Blower Technologies and Energy Efficiency Opportunities

The operating principles of today’s wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) are permanently under review against world best practices. Not only does the right treatment selection play a vital role, but the energy efficiency is also of utmost importance with energy consumption a major cost factor during the lifetime cycle of installed equipment. It is no longer good enough to purchase individual components. Plant managers, design engineers and consultants must work together to find world best practice system solutions for today’s needs that flexibility cater for future requirements. With ever increasing energy costs, it is vital to understand the importance of the working principles of compressed air equipment, and its influence on the overall plant performance and lifecycle cost. Knowing that energy is the single highest operating cost in a WWTP, where blowers for aeration play a crucial role, knowledge of the different blower operating principles is important.

This paper outlines; the traditional approach to WWTP design and its associated efficiency problems, system solutions and an alternate design approach with key efficiency gains, guidance on how to calculate specific power for an individual unit and an entire system.