Ajman Sewerage Chooses VSD Rotary Screw Technology for Wastewater Aeration Process
Around the world today, demand of potable and recycled water is ever growing for industrial as well as domestic use.
So is the case for Ajman, an emirate in the United Arab Emirates, where a private wastewater treatment company, Ajman Sewerage (Private) Company Limited (ASPCL), was launched in 2002 under a concession agreement granted by the government of Ajman with the purpose of constructing, operating and maintaining a sewerage system and wastewater treatment plant to manage the expanding need for the collection and treatment of wastewater in Ajman.
The plant has been in operation since 2007 and is today one of the region’s flagship facilities for wastewater management, not only treating and disposing of wastewater but also producing treated effluent for irrigation and other uses. The phase 2 upgrade of the plant completed in 2017 increased the plant’s treatment capacity of 137,000 m3/day. Since its inception, the Ajman sewerage system and wastewater treatment plant has been operated and maintained by Moalajah, a leader in the provision of wastewater services in the UAE.
Compressed air solution for critical application
Like any other wastewater treatment plant around the world that uses a biological treatment process, ASPCL’s plant has aeration as a crucial part of their process. Aeration is a sensitive biological process where bacteria is allowed to grow, breaking down organic matter in the sludge tanks at a specific pressure and volume of compressed air. Alongside consultant and specialist contractors, Atlas Copco’s Low Pressure Specialists on water treatment application were involved in the early FEED stages of the Phase 2 expansion and proposed an efficient technical solution to achieve the critical discharge parameters in all climate conditions, whilst minimizing electrical consumption, keeping in mind that air blower operations account for over 50% of the total electricity cost of such plant.
Investing in quality and energy efficiency
Oil-free technology was essential to avoid introducing foreign contaminates like oil particles to the water and operational cost efficiency was of vital importance to keep the ownership cost to the minimum. Rotary screw oil-free air blower was a clear winner on comparing within the large portfolio of low pressure technologies available at Atlas Copco. The ZS VSD screw blowers are single stage direct gear driven machines with minimum drive losses compared to traditional belt-driven rotary lobe (5-7% or more). The operation philosophy of a sewerage plant is mostly fluctuating air demand and thus adding VSD technology with the largest turndown ratio of 70% on flow made a great choice! With a VSD unit, automatically motor speeds are adjusted to match flow demand providing significant energy savings and almost eliminating large energy wastage (unload power).
Since 2017, Atlas Copco’s 6 units of 250 kW ZS VSD compressors are continuously operational at this facility with 24,000 running hours clocked on average per unit. ZS single-stage oil-free screw air blower are designed as plug and play units offering maximum reliability at site with superior components and design considerations like compensators to absorb vibrations, energy efficient 6/4 lobe screw element design (saves over 30% energy vs. traditional lobe), advanced high precision heavy duty gearbox and electrical cabinet housed on the blower skid itself.
This silent blower delivered within a canopy guarantees user-friendly quiet operation with necessary protection against dust – reducing total installation cost at site. Advanced connectivity capabilities on ZS air blowers are possible thanks to onboard microprocessor-based controller Elektronikon with SMARTlink featuring remote control and monitoring.
We want equipment with maximum reliability and at the same time energy efficient and Atlas Copco Screw blowers have proven to be a right choice.
These blowers have assured maximum uptime for us to date with no major overhaul or services needed. These are smart machines with high-class components support with local aftermarket services from Atlas Copco to give us a peace of mind.
Our Atlas Copco ZS screw blowers are a proven technology in the wastewater treatment segment across the Middle East. Working in very tough ambient conditions and delivering the most efficient performance. Here selecting a rightly sized blower with suitable technology is a key to successful installation as done at Ajman Sewerage with over 5 years of smooth operation.