Municipality
The wastewater treatment processes they use are organized into different stages. Many power transmission products enable them to provide residential and business owners with reliable water. These products remove big and small impurities and pollutants. Municipalities also review the multiple steps used for treating and managing dirty water for optimal outcomes.
The Stages of Wastewater Treatment
Primary Treatment
Primary or preliminary treatment involves removing big and potentially damaging pieces of debris from the sewage water. These include fragments of wood, grease, and rags.
Through bar screens or mechanical filters, the debris is screened and goes into the grit chamber. This process prepares the dirty water for purification.
This stage in wastewater treatment removes nearly 50% of incoming Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) and 50-70% of Total Suspended Solids (TSS). It also eliminates more than 60% of oil and grease from sewage water. The materials removed during the primary treatment of wastewater have the potential to settle on the water’s surface.
Grit Removal
Grit chambers push sand and gravel in water to the bottom, preventing pipe clogging and pump damage. Without grit removal, gravel can wash into sewers with stormwater.
Power transmission products like automatic strainers, pumps, gearboxes, bronze bushing, couplings, motors, bearings, and seals facilitate screening and sand and grit removal.
Motorized systems like automatic strainers capture large debris and solids from water and prevent them from crowding the sedimentation tanks. They use a multi-step filtration and backwash process to facilitate smooth flow and better quality of water for the next stages of purification.
Primary Clarification
The different parts of the tank, like skimmer arms, v-notched valves, and piston-plunger pumps, remove sludge from water, which is then used as a fertilizer.
Major industrial products used in primary clarification of water are automatic self-cleaning strainers like Hyper-Jet™ Strainer, bearings, seals, and pumps. Hyper-Jet™ strainers are ideal for system applications where the operating pressure is minimal and removing debris is challenging. They protect motors, pumps, and heat exchangers.
Aeration
Aeration is the first step in the secondary treatment of wastewater. After primary clarification, water flows into the aeration tanks or basins where air is pumped to release gases like hydrogen sulfide. It also replenishes oxygen, which allows bacterial growth.
The bacteria feed onto the organic matter and break it down into harmless by-products. Aeration is one of the first major processes in producing drinking water.
This process affects the efficiency of the wastewater treatment process. A proper aeration system makes wastewater treatment time-efficient. It improves energy efficiency and, as a result, cuts down unwanted costs.
Secondary Clarification
After this, water passes into another sedimentation tank for the elimination of excess bacteria and dead microbes. This is called secondary clarification.
Power transmission products like sequence controllers, pumps, motors, couplings, chains, and sprockets in sedimentation tanks and aeration basins are used in this stage of wastewater treatment.
The sequence controller provides an automatic backwashing cycle with minimum water loss. They are built with top-quality industrial-type components and allow you to have individual components replaced without needing to replace the entire circuit board.
Rotating Biological Contactor (RBC)
An aerobic biological wastewater treatment setup is used to treat domestic black or greywater. It is called the Rotating Biological Contactor (RBC). This unit can also treat biodegradable wastewater of varying strengths. It features microbial biofilms that break down organic debris in wastewater.
Well-designed RBCs can reduce about 80 to 90% of BOD. Their ability to remove nitrogen via nitrification and convert it into nitrogen is also high. This is because both aerobic and anaerobic bacteria can thrive in the machine’s biofilm.
The major power transmission products that power RBCs are bearings, gearboxes, couplings, and motors.
Disinfection
In order to eliminate all bacteria from the wastewater, disinfection is carried out. Chemicals like chlorine, UV light, or ozone disinfect the treated water further and kill the remaining bacteria. It removes pathogenic organisms from the treated water that cause cholera, polio, hepatitis, typhoid and a number of other diseases.
Disinfection is different from sterilization. While disinfection reduces pathogenic organisms, sterilization eliminates all of them.
Disinfection happens in a contact chamber, which is powered by pumps, bearings, gearboxes, couplings, motors, seals, chains, and sprockets.
Tertiary Treatment
Tertiary water treatment makes water safe to be used again in water-intensive processes. This is done when the water supplied should adhere to very high-quality standards.
Automatic self-cleaning strainers remove phosphorus and nitrogen in the water at this stage. The tools use motorized backwashing to ensure that the straining process is optimal. They also protect biological systems by filtering water before biofilters. The backwash cycles in automatic straining systems are automated by sequence controllers. They facilitate the proper operation of these systems.
Advanced Technologies Enhancing Water Treatment Plants
Wastewater treatment solutions are crucial for protecting environment and the health of humans. However, today, there is a rise of many novel pollutants. Those like heavy metals, toxic substances, and chemicals, are challenging to remove. This is why advanced technologies, like automatic strainers, automatic self-cleaning strainers like Hyper-Jet™, and sequence controllers have emerged, which effectively address hard-to-remove contaminants. They are clog-resistant, low maintenance, and efficiently strain media. The systems also minimize water loss and can be customized to unique needs.