Remote Control Technology in the Water Industry

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TURCK GmbH

Pörner Ingenieurgesellschaft mbH

ProMinent GmbH

VEOLIA WATER

Festo AG

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Pneumatics in Water and Wastewater Engineering

Festo claims that pneumatic automation systems reduce investment, installation and operating costs by as much as 50 % compared to electrical systems. Pneumatic drives require no maintenance over the entire lifecycle. Pneumatic technology has the additional advantage that the compressed air supply remains intact even during an electrical power failure, because compressed air can be supplied either by the compressor or from a compressed air reservoir.

The technology is being deployed in Greece. The Psyttalia Wastewater Treatment Plant is an ambitious project on Psyttalia Island in the bay off the coast of Athens and the port of Piräus. Sewage is pumped through a 1.5 km pipeline from the mainland to the wastewater treatment plant on Psyttalia Island. The technical description makes the plant sound gigantic. The biological treatment stage includes among other things twelve bioreactors with a total volume of nearly 300,000 m³ and a flow rate of 1,000,000 m³ per day.

DLP type gate valves with pneumatic drives control the inflow. The drives act directly on the slide gate and are maintenance free which is not the case with other types of drives. Semi-rotary drives are used to control the flow of biogas which is generated in the fermentation tanks. The drives also regulate the distribution of hot water for the heat exchangers, keeping the temperature at a constant 36 °C in the fermentation tanks.

Retrofit is a Feasible Option

Standardized data transfer technology makes it possible to update and expand water supply networks and wastewater treatment facilities that have already been in use for many years, according to Siemens. Central control stations act as major nodes in a functioning supply system. Remote control systems such as the Siplus RIC (Remote Interface Control) can provide the necessary connectivity. This scalable product family delivers remote control automation capability based on the S7 automation system. The entry level hardware and software bundle supports up to 200 information points. The top-of-the range version consisting of a Simatic S7-400H controller and the Siplus RIC Library is capable of handling up to 5,000 information points.

Siemens equipment was installed during replacement of visualization and automation systems at the Oederan wastewater treatment plant. The work was carried out by the wks group.

Summary

Central information processing has tangible benefits in distributed water and wastewater systems. The water industry recognizes this fact, which is why it is investing in remote control and automation technology around the world to increase reliability and reduce energy consumption and manpower costs.

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