BGR Energy Wins Contract for Total Water System

The Environment Division of BGR Energy Systems Limited (BGR Energy), the EPC Company for Power projects, has been awarded a contract for a large `Total Water System’ by Adhunik Power & Natural Resources Limited for its 2 x 270 MW Super Thermal Power Plant in Jharkhand. The contract is valued at Rs 15.60 Crore and it will be completed over 10 months.

The scope of the contract includes Design, Engineering, Procurement, Manufacture, Assembly, Testing at manufacture’s works, Packing and Forwarding, Supply, and Delivery including transportation for site and Erection, Testing and Commissioning of Water Treatment Plant for the Power Plant at Padampur in Jharkhand. The works comprising of Pre- Treatment of water with two Clarifiers, 2 streams of De-Mineralization (DM) Plant, a Potable Water System for Plant and a Cooling Water Chemical Treatment Plant.

The contract was awarded to BGR Energy through competitive bidding. Ion Exchange India, Triveni Engineering, Wipro Water, Doshion Veolia Water Solutions, Thermax , VA Tech Wabag were the other competing bidders. Environmental Engineering Division of BGR Energy has successfully executed several similar contracts in the past including a Water Treatment Plant for Thermal Power projects.

Advanced High Load FlooBed® MBBR Wastewater Technology Deployed to Australia

An advanced biological treatment for highly loaded industrial process or waste waters is being deployed in Australia by Eimco Water Technologies-AJM Environmental Services (EWT-AJM).

The FlooBed® Moving Bed Bioreactor (MBBR) technology tolerates higher variations in water quality and flow compared with conventional wastewater technologies, yet still maintains its high treatment efficiency.

MBBR biological treatment – which consists of micro-organisms both attached to the carriers and suspended in the water – has become the technology of choice internationally for several types of waste water, such as effluent from process industries, landfill leachate and municipal waste waters, says AJM-EWT National Sales Manager, Industrial/Municipal, Mr John Koumoukelis.

“This is a reliable and easy to operate technology that has been employed extensively with great success by the global Eimco Water Technologies Group, for which it is a key technology,” says Mr Koumoukelis.

“The success, originally founded on the pulp and paper industry, has now been extended to cover applications across the industrial spectrum, including food and beverage, manufacturing, resources and municipal. Already its potential has been demonstrated in Australia with the first projects here involving treatment of highly loaded waste water in the food and beverage sector,” he said.

FlooBed® processes are used to significantly increase the capacity of existing activated sludge systems, and FlooBed® Bioreactor technology is also suitable for covering the total effluent treatment of an industrial plant.

In contrast to traditional activated sludge processes, most of the microbes grow as biofilm on surface of the freely moving carriers. The plastic carrier elements inside FlooBed® Bioreactor have a large surface area and a structure which is optimized to protect the biofilm from abrasion. This allows a high amount of biomass inside the reactor and the needed reactor size can be kept small.

Savings in civil work costs are remarkable with the FlooBed® process, says Mr Koumoukelis.

Carriers are made of plastic, and their density is slightly lower than that of water. Because of this, carriers can be easily mixed through the EWT aeration system, which covers the entire reactor bottom. The process does not require backwashes, which are typical for conventional biofilm processes and consume a lot of energy, in addition to interfering with functioning of the process.

FlooBed® Bioreactor and Activated Sludge System as an Upgrade

The combination of a high-load FlooBed® Bioreactor and a low-load activated sludge plant is an efficient and stable solution for improved industrial effluent treatment. With FlooBed® Bioreactor the loading of a treatment process is reduced and peak loads are efficiently managed. This enables stable functioning of the following activated sludge stage and gives good quality discharge as a final result.

Industrial effluents typically have high concentration of organics and there are significant variations in both flow and concentration. FlooBed® BAS utilizes the advantages of conventional biofilm processes and combines them with the best features of activated sludge plants.

The compact FlooBed® BAS process can easily be installed both in greenfield factories or embedded into existing treatment systems, which are then modified to modern FlooBed® BAS processes.

Benefits of FlooBed® Bioreactor Based Processes:
1. Good treatment efficiency => low residual concentrations
2. Stable discharge water quality
3. A short start-up in the beginning and also after accidental or planned shutdowns
4. Excellent capacity for handling toxic compounds and load variations
5. Low sludge production
6. Small construction costs

MWH Soft Technology to Assist City of Los Angeles in Efforts to Save Billions of Gallons of Water Annually

MWH Soft, a leading global innovator of wet infrastructure modeling and simulation software and technologies, has announced that the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) Recycled Water Division has chosen MWH Soft’s industry-leading InfoWater Suite software as its advanced water network modeling solution. The suite enhances the enterprise’s comprehensive ArcGIS-centric (ESRI, Redlands, CA) strategy for managing its water distribution system. The selection further substantiates MWH Soft’s continued dominance of the geospatial hydraulic infrastructure modeling and management market.

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power was established more than 100 years ago to provide a reliable and safe water and electricity to City residents and businesses. In May 2008, LADWP officials unveiled the City of Los Angeles Water Supply Action Plan, “Securing L.A.’s Water Supply,” which pledged to meet all new demand for water – about 100,000 acre-feet per year (123 million m3/yr) by 2030 – through water conservation and recycling rather than by importing of additional water. Since then, the City’s total use of recycled water is up to 7,200 acre-feet per year (8.9 million m3/yr). The water is used for irrigation and industrial purposes, and for environmental uses, including serving as a barrier to seawater intrusion.

All recycled wastewater in Los Angeles undergoes treatment and disinfection to the tertiary level and meets stringent water quality standards set by the California State Department of Public Health. The treated water travels to the end user through a network of pipes that are painted purple to differentiate them from those that carry potable water.

“LADWP’s use of our software to help manage its recycled water system sends a message that our products are not only powerful and easy-to-implement, but help drive sustainability in our industry,” said MWH Soft Vice President-Director of Americas Operations J. Erick Heath, P.E. “Our products are known for delivering consistent, high quality engineering GIS modeling data; enhanced efficiency; and reliable, cost-effective planning options. These powerful advantages are sparking measurable improvements in productivity, system performance, return on investment, and customer satisfaction around the world.”

Built atop ArcGIS using the latest Microsoft.NET and ESRI ArcObjects component technologies, InfoWater seamlessly integrates advanced water network modeling and optimization functionality with the latest generation of ArcGIS. It not only addresses all the operations of a typical water distribution system, but allows engineers to accurately perform the most difficult hydraulic analyses – including multi-point and extended period fire flow simulations, variable speed pumps, and advanced water quality calculations – and showcase the results using the rich presentations tools native to the ArcGIS environment.

The software delivers world-record performance, scalability, reliability, functionality and flexibility directly within the GIS setting, completely eliminating the need for inefficient, unreliable data synchronization, synching schemes, or middlelink interfaces required by other software. These factors and more translate to increased productivity, reduced costs, greater efficiency, and improved designs.

Water Treatment Equipment Critical for Drought Ridden Australia, Finds Frost & Sullivan

Population pressure and a severe drought, since 2002, has constrained Australia to husband its existing water supplies. This demand for water will only increase with continued economic growth. Therefore, the country is heavily reliant on water treatment equipment, such as the advanced membrane bioreactor, to alleviate its water scarcity.

New analysis from Frost & Sullivan, Water and Wastewater Treatment Markets in Australia – Market Outlook and Growth Opportunities, finds that the market is expected to earn revenues of $1.12 billion by 2015.

“The markets for municipal water and wastewater treatment in Australia have experienced significant technology trends based on improved solution reliability, greater treatment efficiency, and ability to meet regulatory requirements,” says Frost & Sullivan Research Analyst Swathy Rajasekaran. “Replacing older conventional clarifier systems with modern systems have become increasingly attractive, although it is slightly more expensive.”

As the water and wastewater treatment market is at the maturity phase, opportunities will have to be created through upgrades, improvements, and retrofits in existing plants, with more advanced technologies and competitively priced products.

Prices will be a significant purchase factor considering the economic downturn has tightened the purse strings of consumers and narrowed manufacturers’ profit margins. However, the market will gain some respite from these conditions due to long-term commitments from both local and international participants, creating a very competitive scenario in Australia.

“Participants will be pleased by the significant investments toward the refurbishment of aged water and wastewater treatment plants,” adds fellow Consultant Melvin Leong. “Furthermore, regulatory requirements are demanding technological advancements, giving a boost to market development.”

Even so, some companies may not have the financial or technical capability to meet such regulatory demands, given the current economic scenario. The market is likely to dip in the latter half of 2009 to early 2010, but as the Australian economy is more resilient than its western counterparts, it is expected to rebound.

“When companies are not able to capitalize on opportunities, strategic changes need to be brought about to enable equipment suppliers to partner with key water users and thus, enhance sales,” observes Leong. “The abundant availability of semi-skilled labor in this labor-intensive market will further promote its development.”

Water and Wastewater Treatment Markets in Australia – Market Outlook and Growth Opportunities is part of the Environmental Growth Partnership Service program, which also includes research in the following markets: bottled water markets in Vietnam, water and wastewater market in Thailand, Indonesian building construction market, and South Korean building construction market. All research services included in subscriptions provide detailed market opportunities and industry trends that have been evaluated following extensive interviews with market participants.

Toray Wins Two Large Orders to Supply RO Membranes for Desalination Plants

Toray Industries, Inc. has announced that it has won a series of orders to supply reverse osmosis (RO) membranes for desalination plants in Bahrain and Spain. The combined water production capacity of the two plants will be 316,600 cubic meters per day (84 MGD). In particular, the order for the desalination plant in Al Dur, Bahrain ([1] below) is a major project for Toray, following the order it won for the desalination plant in Magtaa, Algeria, which boasts a water production capacity of 500,000 cubic meters per day (132 MGD) per day.

Al Dur Desalination Plant – Bahrain, 218,000m3/day (58 MGD), expected start-up 2011:
The Al Dur Desalination Plant is an RO membrane-based seawater desalination plant being developed as part of the Al-Dur Independent Water and Power Producer project (power generation capacity of 1,234 MW). This is the largest project of its kind in Bahrain under a 20 year-contract between GDF Suez S.A. of France and the Electricity and Water Authority of Bahrain to supply water and power.. Degrémont a subsidiary of Suez Environment won the order to build the plant. This is the first time that Toray is supplying its RO membranes to a large-scale desalination plant in Bahrain. The Al Dur Desalination Plant is second only to the recently announced Magtaa Seawater Desalination Plant in Algeria in terms of size, and the biggest in the Middle East using Toray membranes.

Campo de Dalías Desalination Plant – Spain, 98,600 m3/day (26 MGD), expected start-up 2010:
The Campo de Dalías Desalination Plant is a large-scale RO membrane-based desalination plant located in Almeria, southern Spain, for which a consortium (UTE) consisting of Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies Ibérica, Veolia Agua, Sando Construcciones, Inypsa and Montajes Eléctricos Crescencio Pérez have signed a 15 year DBO (design, build and operate) contract. Toray has an established track record of supplying RO membranes to seawater desalination plants in Spain and this project is the biggest ever for the company.

The RO membrane market has been expanding at an annual rate exceeding 12%, fueled by worsening global water shortages and the need for conservation of water resources in response to environmental considerations. Specifically, demand is expected to grow at an annual rate of 30% in seawater and brine desalination applications as plant capacities expand. The demand is expected to keep growing steadily, primarily in regions including the Americas, Europe, Middle East, North Africa and China. Further growth in demand for RO membranes is anticipated as new markets such as urban sewage and wastewater reuse plants are expanding in addition to the growth in demand for seawater and brine desalination applications and industrial applications, such as production of water for use in boilers.

The RO membranes Toray has supplied so far now produce 3.8 million cubic meters of water per day (1003 MGD) in seawater desalination, making Toray the top supplier in the field. The amount of water produced by the plants using Toray’s RO membranes is equivalent to the daily consumption of water used by about 15 million people. With the size of plants getting larger, the competition between global suppliers for market share is expected to further intensify. Toray has supplied RO membranes to the world’s largest urban sewage reuse plant in Sulaibiya, Kuwait (with a capacity of producing 320,000 cubic meters of water per day (85 MGD)) and is the top manufacturer in the world of RO membranes in the two growth fields of seawater desalination and sewage reuse, with its membranes used to process 1.2 million cubic meters per day (317 MGD) in sewage reuse.

Toray enhanced the production capacity of RO membrane elements at its existing facilities – Ehime Plant in Japan and Toray Membrane USA, Inc. (TMUS) in the U.S – to address this growing demand. Moreover, Toray together with China National BlueStar (Group) Co., Ltd. established a joint venture company Toray BlueStar Membrane Co., Ltd. (TBMC) in Beijing, China in July of this year to produce RO membranes. The facility under this joint venture is scheduled to start operations in April 2010. With these expansions and the new facility, Toray’s RO membrane element production capacity will quadruple compared to the capacity level in March 2007. Toray will continue to actively pursue RO membrane orders not only in the Middle East, North Africa and the Mediterranean region, but also in the Americas, China and Oceania.

Infiltrator® Systems Acquires E-Z Set

Infiltrator^® Systems continues its septic industry leadership with the acquisition of the E-Z Set Company, a manufacturer of septic tank risers and lids. E-Z Set risers and lids are compatible with all septic tanks and have a reputation within the decentralized wastewater industry for strength and durability. E-Z Set will be rebranded as EZset™ by Infiltrator.

“We are pleased to have EZset risers and lids as part of our product line and look forward to offering through our distribution network the quality Infiltrator customer service and technical support,” says Roy Moore, president of Infiltrator Systems Inc.

EZset by Infiltrator risers and lids are offered in 20”, 24”, and 30” diameters and a variety of heights to accommodate any new or retrofit installation. They feature a slip resistant, lockable lid, which provides secure tank access while blending into the landscape. Stackable to any height, the risers support a 1500 lb wheel load.

Infiltrator is the largest septic products company in the onsite industry with its foundation built on the 2.5 million Infiltrator drainfield systems installed across North America. Based in Old Saybrook, Connecticut, Infiltrator has continually introduced innovative products that meet increasingly stringent environmental and regulatory requirements. The company’s integrated solutions continue to be a benchmark for superior performance in products and service within the onsite wastewater treatment industry. The company’s full line of environmentally conscious products include Infiltrator plastic septic leachfield chambers, TW™ -Series septic tanks, EZflow™ by Infiltrator Drainfield System, and Aquaworx™ by Infiltrator advanced treatment technologies.

Arkal Announces Appointment Of Agent/Distributor In India

Arkal Filtration Systems has announced the appointment of M/S Filfab Corporation (SMD) as our exclusive agent/distributor in India, taking effect as of October 1st, 2009. This appointment shall further strengthen Arkal’s worldwide distribution network by adding local support and service to our existing and future customers in India. Managing Partner of the company, Mr. Sreelesh.S, is very enthusiastic about this new challenge and is expecting a bright future for Arkal in India. He said that with Arkal manufacturing some of the world’s most effective filtration solutions, Filfab is confident in building a strong position in this country over the coming months and years.

Alfa Laval Expands Service Setup

Alfa Laval officially inaugurated its new Vizag Service Centre on December 17, 2009. The event was attended by many customers and business associates. The new Servicing facility at C6, Industrial Estate, Marripalem, Kancherapallem, Vizag will primarily serve as service centre for company’s large Southern and Eastern customer-bases.

The Service Centre will provide reconditioning and repair service offers for both heat exchangers and separators, ranging from equipment tune-up and minor repair to comprehensive reconditioning to restore equipment to its original condition. This proves advantageous to customers for long-term cost savings in reduced downtime, more efficient operation and hours of work eliminated for the customer’s maintenance staff. Apart from service and support, Alfa Laval’s service engineers will share professional advice about parts, maintenance and diagnostics.

The company already has a dedicated Parts & Service Centre at New Mumbai built in 1993. Setting up a new centre is company’s strategic move to be at the nearest point of convenience for its customers in South and Eastern part of India.

“Together with a new sales outlet in the premises, this service centre means a major leap for Alfa Laval’s service network in India. Through this we can keep our promise of faster response and being closer to the customer” said Nish Patel, Managing Director Alfa Laval India.

Ion Exchange Conferred Frost & Sullivan Environment Excellence 2009 Award

Water & environment major Ion Exchange (India) Ltd. emerged as the winner of the Frost & Sullivan 2009 Environmental Excellence Awards for the Best Company of the Year in the Indian Water & Waste Water Treatment segment. The awards in the various categories were presented at their 1st Annual Environment Industry Awards Night, on Tuesday, 15th December 2009 at Hotel Intercontinental – The Lalit, Mumbai, which brought together a galaxy of eminent industry experts and leaders across market segments.

Receiving the award, Mr. Rajesh Sharma, Vice Chairman & Managing Director, Ion Exchange said” It is our company’s continuous endeavour to use technology innovatively to offer solutions to improve the quality of life and protect our earth’s most vital resources for a sustainable future. This has led us to develop products and technologies to create a capability to provide integrated, cost-effective solutions for all sectors – industrial, institutional, municipal, homes and communities. It has led us to extend our capabilities to encompass water, air, waste and renewable energy. We have pioneered solutions for recycle of industrial effluent and domestic sewage, to conserve water and natural resources. Our Zero B purifiers provide safe drinking water to all consumer segments at every price point and include innovative solutions to treat water contaminated with fluoride, iron, arsenic and nitrates. We are grateful to our customers, stakeholders and vendors for their continued support and to our employees for their valuable contribution.”

The Frost & Sullivan Environment Excellence Awards recognises the exemplary achievements, business winning strategies and innovative best practices of companies operating in the highly dynamic and competitive environment industry. These recognitions culminate in Frost & Sullivan Awards and are regarded as benchmarks for excellence in the given industry segment.

ERI PX Devices Contracted For Largest Desalination Plant In Australia

Energy Recovery, Inc. has announced that its PX Pressure Exchanger (PX) devices will be implemented in the Victorian Desalination Project, slated to be the largest seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) desalination plant in Australia, to help deliver affordable fresh water to the cities of Melbourne and Geelong. To be constructed by AquaSure (a consortium sponsored by Suez Environnement and its affiliate Degrémont, world leader in desalination technology, Thiess and Macquarie Capital), the plant will be located in the Wonthaggi region of the State of Victoria. The desalination plant will provide up to 150 billion liters of water per year – around one-third of Melbourne’s annual water supply – with the possibility of future expansion to 200 billion liters. Energy Recovery anticipates delivery of its PX devices in two phases during the first half of 2010.

“For seawater desalination to work as a sustainable solution to global water scarcity, the water it supplies must be affordable. Energy consumption represents an important portion of the overall cost of desalination, so it is critical to conserve as much energy as possible,” stated Remi Lantier, CEO of Degrémont. “Energy Recovery’s PX device is a proven technology for significantly reducing energy usage in desalination, which is why we have implemented the devices at large desalination plants all over the world, including in Perth, Australia, and Barcelona, Spain. What’s more, the energy saved by deploying the PX technology will also help us achieve our overall goal of making the Victorian Desalination Project an environmentally friendly, green facility.”

Implementing Energy Recovery’s PX devices at the Victorian Desalination Project will save more than 49MW of energy, equalling a savings of $35 million, and offset an estimated 263,000 tons of CO2 annually. The Victorian Desalination Project is the fifth large-scale desalination plant in Australia to include the PX technology, as devices are currently operating or contracted for installation at the Southern Seawater Desalination Plant, the Perth-Kwinana plant, the Cape Preston facility in Western Australia and the Adelaide plant in South Australia. In total, Energy Recovery is helping to produce more than 1.1 million m3 (295 million gallons) of fresh water per day across Australia, saving an estimated 108MW of energy.

“The Victorian Desalination Project represents a long-term solution to the Melbourne region’s increasing water shortages, and we are honoured that the AquaSure consortium has elected to implement Energy Recovery’s PX devices to reduce energy and deliver affordable fresh water,” said Borja Blanco, senior vice president of Energy Recovery, Inc. “The PX device has a proven track record at large desalination plants throughout Australia and the rest of the world, validating the technology as the highest-performing, most reliable isobaric energy recovery device solution today.”

Energy Recovery’s PX devices reduce the energy consumption of SWRO systems by up to 60%, making desalination a cost-effective solution for clean water supply. PX devices also reduce the carbon footprint of desalination, saving more than 750MW of energy and reducing CO2 emissions by more than 4.6 million tons per year worldwide. More than 7,000 PX devices are currently deployed or under contract to be installed at desalination plants across the globe.

Koch Membrane Systems Receives NSF Certification For New RO & NF Product Lines

Koch Membrane Systems, Inc. (KMS) has announced that it has received NSF International certification for its new reverse osmosis and nanofiltration element construction operation located in Wilmington, Mass. NSF International, a not-for-profit, non-governmental organization, is the world leader in standards development, product certification, education, and risk-management for public health and safety.

This certification allows KMS to commence shipments of elements rolled at its expanded Wilmington facility to customers in the near future.

The company’s rolling operation is just a small part of a new state-of-the-art production line designed to take advantage of several recent advances in membrane technology developed by KMS researchers.  The system’s fully automated membrane caster and coater will produce the current FLUID SYSTEMS® family of high rejection brackish and seawater membranes, KMS’ selective rejection line of softening and color removal nanofiltration products and KMS’ dairy RO and NF products.  The equipment will be used to produce membranes and finished rolled elements across the broad array of sizes offered by KMS, including the company’s line of high area, large diameter MegaMagnum® products.  The MegaMagnum element offer membrane areas of up to 5.5 times those of standard 8-inch diameter by 40-inch long elements.

The entire membrane production line is expected to be in full operation shortly and will more than double KMS’ current RO and NF production capacity.  In addition, the line will produce membranes with more consistent, high level performance, tighter specification ranges, and most importantly, the ability to produce the next generation of the highest quality membranes and elements.  It is expected that more than 100 new positions will be created at the Massachusetts facility once the line is at full production.

About Koch Membrane Systems
Koch Membrane Systems, Inc. is a global leader in membrane filtration technology and engineering support for close to half a century.  KMS offers a wide range of products and engineering services which span industrial applications in food and life sciences, industrial processes and water & wastewater. As a designer and manufacturer of state-of-the-art membrane elements as well as complete membrane systems, KMS products are specified for some of the most demanding applications. KMS offers comprehensive process engineering design, piloting and field service expertise. With an install base approaching 20,000 systems throughout the world, KMS is setting the standard as a comprehensive solutions provider for membrane technology. Based in Wilmington, Massachusetts, Koch Membrane Systems is a Koch Chemical Technology Group, LLC company.

Flowtex Disc Filter By Entex Works To Improve The Nation’s Water Infrastructure

FlowTex is a user-friendly, high performance tertiary filter, suitable for both small and large flow applications, that removes suspended solids as small as 10 microns. That’s important for water and wastewater plants that have stringent suspended solids discharge permit requirements, phosphorous limits or require re-use quality effluent.

How does it work?
Flow enters the filter through a pipe and completely surrounds the discs. The turbulence of the incoming wastewater keeps solids in suspension and prevents premature settling. As the flow passes through the cloth filter media, the suspended solids are removed. The unique design allows the operator monitoring the operation to view the filtered effluent of each filter segment through the individual discharge ports.

As solids accumulate on the cloth filter media, the flow through the media becomes restricted and the level of liquid in the tank rises. The backwash process is triggered when the level reaches a pre-determined point or after a set time period. The outside-to-inside flow ensures that solids stay trapped within the basin. The vacuum head rotates across the surface of the disc, removing captured solids from the media. The vacuum head rotates clockwise 360 degrees and then returns counter-clockwise in sequence for efficient media cleaning.

How will FlowTex save money for me and the community?
The FlowTex patented design incorporates a fixed disc with a rotating suction head that never touches the cloth media, thus extending the life of the media. Each disc is made up of two independently operated segments that can easily be replaced without taking the entire filter off-line. And because there is no need to drain the tank when replacing cartridges, water treatment facilities save time and money.

In addition, each disc is monitored separately, so effluent performance is easily verified and segments requiring service are easily identified. This means that the Entex FlowTex Disc filter produces cost-effective, high quality effluent with low O&M costs. Combined with Entex Technologies’ Integrated Fixed-film Activated Sludge (IFAS) and Submerged Fixed Film (SSF) systems, you have a complete biological nutrient removal system that meets very stringent and often costly total nitrogen (TN) limits.

Best of all, FlowTex filters can be retrofitted to existing concrete basins or sold as complete stand-alone filtration units.

About Entex Technologies Inc.
Entex Technologies is a leader in advanced biological wastewater technologies, designing and supplying custom engineered systems that increase concentrations of beneficial microbiology for treating wastewater. Entex’s Integrated Biofilm Systems improve the capacity and performance of municipal and industrial wastewater facilities at half the cost or less than traditional approaches. Entex is unique in offering both fixed and moving media systems (BioWeb and BioPortz) for Integrated Fixed-film Activated Sludge (IFAS) and Submerged Fixed-film (SFF and MBBR) processes.

New Version Enables Efficient And Accurate Collection Of Field Data From Multiple Devices

MWH Soft, a leading global innovator of wet infrastructure modeling and simulation software and technologies, has announced the worldwide availability of InfoNet Mobile v2.1. The release adds significant functionality to the InfoNet asset and data management system by introducing a complete office-to-field/field-to-office solution.

InfoNet Mobile uses mobile technology to link field workers seamlessly and securely to InfoNet software. It can support a wide range of hardware including BlackBerrys, laptops, tablet PCs and PDAs in a connected (cellular or wi-fi) or disconnected environment. This makes it as easy for field personnel to access the InfoNet data they need on site as it is at the office. At the same time, managers can plan and assign tasks from the office schedule and dispatch the assignments straight to a portable device in the field. The ability to input data to the field has other advantages, including the avoidance of double-handling data, which make the process faster, easier, less expensive to manage and most crucially, far more accurate.

“Our development teams continue to react to the needs of our customers by implementing a superb solution for streamlining field operations,” said Andrew Brown, EMEA Regional Manager for MWH Soft. “Utilities throughout the world are always looking for better ways to manage the efficiency and accuracy of data collection. The flexible workflows and communication technologies implemented in InfoNet Mobile put these goals within reach for organizations large and small around the world.”

Designed for operations managers, engineers and planners in the water industry, InfoNet is a purpose-built asset and data management system for water distribution, wastewater collection and stormwater networks. It enables users to manage, integrate, validate, analyze and report on their network data to provide accurate, auditable updated information on network infrastructure and performance in easy-to-use formats. InfoNet ensures informed, swift and cost-effective decision making for both day-to-day operational management and long term network planning.  By integrating a wealth of key applications and data sets, including ArcGIS, generic GIS systems, corporate databases, CMMS, field data systems, SCADA, hydraulic modeling / analysis software and other corporate applications, it gives managers a clear single picture of their network infrastructure.

For utilities with an enterprise asset management system in place, InfoNet can be used to transform that application into a detailed decision support solution specifically designed for water and wastewater network owners, operators, consultants and contractors.

InfoNet Mobile offers the same flexibility. In addition to linking to the InfoNet database, it can interface with many external databases and systems, such as SAP, Oracle, SQL Server, JD Edwards, DataStream 7i and Hanson. This allows the enterprise to train field personnel on one mobile system that can be used to update and view data across the entire utility.

“Accurate data collection is at the core of every successful hydraulic modeling or asset management project,” said Paul F. Boulos, Ph.D., Hon.D.WRE, F.ASCE. “This critical link in our customers’ workflows has been traditionally underserved. The newest release of InfoNet Mobile fills this critical gap by packaging cutting-edge technology with clear, straightforward interfaces tailored specifically for the water and wastewater industry.”

About MWH Soft
MWH Soft is a global leader in wet infrastructure engineering modeling, simulation and management software and professional solutions designed to meet the technological needs of water, wastewater, and stormwater utilities, government agencies, engineering organizations and academic institutions worldwide. With offices in North America, Europe, and Asia Pacific, MWH Soft product lines empower thousands of engineers to competitively plan, manage, design, protect, maintain and operate highly efficient and reliable infrastructure systems.

LANXESS India Receives Award For Water Resource Management From Indian Chemical Council

The Indian Chemical Council honored specialty chemicals company LANXESS India Private Limited with the ‘Water Resource Management’ Award. The award paid tribute to LANXESS’ production site in Nagda for its innovative approach to recycling domestic sewage water and harnessing it for industrial use. Neelanjan Banerjee, Director of LANXESS India, accepted the recognition from the Honorable Minister of State for Chemicals & Fertilizers, Shri Srikant Jena at the ICC Awards, which was held in Mumbai last evening.

The award was given for setting up a treatment plant for domestic sewage water with recycle based on biological treatment with subsequent post-treatment by Reverse Osmosis Technology (RO). RO is effective in eliminating or substantially reducing a very wide array of contaminants and allows the removal of species as small as individual ions. RO is usually applied in addition to traditional effluent treatment for industrial effluents. Following such treatment the domestic sewage water from the township where the employee’s of Grasim SFD, Chemical Division and LIPL reside is now actually being put to use.

On this occasion Mr. Banerjee said, “We at LANXESS are honored to receive this award. In a city like Nagda where water is in short supply, the utilization of sewage water is a boon. We are glad to be contributing toward saving water of Chambal River that is so precious a commodity for Nagda”.

LANXESS’ production site in Nagda is situated at the bank of Chambal River. In May and June, the river becomes parched due dry weather as well as heavy consumption of water for industrial purposes and irrigational use by the villagers.

Today, at the Nagda plant domestic sewage water is treated to remove its organic fouling and sediments to make it useful as make-up water for Cooling Towers. A part of the treated water is further purified through RO and mixed bed resins to meet the requirement of Boiler feed water for steam generation in a CoGen plant. Multiple usage of the sewage water contributes significantly to the overall water balance and helps to keep the plant running through the dry months of May and June.

These initiatives underline LANXESS’ commitment to green chemistry. The systems and processes are not only crucial for the sustainability and long-term growth of the chemical industry in Nagda, but also benefit the local community.

Dr. Joerg Strassburger, Managing Director and Country Representative of LANXESS India, says, “LANXESS dedicates efforts to green the environment at our sites around the globe. Addressing the water scarcity issue in Nagda is a good example of corporate responsibility that makes a difference.”

About LANXESS
LANXESS is a leading specialty chemicals company with sales of EUR 6.58 billion in 2008 and currently 14,335 employees in 23 countries. The company is represented at 46 production sites worldwide. The core business of LANXESS is the development, manufacturing and marketing of plastics, rubber, intermediates and specialty chemicals.

Energy Recovery Px Devices Implemented In World’s First Osmotic Power Plant

Energy Recovery, Inc., a leader in the design and development of energy recovery devices for desalination, has announced that its industry-leading PX Pressure Exchanger® energy recovery devices are implemented at the world’s first osmotic power plant. Built in Tofte, Norway, by leading Norwegian energy company Statkraft, the pilot plant showcases how the energy created through osmosis can be harnessed to generate a continuous source of renewable electricity. The high efficiency of Energy Recovery’s PX devices increases the energy output and reduce the energy consumed during the osmotic power generation process to ensure the net-positive production of electricity.

“The commissioning of our pilot facility is a significant step toward the commercialization of this game-changing renewable energy source. According to our calculations, the global production potential of osmotic power could exceed 1,600 terawatt hours, or the equivalent of half of Europe’s entire energy demand,” said Stein Erik Skilhagan, vice president of osmotic power at Statkraft. “Although osmotic power has enormous potential, it is only economically feasible if you reduce the cost of creating it. Energy Recovery’s PX devices address this issue by considerably reducing energy use, allowing us to produce renewable electricity. We anticipate that the pilot plant will be quite successful and plan to implement the PX technology as we scale up to a commercial facility.”

Energy Recovery’s PX devices are currently deployed at large seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) desalination plants all over the world. By recycling the energy typically wasted as part of the reject stream, the PX devices—which operate at 98 percent efficiency—reduce energy use by up to 60 percent, helping to make desalination an affordable solution to global water scarcity. Energy Recovery’s devices function on a similar principle in osmotic power processes.

The osmotic power process harnesses the osmotic potential difference between saltwater (such as seawater) and freshwater to produce a pressurized stream of membrane permeate. Diluted saltwater is released through a turbine that turns a generator to produce electricity. The PX devices work in unison with next-generation forward osmosis membranes to cost-effectively enable stable, reliable, environmentally friendly energy production anywhere that both freshwater and saltwater are available. The pilot plant in Tofte, Norway is designed to produce 10 kW of renewable energy, and by 2015, Statkraft plans to build a full-scale osmotic power plant capable of producing 25 MW of electricity.

“The ability to harness osmosis and turn it into a continuous supply of clean, renewable energy is an extremely important accomplishment for humanity and the environment. We applaud Statkraft on opening the pilot facility as a major milestone for osmotic power,” said Rick Stover, CTO of Energy Recovery, Inc. “We look forward to further developments in osmotic power technology, which could potentially use any saltwater or solution with a high osmotic potential to generate electricity. In every case, PX energy recovery devices will be an essential component, maintaining high osmotic pressure and maximizing net power output through high-efficiency performance. We look forward to playing an important role as osmotic power evolves as a significant source of global energy.”

About ERI
Energy Recovery, Inc. (NASDAQ:ERII) designs and develops energy recovery devices that help make desalination affordable by significantly reducing energy consumption. ERI’s PX Pressure Exchangerä (PXä) device is a rotary positive displacement pump that recovers energy from the high pressure reject stream of seawater reverse osmosis systems at up to 98% efficiency. With more than 7,000 PX devices deployed or under contract to be installed in desalination plants across the globe, ERI’s technology has set the industry standard for energy recovery devices for desalination. The company is headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area with offices in key desalination centers worldwide, including Madrid, Shanghai, Florida and the United Arab Emirates. For more information on ERI and PX technology, please visit http://www.energyrecovery.com.

Ion Exchange Undertakes O&M Of CPCL’s Effluent Recycle Facilities

Ion Exchange (India) Ltd. is undertaking complete operation and maintenance (O&M) of all waste water treatment and recycling facilities for Chennai Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (CPCL).

The contract includes comprehensive O&M services for all the tertiary effluent treatment systems supplied by Ion Exchange as well as by competitors. The plants being operated and maintained in the complex include:

Type of Plant                             Capacity
Sewage Recovery Plant 1              11 MLD
Sewage Recovery Plant 2              11 MLD
Zero Discharge Plant 1                3.6 MLD
Zero Discharge Plant 2                4.8 MLD
Reject Handling Plant                    1 MLD
Pilot Plant                                  1 MLD

This complex network of various plants treating sewage from Chennai city and recycling process effluents are operated by a team of over 100 professionals from Ion Exchange headed by an overall plant manager, assisted by different sectional heads.

This O&M contract is for the single largest advanced recycling facilities being operated in the country and is responsible for producing over 32 million litres of recycled water everyday (32 MLD).

New Cinetik™ Dewatering Technology Radically Cuts Energy And Sludge Disposal Costs

A new dewatering technology is being introduced to Australia by EWT-AJM to radically reduce operating expenses associated with sludge produced in industrial municipal and agricultural waste water treatment.

The Cinetik™Line of products from LinearElectro-Dewatering solutions extract water more efficiently and at a much lower cost than currently available processes that typically reduce liquid sludge to 13-20 per cent dry solids.

“Cinetik can further dewater such sludge to 50 per cent dry solids, radically reducing volume and thus cartage and disposal costs says Eimco Water Technologies-AJM Environmental Services (EWT-AJM) National Sales Manager, Industrial/Municipal, Mr John Koumoukelis. “The technology can also produce exceptional quality biosolids with significant pathogen and odour reduction both the structural properties and the odor of the sludge are improved,” he said.

Unlike conventional heat-based dryers and incinerators, Cinetik technology does not evaporate the water; Cinetik technology relies on the combined action of a controlled mechanical pressure and electro-osmosis, where an electrical field generated inside the sludge liberates and carries away the water bonded to hydrophilic particles.

“When removed of their excess water and pathogens, sludge is turned into a valuable resource and can be reused as a fertilizer or as a renewable fuel source,” says Mr Koumoukelis “Cinetik electro-osmosis dewatering technology can be four or five times more energy- efficient than a typical conventional dryer.  Installed in new waste water treatment plants (WWTPs) or retrofitted in existing ones, the Cinetik line of products allows for high-solids content (up to 50% Total Solids, TS) to be achieved, even with difficult-to-dewater sludge.

• Cinetik Equipment Features
• Low footprint
• Robustness
• Simple, fingertip operation
• Adjustments for varying sludge characteristics and desired parameters (energy consumption, final dryness level etc.)
• Seamless integration with existing processes and equipment
• A sustainable solution which curtails costs and facilitates disposal or recycling of biosolids

“Stringent environmental regulations and increasing residuals disposal costs are exerting significant economic pressure on public and private WWTPs” says Mr Koumoukelis. “With belt press, centrifuge, and other mechanical dewatering technologies limited to dryness levels in the low 20 per cent range, the need for an efficient, complementary dewatering solution is greater than ever: The Cinetik linear electro-dewatering technology is aimed at filling that need, whether capacity requirements are in the hundreds of kilograms per hour or several hundred tons per day.

How It Works
Electro-dewatering brings solid-liquid phase separation beyond what can be achieved by mechanical technologies. Adsorbed water cannot be extracted by mechanical dewatering because of the solid’s particulate size and strong bonding forces.

Cinetik technology uses electricity and controlled mechanical pressure to extract additional water from mechanically dewatered sludge cake.

The principle relies on the application of an electrical field across the sludge, inducing electro-osmosis across the porous media and pulling on the water molecules instead of pushing on the sludge.

Before the advent of electro-dewatering, only thermal treatment could allow biological residuals to reach a dryness of no more than 25 per cent total solids (TS) and usually considerably less. Aside from their often high capital costs, dryers, incinerators and other thermal solutions rely on heat – an extremely energy-intensive process – to evaporate the remaining water in biological residuals

Exceptional Quality Biosolids
The application of an electrical current to residuals also has a direct impact on sludge quality. Both the structural properties and the odor of the sludge are improved.

The combination of electricity, heat and pressure has a positive impact on disinfection, practically eliminating pathogens such as E.coli, salmonella, enteric viruses and parasites. Treated biosolids will typically reach Class A standard.

When excess water and pathogens are removed, sludge is turned into a valuable resource and can be directly reused as a fertilizer or as a renewable fuel source. High-quality biosolids are also a driver to further treatment including pelletizing, gasification or incineration, offering new disposal scenarios while significantly reducing residuals.

Based on a modular, self-standing design, Cinetik electro-dewatering equipment can be included right into an existing solids handling process or readily incorporated into new designs.

AJM forms a foundation stone of EWT’s strong push into the industrial wastewater and water reuse sectors within the Asia-Pacific, with more than 60 highly experienced staff and an expanding network of subsidiary companies and representation throughout SE Asia, The Middle East and beyond. AJM already provides comprehensive sales and service support from offices conveniently located in all major cities in Australia and New Zealand. Founded in 1975, GLV is a world leader in liquid/solid separation technologies used in a large number of industrial, municipal and environmental processes.

Event: 1-day Seminar (22 Dec) on Integrated Water Resources Management, Delhi

With a view to bring the various agencies associated with water resources sector on a single platform so as to assess the effectiveness of the steps taken and to formulate future strategies, the National Productivity Council, supported by Ministry of Water Resources, WWF-India and Indian Water Resources Society (Delhi Centre), is organizing a one day All India Seminar on Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) at Scope Complex, Lodi Road, New Delhi on Tuesday, December 22, 2009.

Contact: iwrm.seminar09@gmail.com

100,000 More Pumps Will Be Operated By Coal Fired Power Plants By 2015

Coal-fired power plants throughout the world presently operate 300,000 pumps. This number will increase to over 400,000 by 2015. These pumps will be moving over 1.2 billion gallons/minute. Annual revenues for new pumps will increase from $542 million this year to $776 million in 2015. These are the conclusions reached in the newest expansion of Pumps: World Markets an online publication of the McIlvaine Company.

These pumps range in size and price from the $950,000 main boiler feed pumps which for a 400 MW plant move 6000 gpm and 7000 feet down to small lubrication pumps moving a few  gallons per hour. Metering pumps represent a small portion of the total revenues but a large percentage of units. By 2015 China will be operating 30,000 metering pumps but new purchases will be only $12 million in that year. Cooling water represents the biggest revenue segment.

World Coal-fired Power Plant Pump Sales ($ Millions):
Application                             2015
Boiler Feed                             251
Chem. Metering                      44
Cooling Water                         317
Fuel Handling                         59
Lubrication                              15
Miscellaneous                          40
Environmental                         50
Total                                        776

These revenue figures do not include parts and services which will raise pump supplier revenues to over $1 billion. Coal-fired power represents only 14 percent of the $7 billion forecasted total power pump market in 2015. A big segment is commercial and industrial power which includes the steam cycle and liquid fuel handling. Nuclear, oil and gas including combined cycle gas turbines accounts for much of the remainder.  However geothermal, solar to steam and other technologies are additional markets.

The total pump market is projected at $44 billion of which power represents 16 percent. So coal-fired boilers will only account for 2.2 percent of the total 2015 market. However, the purchases will be concentrated in certain countries.  China will be the biggest purchaser of pumps for coal-fired boilers in 2015.

Top 10 Purchasers of Pumps for Coal-fired Boilers ($ Millions):
Country                                   2015
China                                       297
United States                          118
India                                        77
Germany                                 35
Russia                                      21
Japan                                       16
South Africa                           15
Poland                                     14
South Korea                            12
Australia                                  11

The biggest market segment in the U.S. will be for replacement pumps rather than for pumps for new generators. However, the market for flue gas desulfurization pumps will be strong. This involves new installations retrofitted to plants which do not presently have scrubbers.

Source: www.mcilvainecompany.com

Val-Matic Presents Valve Actuators

Val-Matic’s traveling nut manual actuators are designed to specifically match the torque characteristics of Val-Matic Ener•G® Ball Valves and Val-Matic American-BFV® Butterfly Valves and are built in accordance with AWWA Standards. The traveling nut actuator provides characterized closure, which allows the valve to slowly close during the last half of travel to reduce pipeline surges. Val-Matic actuators have the exclusive feature of externally adjustable stops rated to 450 ft-lbs of input torque. Val-Matic products fully comply with the “Buy American” provision of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).