The technology has already been trialled by Thames Water at its Reading Sewage Treatment Works (STW) and is now being installed as part of the new Thames Water Riverside project, providing an energy-efficient, high-performance alternative to conventional sludge handling systems.
Following a visit by Thames Water representatives to observe SEEPEX’s SAI technology in action in Sweden, the company decided to measure the potential energy savings it could make by installing a trial SAI system at its Reading STW. This site had previously used piston pumps, but because of process limitations and high operating costs, Thames Water switched to SEEPEX’s multistage PC pumps in 2014. This solution halved Thames Water’s energy use, as well as reducing transport and maintenance costs. Four years on, it was time to see if SAI could improve things further.
The SAI Reading trial set out to not only prove the technology, but to quantify the additional energy savings that could be delivered by pumping the dewatered biosolids from the centrifuge discharge to the storage silo. A SAI trial unit, including full controls and monitoring, was installed on the SEEPEX multistage PC pumps for a trial period and the results were recorded.
Read the full article in the May issue of DPA