The APG-Neuros Turbo Blower saves energy consumption and leads to modernization of the Haliotis Wastewater Treatment Complex in Nice, France
Project Background
The Haliotis Wastewater Treatment Complex was designed, built and operated by Degrémont since 1988, with its main objective to treat wastewater. Although composed of a primary treatment followed by settling, the majority of the treatment took place in the aeration tanks where carbon degradation occurred through air injection to the order of 22,000 Nm³/h using three (3) geared single stage centrifugal blowers made by Siemens* (*previously by HV Turbo). Degrémont decided to test the APG-Neuros High Speed Turbo Blower technology for a period of four (4) months starting in October 2011. The APG-Neuros DEMO blower would be compared in performance with the existing geared single stage centrifugal blower, and a formal report would be issued to highlight its advantages and disadvantages observed during the testing period.
Project Development
The DEMO High Speed Turbo Blower model used for testing was an APG-Neuros NX350-C080 with a rated capacity of 9600 Nm³/h in comparison with the existing Siemens KA10 model single stage centrifugal blowers. The APG-Neuros turbo blower had a Programmable Logic Controller with HMI ʺtouch screen” to monitor several operating parameters such as airflow, discharge pressure and energy consumption. Degrémont installed an energy meter at the power supply point to correlate with the indicated power consumption values along with a Pitot-static or Prandtl tube to measure the air flow rate. In reporting the power consumption, the measurements chosen were those with the most conservative values obtained from the power meter and the Pitot tube. The average value (Wh/Nm³/Barg) measured was 31.6 for the APG-Neuros Turbo Blower and 38.7 for the HV Turbo blower. The difference of which represents a 22% energy savings with the APG-Neuros Turbo Blower compared to the existing HV Turbo blower.
Results
The DEMO blower was successful in demonstrating power consumption savings by the APG-Neuros NX350 Turbo Blower at the Haliotis Complex. Furthermore, a third party inspection of the electrical systems was completed by Veritas demonstrated the good conditions of the electrical components following one year of operation. As a result, Degrémont purchased a Dual Core blower, NX700-C100, to replace the HV Turbo turbo blower. The APG-Neuros NX700-C100 Turbo Blower offered a smaller footprint. In addition, the NX700-C100 also demonstrated a lower vibration level as well as a lower acoustic profile, both being observed within the blower room. The noise level was observed at around 80 dBA (+/- 2 dBA) with the NX350 compared to 94 dBA with the existing Siemens blower, thus creating a safer working environment for the facility staff. The NX700-C100 Turbo Blower also featured an easy to use HMI touch screen allowing control and monitoring instant status and data history not offered with the HV Turbo turbo blowers. The NX700-C100 Dual Core Blower provided similar energy savings as the NX350-C080.