#pumpstation

Sulzer has completed the first in a series of wastewater pumping stations for a Danish municipality. Replacing a pre-existing facility, the new station offers twice the capacity of the old one, while its highly efficient, horizontally mounted XFP pumps have cut energy demand by 40 percent. Sulzer has completed the first in a series of wastewater pumping stations for a Danish municipality. (shutterstock_686737981)The project, in the Danish city of Aarhus, will be one of up to ten new pumping stations delivered under a six-year framework agreement with the municipality. Those stations will each use one of three standardized, modular designs developed by Sulzer to meet the needs of its customer. Sulzer wastewater engineers took advantage of advanced computer-aided design techniques during the development process, including the use of virtual reality technology to help the customer visualize the new concepts.Turnkey solutions The XFP pumps working in a duty/standby arrangement, give the station a capacity of 25 liters per second.Under the terms of the agreement, Sulzer will be responsible for end-to-end execution of the pumping stations, including detailed design, supply of pumps, control systems and pipework, installation, and the demolition of pre-existing stations. To minimize disruption during construction, the new stations make extensive use of modular design elements and pre-cast concrete structures that can be manufactured off site.The first station delivered under the new framework is based on the largest of the three design concepts. Its two XFP pumps, working in a duty/standby arrangement, give the station a capacity of 25 liters per second. That’s double the previous station’s capacity and enough to meet expected wastewater demand in the area for the next 25 to 30 years. The pumping station design uses a dry-well concept.The station’s improvements in energy efficiency come from a combination of the advanced pump design, the use of high-efficiency electric motors and the introduction of new control systems with variable speed drives that allow the station’s output to vary smoothly in response to changes in demand.Commissioning of the station went smoothly too. Once construction was complete, the changeover from the old station took around two hours, minimizing disruption to the local sewage network and eliminating the need to use tankers to remove wastewater while the system was offline.Streamlined approachFor the municipality, using a library of standard designs will streamline the process of commissioning and constructing each pumping station under the contract, since per-project design time is minimized, and manufacturing can commence as soon as the customer is ready to initiate a project. Sulzer wastewater engineers used virtual reality technology to help the customer visualize the new concepts.While fast project execution and the use of the latest and most efficient pump and control technologies were key aspects for the customer, it also wanted to improve working conditions for its operations and maintenance staff. All but the smallest pumping station designs use a dry-well concept, and the horizontally oriented pumps are mounted on special maintenance sleds that allow them to be decoupled and moved for maintenance without the need for heavy lifting equipment.The sled allows most common maintenance operations to be completed by a single operator. The use of common equipment types and design concepts across all the new pumping stations, meanwhile, will simplify spare parts management, reduce training requirements, and make it easier for staff to familiarize themselves with operations and maintenance tasks.“The customer is keen to streamline the whole operation relating to pumping stations, so using a modular design from one supplier means they benefit from cost savings throughout the lifecycle of the station,” explains Kenneth Larson, Technical Manager, Sulzer Pumps. “From concept to operation and spare parts, every aspect of our solution is designed to make the project as cost-effective and easy to run as possible.”www.sulzer.com

Australian wine is world-renowned, and vineyards across the country go to great lengths to grow the perfect grape. Irrigation is paramount to achieve this in a hot climate, so farmers are always looking to deliver water to vines in the most efficient way possible. Consequently, when Yenda Prods Irrigation undertook a project for vineyards located near Griffith in New South Wales (NSW), it selected a Sulzer axial split case pump to deliver efficiency improvements of 3 to 5 % compared to competing designs. Many new world wines are produced in hot, arid areas – so irrigation is a key aspect of wine production in these regions. Being able to control the water supply to the vine can contribute to a grape with the desired characteristics, which hopefully results in a good vintage.Irrigation systems rely on pumps to move water to where it is needed throughout the vineyard – an operation that takes up a sizable chunk of the total power consumption. With these systems operating for extended periods, even marginally improving the efficiency of the system can provide sizeable long-term energy savings, maximizing the cost-effectiveness of wine production.Laying the groundwork Yenda Prods Irrigation is a major irrigation company within the NSW region. Famed for introducing new technology and practices to the water industry, it was approached by a customer to improve efficiency and reliability of the systems installed at its Cauduro & Poloni site. To accomplish this, energy and system audits would be required to find the optimal way to achieve the constant flow rate of approximately 256 liters per second needed by the vineyards.The pumps, pump stations, pipes, filtration, mainlines and valves were all analyzed along with input from a leading irrigation consulting engineering firm based out of Adelaide, South Australia to generate the required duty point.Using this information, it was determined that combining two of the pumping stations, reducing the number of pumps from three to one and connecting the farms with new mainlines was the optimized approach. However, this relied on sourcing a highly efficient pump that could meet the duty requirement.Serving the solution The Sulzer axial split case pumpAfter assessing available options, Yenda Prods Irrigation selected a Sulzer axial split case pump. As a global pump original equipment manufacturer (OEM) Sulzer offers full experience in providing specialized pumps for irrigation applications. The pump selected could meet the duty point of 256 liters per second at a 57 m head with 87.1 % overall efficiency - a 3 to 5 % improvement over competitors. Furthermore, it offered low net positive suction head required (NPSHr) of 3.2 m - another key advantage. Consolidating the pumping stations, reducing the number of pumps and connecting the farms with new mainlines further promoted efficiency.The robust construction of the Sulzer pump was also preferred. Irrigation water often contains abrasive particles, which can cause premature wear to key components such as the impeller. To ensure that efficiency was matched by reliability, a duplex steel impeller was specified to ensure long-term durability. Combined with additional filtration systems installed by Yenda Prods Irrigation, this would reduce downtime so that the vineyards could properly capitalize on the energy savings.“Sulzer, with its range of hydraulics, duplex impeller material, excellent efficiency and low NPSHr, was a very good fit for this application,” said Damon Cammish, Fabrication Manager & Mechanical Design Engineer at Yenda Prods Irrigation.Time has proven this statement correct. During the first year of operation, the pump has boosted process reliability while delivering the high efficiency expected. This has resulted in reduced operating costs, allowing the sites to deliver essential water to the vines in the most cost-effective way possible.Ramandeep Singh Saroya, National Sales Manager for the Greater Melbourne Area at Sulzer, adds: “We offer pumping solutions for the complete water cycle. Irrigation applications are one of our specialties, with our exceptional technical knowledge ensuring that we can deliver highly efficient and reliable pumps. In this case, our position ensured we could deliver an optimal solution at a very competitive capital cost.”www.sulzer,com