Seepex’s smart air injection (SAI) system aims to revolutionise dewatered sludge transportation by making the process more efficient over long distances.
Dewatered sludge is introduced into the pipeline using a progressive cavity pump, forming compacted material which is split into ‘plugs’ and pushed down lines up to 1,000 metres long using compressed air.
“SAI can not only transfer dewatered sludge over distances of up to a kilometre, but is also remarkably economical, because the total investment costs, and running costs are comparatively low,” says Stephan Mottyll, development engineer and project manager.
Traditional methods are more maintenance-intensive, can involves risks from working at height with silos and frequently involve exposing sludge to the environment.
At Thames Water, where piston pumps were replaced by PC pumps, Seepex’s closed piping system reduced discharge pressures and energy consumption by more than half, says the company.
Reduction in friction losses and the discharge pressure requirements means that pumps fitted with smart conveying technology (SCT) can be used for long distance, high viscosity transfer duties.
Pump maintenance time is minimal as pipework removal is not required and lower discharge pressure ensures increased service life for the components.
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