Double-digit figures of the operational costs of wastewater plants but also some industries are in sludge disposal. By using the correct chemistry in combination with smart process management technologies, significant cost-efficiencies can be achieved.
Unique chemistry portfolio is good
Kemira offers a unique combination of inorganic and organic chemistries for wastewater treatment, including sludge dewatering. “We are continuously investing in R&D to bring new technologies to the market – like the recently launched Kemira Superfloc® XD-5000 and XD-7000 series polymer, particularly developed for the sludge dewatering application,” says Jean-Christophe Ades, Sr Marketing Manager at Kemira. “It improves cake solids and filtrate quality compared to conventional cationic polymers and is effective at low dosage levels.”
…but application expertise is key
Sludge dewatering can be a tricky operation due to its varying composition. This is why application expertise is always an important piece of the puzzle. “Our message to customers is that we will choose the right chemistry for you, you don’t have to worry about it,” says Ronald van Rossum, Application Development Manager at Kemira. “With an extensive cumulative global experience from different customer cases, we’ll help you in finding the right kind of technical approach overall.”
Smarter process management
“Recently, we have been working on developing smart digital solutions for sludge dewatering,” says Monika Epenstein, Marketing Manager at Kemira. “By using a combination of measurement equipment, our different chemistries and the KemConnect™ platform for smart process management, we can optimise performance and follow customer KPI’s in real-time.” This kind of smart chemical treatment of sludge enables automation and on-demand precision in chemical consumption, removing guesswork even when the input sludge properties vary over time.
“We have also been working on a value-calculation tool where we can show the customer’s current performance level compared to peers. It is based on a benchmark database that we’ve been building. I welcome customers to get in touch if they wish to learn more about this!” says Monika. “We think it’s best to take a holistic approach to customer’s processes rather than just fix separate issues – they’re never isolated, anyway. Best results can be achieved when we discuss total cost of ownership and performance, rather than chemistry cost per ton of product. I expect that in the future, the municipal tendering criteria will also develop in this direction.”
Customer success from Arlington, Texas
Village Creek Wastewater Treatment is one of our many customers we have been able help with sludge challenges. The wastewater treatment plant in Arlington, Texas, started to suffer from deteriorating dewatering performance. Cake solids were wetter and smellier than before, which led to increased hauling costs and complaints by the local residents. Additionally, struvite started to build up on in the sludge grinders and on the belt filter presses, increasing the maintenance costs.
Kemira introduced the correct chemistries and utilised some KemConnect™ smart process management real-time monitoring and optimization technologies to improve the process.
Results started to show quickly
• Performance improvement: up to 5 percent total solids increase in cake solids, reduced odors, struvite control
• Efficiency improvement: 20 percent increase in belt filter press throughput at the same polymer dosage
• Cost savings: 10 percent, plus additional savings from hauling, struvite clean-outs, wasted polymer from overdosing, disposal and odor fines.
Wish to get in touch to discuss more? Drop us a line at water@kemira.com.
