Tag: water treatment
INTRODUCTION One of the most persistent errors in municipal and industrial fluid handling involves applying centrifugal pump logic to positive displacement equipment. Engineers often approach pump curves expecting a single line intersecting a system curve, but when faced with an Air-Operated Double Diaphragm (AODD) performance chart, they encounter a complex grid of air pressures, air […]
Lagoon Treatment Systems: Natural Wastewater Processing Article Overview Article Type: Informational Primary Goal: Provide municipalities, design engineers, plant operators, and equipment manufacturers with a practical, technically rigorous guide to lagoon treatment system selection, design, operation, performance expectations, limitations, and upgrade strategies so they can evaluate whether a lagoon system is appropriate and how to design […]
INTRODUCTION One of the most persistent challenges in municipal and industrial fluid handling is not the pump itself, but the configuration of the installation. Engineers frequently encounter systems where high-quality rotating assemblies fail prematurely due to poor intake design, inaccessible valving, or structural resonance—issues directly tied to the physical installation method. Statistics from major utility […]
Introduction In municipal and industrial water treatment infrastructure, the reliability of auxiliary equipment often dictates the resilience of the entire process. While massive raw sewage lift pumps garner the majority of capital planning attention, the failure of miscellaneous pumps—seal water systems, polymer feed pumps, sampling units, and dry-pit sump pumps—frequently triggers permit violations or costly […]
Dissolved Air Flotation: Separating Solids from Wastewater Article Overview Article Type: Informational Primary Goal: Provide municipalities, design engineers, operators, and equipment manufacturers with a practical, technical reference for selecting, designing, operating, and troubleshooting dissolved air flotation systems to optimize solids separation, footprint, and lifecycle cost for municipal and industrial wastewater applications Who is the reader: […]
Introduction In the hierarchy of wastewater treatment equipment, process pumps often receive the bulk of engineering attention. However, the humble dewatering pump acts as the critical fail-safe for plant operations. Engineers frequently encounter a scenario where a tank needs emergency draining, or a gallery floods during a storm event, only to find the portable or […]
Introduction In municipal water and industrial wastewater treatment facilities, pressure instrumentation is the sensory nervous system of the process. Yet, a surprising number of process upsets, pump protection failures, and chemical dosing errors can be traced back to a single, often overlooked component: the diaphragm seal (or chemical seal). Engineers frequently treat these isolation devices […]
Introduction In municipal and industrial wastewater treatment, the precision of chemical dosing is directly linked to process compliance, yet the longevity of the dosing equipment is often compromised by material mismatching. A common point of failure in chemical feed systems is not the mechanical drive mechanism, but the degradation of wetted parts due to unforeseen […]
Introduction to PC Pump Intake Hydraulics One of the most persistent and expensive failure modes in municipal wastewater treatment plants involves the premature destruction of progressive cavity (PC) pump stators. While often blamed on “bad rubber” or manufacturing defects, a significant percentage of these failures are actually hydraulic issues rooted in the civil and mechanical […]
Introduction Peristaltic pumps (often referred to as hose pumps or tube pumps) are frequently selected for their ability to handle aggressive chemicals, viscous sludge, and shear-sensitive fluids in water and wastewater treatment. However, despite their mechanically simple design—typically involving a rotor compressing a hose—they present a unique set of operational challenges. A surprising industry statistic […]