The operators of a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) in Richmond, BC, Canada, have opted to replace the existing low-pressure UV disinfection system with a high output medium-pressure UV system from Aquionics. The WWTP serves the Riverport Sports and Entertainment Complex and surrounding residential areas in southern Richmond, near Vancouver.
The facility decided to switch to medium pressure UV because cleaning the low-pressure system was very difficult. Each of the two low-pressure units contained 24 lamps and automatic wiping is not an option with that number of lamps, so cleaning had to be done either manually or with chemicals. This is an extremely time-consuming process that required the entire system to be shut down.
The two Aquionics units, however, each contain just two medium-pressure lamps, each of which is fitted with an automatic wiper that keeps the quartz sleeves clean during normal operation. There is no need to shut down the system for manual or chemical cleaning and no danger of damaging the lamps or exposure to wastewater.
The Aquionics units are installed after a sequencing batch reactor (SBR) and can treat a combined flow of up to 600 gal per minute (2271 litres per minute) of wastewater from the adjacent sports complex and residential areas. The disinfected wastewater is discharged into the Fraser River.
Each of the UV units is fitted with a monitor that measures actual UV intensity and dose from the two lamps, providing real-time information that can be downloaded for record keeping. Operating the UV system is simple, and when lamps need replacing, it can easily be carried out by onsite staff.
Aquionics, along with fellow UV companies Hanovia Limited in the UK and Berson UV-techniek in the Netherlands, is part of the Fluid Technology Division of Halma PLC. Together, the three companies are one of the largest suppliers of UV disinfection technology in the world. Aquionics' UV systems are used in a wide variety of applications including municipal water and wastewater treatment, high purity water treatment in the pharmaceutical, electronics and power generation industries, food and beverage processing, brewing, and aquaculture.
