Water and Sewage Treatment: Expertise Unlimited
Sean Moran, our Principal Engineer writes this occasional blog about his experiences. Our company (Expertise Limited) design, commission and troubleshoot Sewage, Industrial Effluent and Water Treatment Plant. We provide Process and Hydraulic Design, Staff Training, Review and Audit and Expert Witness Services.Saturday, 13 December 2008
Clarifier Upgrade: Pharma ETP
We enhanced the performance of the final clarifier by fitting a stainless steel screen to the outlet.
As our screen was square, and the tank was not, this took a certain amount of effort, and plenty of mastic!
Fitting the screen in this way enhanced clarifier performance from peak concentrations of >5000 mg/l suspended solids to <100 mg/l!
As our screen was square, and the tank was not, this took a certain amount of effort, and plenty of mastic!
Fitting the screen in this way enhanced clarifier performance from peak concentrations of >5000 mg/l suspended solids to <100 mg/l!
Labels: clarifier, upgrade, waste, wastewater
Polymer Dosing: Pharma Effluent
This is the polymer dosing pump and storage tank, for dosing an aluminium based coagulant for colour removal.
We refitted the old polymer dosing pump to a reconditioned IBC, and new downpipe. We also replaced its outgoing line with new twinwall stock.
The polymer pump was rewired to the new control system and interlocked to feed pump operation from its inverter.
We refitted the old polymer dosing pump to a reconditioned IBC, and new downpipe. We also replaced its outgoing line with new twinwall stock.
The polymer pump was rewired to the new control system and interlocked to feed pump operation from its inverter.
Labels: alum, chemical, design, dosing, effluent, engineer, environment, etp, industrial, pharmaceutical, plant, problem, pump, treatment, troubleshooting, wastewater, water
pH Dosing Kit: Pharma Effluent
This is the pH correction system, dosing up to 32% HCl and 20% NaOH by means of dosing pumps controlled by the yellow unit in the foreground.
Chemical storage is 2 No. 1000 L reconditioned IBCs.
Dosing lines are twin-wall for safety.
Chemical dosing operation is interlocked to feed pump operation via a feed from the inverter.
Chemical storage is 2 No. 1000 L reconditioned IBCs.
Dosing lines are twin-wall for safety.
Chemical dosing operation is interlocked to feed pump operation via a feed from the inverter.
Labels: chemical, design, dosing, effluent, engineer, environment, etp, pH, pH dosing, pharmaceutical, plant, pump, treatment, waste, wastewater, water
Friday, 1 August 2008
Invest NI
We have been appointed for a second term as advisors to the Central Procurement Directive in Northern Ireland. Which is nice.
Emergency callout yesterday to problems on a groundwater treatment plant. Didn't take long to diagnose problems with a pressure sensor were inhibiting pump start.
No word back on the three tenders we have out, so had gone fishing. Was glad to be called away, it was hammering it down with rain, thunder and lightning...
Emergency callout yesterday to problems on a groundwater treatment plant. Didn't take long to diagnose problems with a pressure sensor were inhibiting pump start.
No word back on the three tenders we have out, so had gone fishing. Was glad to be called away, it was hammering it down with rain, thunder and lightning...
Labels: emergency callout, invest ni, problem, pump, treatment, wastewater
Thursday, 19 June 2008
PCB sludges
Things not looking too promising for the experiment set up on Monday to test anaerobic digestion of PCB containing oily sludges in Manchester. No evidence of any gas generation as yet.
Awaiting the order for starting sampling work to establish the bast way forward for the pharma client.
Continuing to review "Elements of Environmental Chemistry". Can't see a thing wrong with it so far...
Awaiting the order for starting sampling work to establish the bast way forward for the pharma client.
Continuing to review "Elements of Environmental Chemistry". Can't see a thing wrong with it so far...
Labels: book, PCB, pharmaceutical, review, sludge, waste, wastewater, water
Wednesday, 4 June 2008
Design Errors: Static Mixers
A quiet sort of a week in the main. Cyril continues his research into treatment of PCBs in groundwater. I have been engaged with the pharmaceutical client mentioned previously on here.
They have what must be one of the worst effluent treatment plants I have ever seen in terms of fundamental design flaws. One of the biggest of them was the use of static mixers to mix acid and coagulant with effluent, which was pumped by diaphragm pumps. This showed a fundamental misunderstanding of the nature of static mixers in the system designer. Static mixers blend fluids across the body of the mixer. If you feed them with a pulsating flow from a diaphragm pump, and an out-of synch. pulsating flow from a dosing pump, you end up with constantly varying degrees of mix in the outlet flow. The normal rule of sampling at least 10 pipe diameters downstream to get 95% degree of mix no longer applies. Your pH probe for example will see extreme variation in measures pH, and instead of gaining control to +/- 0.1pH units as you should from a system like this, you will be lucky to see +/- 0.5 pH units.
They have what must be one of the worst effluent treatment plants I have ever seen in terms of fundamental design flaws. One of the biggest of them was the use of static mixers to mix acid and coagulant with effluent, which was pumped by diaphragm pumps. This showed a fundamental misunderstanding of the nature of static mixers in the system designer. Static mixers blend fluids across the body of the mixer. If you feed them with a pulsating flow from a diaphragm pump, and an out-of synch. pulsating flow from a dosing pump, you end up with constantly varying degrees of mix in the outlet flow. The normal rule of sampling at least 10 pipe diameters downstream to get 95% degree of mix no longer applies. Your pH probe for example will see extreme variation in measures pH, and instead of gaining control to +/- 0.1pH units as you should from a system like this, you will be lucky to see +/- 0.5 pH units.
Labels: design, dosing, effluent, error, groundwater, mixer, pharmaceutical, plant, static, waste, wastewater, water
Wednesday, 14 May 2008
Water: Science and Pseudoscience
I've decided to start a blog on the company website, covering things which interest me professionally.
I'm a Chemical Engineer and Environmental Scientist, working mainly in the field of Water Engineering, though I do also deal in more general environmental advice, mostly on behalf of a government funded scheme called Envirowise.
I used to work for water contractors who you will not now have heard of, because it is seemingly a rule in the water industry that companies have to change the name of their company from time to time, for a number of reasons. For good companies, this is usually something to do with the marketing department. For bad companies, the reasons may be less honourable. None of the people I used to work for went bust by bidding jobs at less than cost and then came back one month later as "(old company name) 2008 Limited", but this is far from uncommon in the industry.
I do quite a bit of work of packaged sewage treatment plants which are misbehaving, look after some groundwater treatment plants, and am also presently involved in something I do a bit of from time to time, water feature design. I am helping with the design of water features in the Parc1 development in Korea. Don't click on the link unless you have broadband, the graphic designers have gone nuts on the website.
I'm also interested in water quackery, and will post some stuff on this as I come across new examples.
I'm a Chemical Engineer and Environmental Scientist, working mainly in the field of Water Engineering, though I do also deal in more general environmental advice, mostly on behalf of a government funded scheme called Envirowise.
I used to work for water contractors who you will not now have heard of, because it is seemingly a rule in the water industry that companies have to change the name of their company from time to time, for a number of reasons. For good companies, this is usually something to do with the marketing department. For bad companies, the reasons may be less honourable. None of the people I used to work for went bust by bidding jobs at less than cost and then came back one month later as "(old company name) 2008 Limited", but this is far from uncommon in the industry.
I do quite a bit of work of packaged sewage treatment plants which are misbehaving, look after some groundwater treatment plants, and am also presently involved in something I do a bit of from time to time, water feature design. I am helping with the design of water features in the Parc1 development in Korea. Don't click on the link unless you have broadband, the graphic designers have gone nuts on the website.
I'm also interested in water quackery, and will post some stuff on this as I come across new examples.
Labels: chemical, design, effluent, engineer, environment, etp, groundwater, industrial, package, PCB, pharmaceutical, plant, problem, sewage, sludge, treatment, troubleshooting, wastewater
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