Don’t let your wastewater treatment plant become like an unused gym membership!
Fitness is a necessity rather than a luxury. All of us recognize it and even buy a gym membership. However, this membership often remains unused because of several challenges we face in hitting the gym. We might have a busy schedule; we might need to fulfill specific requirements before we could hit the gym, or the gym we want to join might be out of our budget!
On similar lines, a wastewater treatment plant is a necessity that helps improve the availability of water and prevent environmental degradation.
Wastewater treatment plants enable businesses to reduce their dependence on freshwater and ensure compliance with environmental norms. However, many businesses might find STPs very costly to operate and maintain or face other constraints. In many cases, wastewater treatment plants are installed, but soon cease operations owing to several operational challenges, resembling that unused gym membership!
Inovar works to resolve these operational challenges by providing highly efficient and cost-effective wastewater and sewage treatment plants. Inovar water treatment plants have a track record of consistent performance over long periods of time.
There are 4 key operational challenges to be addressed for smooth operations of your STPs
Challenge: High energy consumption
Energy consumption is the biggest driver of costs in wastewater treatment plants. Components such as pumps and blowers are mainly responsible for energy consumption. Around 50%-60% of the energy is used in the treatment of biological waste.
Solution
Choosing energy-efficient pumps and adopting better filtration systems to treat biological waste is key to achieving higher energy efficiency in wastewater treatment plants.
Pumps
Many older pumps operate at a single speed, and on/off cycling. However, newer pumps offer motor/drive/pump combinations that can take a wide range of flows. VFD drives can also be added to the pump setup to match pump speed to the flow rate. This can further reduce the energy consumption of the wastewater treatment plant.
Filtration technology
The filtration technologies in STPs are evolving to ensure lower energy use while delivering higher performance. For instance. The conventional activated sludge system has now been replaced by the Membrane Bioreactor process (MBR). The MBR system combines biological filtration and microfiltration or ultrafiltration processes. The MBR is a much more efficient and shorter process than the conventional activated sludge mechanism.
Explore the MBR system in detail on our blog here
Challenge: High sludge generation
Sludge is the residue produced at the end of the water treatment process. Primary sludge arises from primary processes such as chemical precipitation, sedimentation, and others. Secondary sludge is the activated waste biomass arising from the biological treatment process. The disposal of the high volume of sludge produced by the plant is a serious challenge.
Solution
Much of the sludge can be used as manure for agricultural or gardening purposes. Some of the sludge undergoes a process called dewatering and is buried deep underground. Many businesses often reduce their production to reduce the amount of sludge being produced. Treatment technologies are also using aerobic and anaerobic reactions to make the sludge usable as manure.
Challenge: Staffing problems
Operating a wastewater treatment plant requires skilled staff. Establishments such as small businesses or residential societies might face problems in hiring and retaining STP operators within a specific budget.
Solution
Deploying an automatic water treatment plant effectively resolves this issue. Fully automated wastewater systems require a higher initial investment. However, these systems eliminate human errors and function more smoothly, offering a longer lifespan and better performance than manually operated systems.
Inovar provides fully automatic and cost-effective STPs for industrial, commercial, and residential facilities of any influent size and population.
Explore the benefits of digitalized automatic STPs
Challenge: Large footprint of STP
STPs that use activated sludge systems, settling tanks, and aeration basins require a large space. Additionally, the real estate occupied by the STP cannot be used for any other purposes. This could make an STP seem like a dead investment. However, do note that steps can be taken to reduce the footprint of a wastewater treatment plant.
Solution
As cited above, advanced technologies such as MBR require a lesser amount of space. Conducting studies could help you identify areas where the STP footprint could be reduced. Working closely with a water treatment expert is necessary to design a wastewater treatment plant with a lower footprint.
Inovar provides customized sewage treatment plants with the lowest possible footprint to operate efficiently under the toughest space constraints. We also offer fully mobile packaged STPs which operate efficiently in areas with space constraints.
Explore details about Inovar STPs
Conclusion:
Wastewater treatment plans or sewage treatment plants must play a delicate balancing act between costs, efficiency, and long lifespan. Looking beyond the costs, the users should aim to install durable and reliable wastewater treatment plants. Inovar is focused on developing the technology to resolve the most critical challenges in water treatment. We provide all the key services related to water treatment from feasibility studies to design, manufacturing, installation, and maintenance are brought under one roof. We also provide consultancy and retrofitting services to upgrade existing wastewater treatment plants at a low cost.
To resolve your most pressing operational challenges in wastewater treatment plants, get in touch with us!