OPTISONIC 6300 is an ultrasonic clamp-on flowmeter for permanent mount installation. It is particularly suitable for flow measurement of (non-)conductive liquids at any location where inline measurement is not possible or desirable. The flowmeter consists of a combination of one or two clamp-on sensors and one ultrasonic signal converter. Its robust clamp-on rail is highly flexible and can be very easily attached to virtually any pipe up to DN4000 / 160".
The OPTISONIC 6300 P is a portable, battery-powered ultrasonic clamp-on flowmeter for temporary flow measurement of (non-)conductive liquids. It can be used at virtually any location and without process interruption or need to cut pipes. Due to its flexibility, the meter is equally suited for comparative measurements on stationary measuring equipment (e.g. pumps, flowmeters etc.) or for use as a short-term replacement of faulty devices. As standard the clamp-on flowmeter is also provided with a measurement option for thermal energy applications.
The OPTISONIC 3400 is a 3-path ultrasonic inline flowmeter designed for a wide range of standard or more demanding process applications with homogeneous, non-viscous aqueous liquids as well as viscous fluids of up to over 1000 cSt. It is also the perfect choice for applications with cryogenic products (as low as -200°C / -328°F), media with extended temperature ranges (up to +250°C / +482°F) as well as low or extreme pressure ratings. The OPTISONIC 3400 offers a broad range of diameters – from DN25 / 1" for dosing purposes to DN3000 / 120" for water transportation pipelines.
The OPTIBATCH 4011 is the standard Coriolis mass flowmeter for process batching of conductive and non-conductive liquids. It is a highly accurate and specialised meter for linear and rotating filling machines. The fully welded maintenance-free device with twin U-shape is particularly suitable for hygienic applications in the pharmaceutical or food and beverage industries. It can be equipped with DIN11864-2 hygienic flange connections, hygienic clamp connections or many other bespoke fittings according to customer specifications.
It took some time for computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to find its way to the water industry, but now that it has, a primer is warranted to understand its application.
The movie and sports term has infiltrated the business world and has important implications for the water/wastewater industry.
The journey toward intelligent water can be expedited with eight key steps — a guideline for gliding through the Digital Water Adoption Curve.
Ammonia removal is a key metric for assessing wastewater treatment facility performance. This is because ammonia contributes to aquatic life toxicity. Furthermore, nitrogen, along with phosphorus, is a driver of receiving water eutrophication. Eutrophication, which simply is an over-enrichment of nutrients, can be detrimental to environmental and public health. It can result in harmful algae blooms, dissolved oxygen depletion, fish kills, and other damaging impacts.
Water utilities with highly successful monitoring programs tend to share a common trait: they have a well-defined plan for calibration that emphasizes frequency and tracking. However, when done properly, this process is time-consuming and often leads to unnecessary labor and downtime. The good news is that advanced metering technology is available for plants to get a better handle on the instrument’s performance with significantly less effort.
Swan Analytical provided trusted online analyzers across a broad range of industries for key water quality parameters. Founded in Switzerland in 1991, Swan now brings Swiss quality and innovation to satisfied customers worldwide.
Use a sewer network model to test variations in operational strategy, tactics, and emergency protocols in a risk-free way. Identify safe, inexpensive options to improve the resilience and daily management of sewer networks. For example, quickly determine the amount of bypass pumping required in the event of a sewer blockage.
Predict the location, time, duration, and volume of sewer overflows with live weather forecasts. Quickly include a 2D overland flow analysis to determine the extent of flooding.
Analyze the real-time performance of complex sewer networks containing any number of gravity or pressure pipe subnetworks. Accurately simulate pumps, pump controls (including variable speed drives), and the filling and draining of wet wells.
Hydraulic modelers, planners, and operators can use a network model to test variations in operational strategy, tactics, and emergency protocols in a risk-free way. Identify safe, effective options to address pipe bursts, power outages, fires, and other urgent events.
