Selecting Blower Technology: Four Stages of Wastewater Treatment

The following is an excerpt from the article, Optimize Blower Energy Use published in the January issue of Plant Services. The article is by Paul Petersen, regional sales manager - blowers and low pressure compressors.

Blower selection is an important decision when designing a new wastewater treatment plant or upgrading existing facilities. The use of blowers for aeration or mixing accounts for 40-75 percent of the total energy consumption in a wastewater treatment plant. For this reason, the specification of the correct technology and size for each blower is of paramount importance. The proper selection of blower equipment for the application, as well as purchasing from a reputable supplier, can save thousands of dollars in energy, repairs and maintenance costs.

This article provides an overview of the blower technologies available for wastewater treatment, and discusses the advantages and limitations of each technology in various wastewater treatment applications, with a specific focus on secondary wastewater treatment methods that utilize blowers in their processes.

Four Stages of Wastewater Treatment

There are four stages of wastewater treatment:

• Pretreatment typically involves some type of filtration or screening.
• Primary treatment can be accomplished by either dissolved air flotation (DAF) or sedimentation.
• Secondary treatment is most commonly accomplished by the activated sludge process, and this article covers several other methods of secondary treatment in addition to the activated sludge process.
• Tertiary treatment is not always required, but can be accomplished by additional filtration, advanced oxidation, UV disinfection or a combination of these methods depending on the quality of effluent required.

You can read the full article, which provides detailed information on secondary wastewater treatment applications, blower technologies and important factors to consider when selecting blowers by visiting the Plant Services website and reading Optimize Blower Energy Use in the January digital edition. You can also follow along on The Fifth Utility as we explore each of these topics in-depth in the coming weeks. Subscribe to The Fifth Utility and receive an email newsletter every Friday morning with links to the week’s articles.

If you would like to learn more about Atlas Copco’s blower technologies, fill out our request a quote form and a representative will be in touch with you shortly.