18 / 40
⎪
Pump systems, pipes, valves and seals
⎪
16
Mechanical Technology — March 2016
C
ompanies around the world
are facing increasing pressure
to reduce their environmental
impact and re-examine their
long-term sustainability. To this end,
many companies are seeking solutions
to effective wastewater treatment. This
is in line with the worldwide trend
towards zero liquid discharge (ZLD),
which encourages industries to adopt
wastewater technologies to assist in the
drive towards water recycling and reduc-
ing water wastage.
In a country such as South Africa,
where water is a precious resource that
needs to be carefully managed, effective
wastewater technologies have become
an imperative, which cannot be ignored,
says Air Products’ Sachin Kulkarni.
“The drive towards effective water
usage is not only an environmental con-
cern, but has become a strong business
Oxy-Dep:
increasing the efficiency of
Wastewater aeration using oxygen versus air significantly lowers VOC emissions by reducing gas stripping.
Air Products’ Oxy-Dep range of technologies provide efficient oxygenation (usually >90% oxygen transfer
efficiency), where high loads exist. Oxy-Dep also provides a reduction in odours, surface foaming, aerosols
and VOCs, as well as improved sludge settling and dewatering, either when retrofitted or in a purpose-built
activated sludge plant. Inset: Traditional aeration (using air) associated with significantly more surface
foaming.
Air Products’ oxygen-based technologies provide effective solutions to increase
treatment capacity of existing water treatment plants. This according to Sachin
Kulkarni (right), national sales manager, bulk at Air Products South Africa.
imperative as well,” he says. “While
legislation is in place regarding waste
water management, it is the business
community that is driving demand for
new technology. The market is actively
seeking water treatment solutions in
order to become sustainable in the
long term.”
Air Products, a manufacturer and dis-
tributor of a wide range of industrial gases
and chemicals, has a proud track record
of being at the forefront of continuous
improvement in technological innovation,
and providing effective solutions to spe-
cific industrial problems. The company
has introduced a number of technologies
to address wastewater treatment issues
to global industry, notably oxygen and
ozone technologies.
“Waste water technologies must have
economic benefits to the company. In
other words, they must be cost-effective
in addition to being environmentally-
friendly,” Kulkarni notes. “Air Products is
continually looking for ways to optimise
wastewater treatment facilities through
improved oxygen-based technologies,
which bring direct benefits to the user.”
Air Products works with original
equipment manufacturers (OEMs), envi-
ronmental organisations as well as end-
users to tailor-make solutions to specific
problems with regards to the treatment
of wastewater, such as high biological
oxygen demand (BOD) or high chemi-
cal oxygen demand (COD). In this field,
the company has worked closely with
companies in the global food processing,
paper and pulp, tanneries and distilleries
industries.
“The key to the efficient use of oxygen
includes the design of the wastewater
plant, the equipment used to transfer
gaseous oxygen into the liquid effluent,
and an intimate understanding of the
biological process,” says Kulkarni.
One of the technologies that Air
Products has introduced in order to opti-
mise wastewater processing and address
BOD is oxy-Dep
®
, a biological wastewater
treatment process that uses pure oxygen
instead of air.
“While air plays an important role in
industrial wastewater treatment, it can-
not always do the job alone. Treatment
methods that use oxygen-based technol-
ogy to purify and neutralise wastewater
are gaining popularity in the industry,”
says Kulkarni.
The use of high purity (HP) oxygen
has particular application in wastewater
treatment facilities in cases where the