water business

water DECEMBER 2014

72water Business

WATER INFRASTRUCTURE GROUP PROJECT WINS SUSTAINABILITY AWARDS Water Infrastructure Group’s contributions to sustainability and environmental protection have been recognised with award wins at the Banksia Sustainability Awards and Victorian Premier’s Sustainability Awards. The Barwon Water Biosolids Management Project was the winner of the 2014 Banksia Sustainable Water Management Award and the 2014 Premier’s Environmental Protection Award.

The biosolids drying facility was delivered as a public-private partnership, developed and financed by Plenary Environment for Barwon Water. It was designed, built and is now operated by Water Infrastructure Group.

Peter Everist, Water Infrastructure Group Strategic Growth and Marketing Director, said the project introduced a new technology to Australia to deliver a large-scale, sustainable solution for urban biosolids.

“The small-footprint, fully enclosed thermal drying facility produces very dry pellets that are safe to handle, easy to transport and can be reused as a soil conditioner immediately after processing using standard farm fertiliser spreaders,” Mr Everist said.

Barwon Water Managing Director, Joe Adamski, said the corporation was delighted the project had been recognised.

“The biosolids drying facility provides an environmentally sustainable, long-term solution for biosolids produced at Black Rock and Barwon Water’s smaller water reclamation plants. Since beginning operation, the facility has resulted in a 30% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions and cut heavy truck movements by 1,000 a year.”

The biosolids facility provides a model for Australia for sustainable biosolids management to address the environmental issues associated with biosolids stockpiling, disposal and reuse. The $76 million drying facility can treat 60,000 tonnes of biosolids a year. It is the first of its kind in Australia and the largest of its type in the southern hemisphere. Short movies about the project are available on the Water Infrastructure Group YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLbvvu7Ylm926IdbMIm6L0V5CJFqgRccKC

CMC MICROWAVE METER FROM CERLIC CONTROLS Cerlic Controls has released the new CMC microwave meter. Utilising the True-Phase Shift measuring principle, this microwave sensor is designed to accurately measure the total solids (TS) concentration of sludge or biosolids in water and wastewater treatment processes as high as 300,000mg/l (30% TS).

The microwave TS-meter with True-Phase technology provides rapid response times, which means the continuous output is not affected by the sludge flow rate, changing sludge colour or consistency. For dewatered, digested or primary sludge high in fats and/or grease, microwave technology is by far the most accurate and reliable sensing approach.

By mounting the two ceramic antennas at an angle within the pipe section, Cerlic prevents microwave reflections. This provides better accuracy and stability than existing microwave meters. The angled antenna surfaces of the CMC also promote self-cleaning, while single point calibration (up to 10 points if desired) ensures the configuration is as simple as the other Cerlic sludge sensors. The sensor provides a continuous 4-20mA (or HART) signal for both TS and sludge temperature. With no moving parts, the ruggedly built sensor is designed to provide maintenance-free operation.

The inclusion of the CMC ensures a smooth and consistent delivery of a known TS concentration to digesters, promoting efficient operation and reducing operation costs. Further, by measuring real time and carefully increasing TS concentrations, plants may reduce the total volume of biosolids being pumped and/or handled, significantly saving on pumping costs and expensive chemicals.

“The reduction of biosolids volume through increasing TS will also eventually reduce transportation costs” says Jennie Björk, Export Manager of Cerlic. “We now have a complete range for online, automated measurement of TSS/TS concentration in the various sludge processes of water and wastewater plants, from as low as 10 mg/L up to 300 000 mg/L (30% TS).”

Needing only 100mm of pipe length (face-to-face), the compact CMC is available as a wafer flange in sizes from DN50 to DN300. It is a rugged product without moving parts, designed for a long life and low maintenance.

Some other products from Cerlic include:

• Sludge Blanket Meter, CBX Detects the blanket and fluff layers by means of a near infrared (NIR) suspended solids sensor. It travels through fluff layers until it finds the preset blanket solids concentration.

• Portable Meter, Multitracker A portable instrument for several parameters. Chose your sensor for suspended solids or sludge level. You can easily change sensor by means of a simple contact connection.

• Low Suspended Solids Sensor, CTX-LC A Low Suspended Solids Sensor for continuous on-line measurement of suspended solids. The sensor has high accuracy for applications with very low consistencies. To be used on final effuent and reuse water applications in municipal and industrial waste water treatment plants.