\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Escrito por Larry Trojak, Trojak Communications<\/em><\/p>\n Version also published in WE&T Magazine,\u00a0July 2015<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Compartiendo la riqueza<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Las plantas de tratamiento de aguas residuales, como la mayor\u00eda de sus contrapartes comerciales en la actualidad, se ven obligadas a hacer frente a una serie de desaf\u00edos que incluyen el aumento de los costos, una base de clientes a menudo exigente y un panorama econ\u00f3mico en constante cambio. Para abordar de manera eficaz estos y otros problemas, un n\u00famero creciente de plantas est\u00e1 pensando de manera innovadora para mejorar sus operaciones. Para Buffalo (NY) Sewer Authority (BSA), ese esfuerzo creativo ahora incluye complementar su propio volumen de lodo deshidratado con un producto similar (pero m\u00e1s rico) de las comunidades vecinas. Hacerlo les permite reducir dr\u00e1sticamente los costos de combustible relacionados con la incineraci\u00f3n y, al mismo tiempo, ayudar a esas comunidades con sus problemas de eliminaci\u00f3n de lodos. \u00bfCompartiendo bios\u00f3lidos? Parece que solo corresponde a una empresa de servicios p\u00fablicos que presta servicios a la "Ciudad de los buenos vecinos".<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Buen d\u00eda en Black Rock<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Fletada por primera vez en 1937 como una planta de tratamiento primaria, la instalaci\u00f3n ahora conocida como la PTAR Bird Island cerca del distrito Black Rock de Buffalo se expandi\u00f3 para incluir un tratamiento secundario a fines de la d\u00e9cada de 1970. Seg\u00fan Tom Caulfield, administrador de mejoras de capital y desarrollo de BSA, la expansi\u00f3n fue en respuesta directa a los mandatos de la Ley de Agua Limpia.<\/p>\n \u201cThat massive expansion \u2014 essentially, construction of a totally new secondary treatment facility \u2014 added aeration and secondary clarification capabilities,\u201d he says. \u201cEven today, few people realize that Bird Island is the second largest wastewater treatment plant in all of New York state.\u00a0 Only the Newtown Creek WWTP in Brooklyn\u2019s Greenpoint community is larger. We are designed to handle a peak flow of up to 540 million gallons per day (MGD) but are currently averaging flows of about 130 mgd.\u201d<\/p>\n In addition to the city of Buffalo, Bird Island WWTP serves a good number of other neighboring communities including the villages of Sloan and Depew, and the towns of West Seneca, Orchard Park, Alden, Lancaster, Cheektowaga,\u00a0Elma and includes a limited amount of flow from the Town of Tonawanda. Despite that vast coverage, it was actually the nearby Town of Amherst which, by choosing to re-think its overall approach to sludge disposal, dramatically changed the complexion of Bird Island WWTP\u2019s biosolids processing operation.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Plan B para Amherst<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Durante m\u00e1s de una d\u00e9cada, la ciudad de Amherst hab\u00eda estado deshidratando sus lodos, peletiz\u00e1ndolos y trabajando arduamente para generar un mercado para ellos como un producto fertilizante de alta calidad. Sin embargo, en 2010, el aumento de los costos operativos, junto con el envejecimiento de los equipos, los llev\u00f3 a repensar esa estrategia, seg\u00fan Michael Letina, superintendente de la planta de tratamiento de BSA.<\/p>\n \u201cAmherst esperaba tener el mismo nivel de \u00e9xito con su granulado de fertilizante que el Distrito Metropolitano de Alcantarillado de Milwaukee ha tenido con su Milorganite, pero eso nunca sucedi\u00f3\u201d, dice. \u201cLuego llegaron a un punto en el que sus digestores necesitaban reparaciones serias y, en lugar de incurrir en los costos de actualizar el sistema, comenzaron a buscar alternativas. Determinaron que enviar aqu\u00ed sus lodos activados residuales [deshidratados] (WAS) tendr\u00eda m\u00e1s sentido para ellos tanto desde el punto de vista log\u00edstico como financiero ".<\/p>\n A principios de 2010 se firm\u00f3 un acuerdo de 10 a\u00f1os, aprobando el env\u00edo de material de Amherst desde sus instalaciones a Bird Island. Hoy en d\u00eda, diariamente se transportan en cami\u00f3n alrededor de 70,000 libras de WAS desde Amherst hasta la ubicaci\u00f3n de Black Rock.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Quemar o no quemar<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Llevar a Bird Island a un punto en el que pudieran aceptar eficientemente el lodo de Amherst no fue una tarea f\u00e1cil. Trabajando a trav\u00e9s de la sucursal de Buffalo de la firma de ingenier\u00eda Arcadis US, Inc., se redactaron y consideraron planes, y el contrato de construcci\u00f3n final de $2.38 millones ofreci\u00f3 un par de opciones para el material que se entregaba.<\/p>\n \u201cEssentially, the process began with construction crews cutting a hole in\u00a0the15-inch thick floor of our truck weighing area, and installing a 60 cubic yard push floor bin supplied by Schwing Bioset (Somerset, WI). There, customers\u2019 vehicles \u2014 at the beginning it\u00a0was only the Town of Amherst\u2019s trucks \u2014 could empty the dewatered WAS they were delivering,\u201d says Letina. \u201cThe hopper contains a hydraulic push-floor that sends material through a gate where it drops into a screw feeder, then into a Schwing Bioset KSP 12V (HD) pump designed for 1,000 psi operating pressure which pushes it up to the third floor for incineration. Depending on our needs at the time, we also have the option to take that sludge out of the bin through an alternate extraction screw conveyor and drop it down to the sub basement where it can be re-wetted and sent to our digesters to produce methane.\u201d<\/p>\n Adding Amherst\u2019s dewatered WAS to the operation was a win-win in a number of regards. Not only did it address the town\u2019s needs to effectively dispose of its sludge, the material\u2019s high volatile content \u2014\u00a0generally in the 76% range \u2014 proved an excellent fuel for Bird Island\u2019s incineration effort.<\/p>\n \u201cNuestros propios bios\u00f3lidos se digieren anaer\u00f3bicamente y, como resultado, son solo un 46 por ciento vol\u00e1tiles, por lo que se necesita una cantidad considerable de gas para quemarlos\u201d, dice Letina. \u201cSin embargo, poner material de Amherst encima es como arrojar l\u00edquido para encendedor a una llama abierta. Ahora, monitoreamos continuamente para ver si la producci\u00f3n de metano o la incineraci\u00f3n nos servir\u00e1n mejor. Es un buen lujo tenerlo ".<\/p>\n <\/p>\n En el Up and Up<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n With the Amherst-generated cake added to the equation, steady, reliable equipment operation is key to ensuring that both plants realize the maximum benefit of the new effort. \u00a0The Schwing Bioset biosolids pump installed as part of the recent expansion has definitely risen to the challenge, says Alex Emmerson, BSA\u2019s process coordinator.<\/p>\n \u201cThe pump has its work cut out for it, taking material that is generally in the 26% to 28% solids range and sending it more than 65 feet straight up to the conveyor feeding the incinerator,\u201d he says. \u201cTo handle issues of excessive in-line friction, Schwing Bioset also supplied an\u00a0injection-ring system that lubricates the pipe wall with a small amount of fluid as it moves.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n On average, Bird Island maintains about 900,000 pounds of inventory on its secondary treatment system. They recently had a case, however, in which inventories ran low, prompting the need to curtail wasting. \u201cThat meant we had to rely solely on the \u2018outside\u2019 Biosolids and really push the pump \u2014 sometimes operating it at three times its normal speed,\u201d says Emmerson. \u201cEven with the added workload we were consistently pumping 8,000 pounds per hour and never had an issue. It\u2019s definitely a key part of the operation.\u201d<\/p>\n Agrega que hay una cierta tranquilidad al saber que la operaci\u00f3n de bios\u00f3lidos externos (que recientemente se expandi\u00f3 para incluir un acuerdo similar con la ciudad de Tonawanda) les brinda un buen plan de contingencia.<\/p>\n \u201cNow we know we are covered if something unforeseen \u2014\u00a0like a centrifuge failure \u2014 occurs and\u00a0we need to step up production using the imported biosolids to meet incinerator demand.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Dinero en el banco<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n BSA has been prepping for growth for some time now, an effort that included a recent incinerator rehab. According to Letina, that updating, which included a new scrubber pack and burners, and carried a price tag of nearly $5 million, allows them to meet new environmental regulations that take effect in March, 2016. \u00a0However, their ability to become a regional biosolids processor \u2014 and keep costs steady in doing so \u2014 is a real source of pride.<\/p>\n \u201cMuch of the preliminary work for this part of the operation is the brainchild of Jim Keller our treatment plant superintendent and Roberta \u2018Robbie\u2019 Gaiek, BSA\u2019s plant administrator,\u201d says Caulfield.\u00a0 \u201cBecause of their planning and foresight, we are already seeing the fruits of this effort. \u00a0Before the installation of the centrifuges and digesters, this plant used about 550,000 decatherms (Dth) of natural gas a year; now we are averaging about 175,000. So we\u2019ve effectively cut our gas consumption by about 65%. With the rehabbed incinerator and addition of the higher volatile material from Amherst and Tonawanda, even with the added volumes we hope to be down around 150,000 to 160,000 Dth a year.\u201d<\/p>\n The savings realized from Bird Island\u2019s reduction in fuel costs is being reinvested in onsite projects, eliminating the need for bonding and the headaches that come with it.\u00a0\u201cMore importantly,\u201d says Caulfield, \u201cit has also allowed us to go nine years now without a rate hike to our customers. In light of what the economy has been through, not a lot of utilities can say that.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Viendo hacia adelante<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Los planes futuros que se est\u00e1n considerando \u2014con ahorros adicionales anticipados\u2014 incluyen un proyecto de calefacci\u00f3n y energ\u00eda dise\u00f1ado para recuperar y reutilizar los gases de escape de los incineradores de la planta.<\/p>\n \u201cThe original plan was designed to incorporate the use of three waste\/heat recovery boilers, says Letina.\u00a0 \u201cOnce operational, the exhaust off the afterburners would create steam which would power a turbine and generate 1.5 – 2 megawatts of electricity \u2014 about 1\/3 of our current load. Our electric bill right now is substantial \u2014 about $4.5 – $5 million a year. If we can save another $1.5 to $2 million annually, that money can be reinvested into the infrastructure, again avoiding bonding and rate hikes. The last few years have been challenging but definitely worth the effort. With these proposed changes and our growing role as a regional biosolids processor, this is an exciting time for Bird Island and BSA overall.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Para obtener m\u00e1s informaci\u00f3n sobre Schwing Bioset, nuestros productos e ingenier\u00eda, o este proyecto espec\u00edficamente, llame al 715-247-3433, env\u00ede un correo electr\u00f3nico\u00a0marketing@schwingbioset.com<\/span>,<\/a>\u00a0ver nuestro\u00a0sitio web<\/span><\/a><\/span>, o encu\u00e9ntrenos en las redes sociales.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n Para ver una versi\u00f3n de esta historia publicada en WE&T Magazine,\u00a0haga clic aqu\u00ed<\/span><\/a><\/span>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n <\/p>\nDescargue nuestros folletos e informes de aplicaciones<\/a>\n![\"IMG_1270a-pump1\"](\"http:\/\/cdn2.hubspot.net\/hubfs\/51084\/IMG_1270a-pump1.jpg\")
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