Northumbrian Water turns to energy efficient screw blowers 13 September 2013

Northumbrian Water has chosen Atlas Copco screw blower technology in a bid to cut energy consumption and minimise service costs at its sewage treatment works in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham.

Engineer Alan Harle explains that the site needs a constant, reliable supply of air at around 480mbar for aerobic treatment of waste water, but adds that the water industry is now moving away from widely-used lobe blowers in favour of screw technology, because of their lower energy consumption.

So when one of Newton Aycliffe's four lobe type blowers started to develop reliability issues, the opportunity was taken to investigate the newer generation of high-efficiency blowers and test the claim of up to 30% energy savings.

Northumbrian Water decided to replace the offending lobe blower with Atlas Copco ZS screw blower technology and carry out comparison tests. And, with air flow meters and power monitors linked into the site's PLC and SCADA system, engineers proved that the existing lobe blower consumed 19% more power.

Energy savings are derived from the efficiency of the internal compression screw design and the direct drive, integrated gearbox that ensures fewer losses compared to the traditional belt and pulley system.

On the strength of those results and ongoing reliability issues with the lobe blowers, Northumbrian replaced a second blower with an Atlas Copco ZS90-VSD, low-pressure, oil-free rotary screw blower. And with that unit also performing to expectation, the organisation has now placed a third order to replace the remaining two lobe units with a further two ZS 90 screw blowers.

"From an operational perspective, Atlas Copco's ZS blowers have performed well, especially when compared with the incumbent blowers, and we are very pleased with the 20% improvement we have already seen," comments Harle, who conducted the comparison tests for Northumbrian Water.

"I would say that the proof is in the pudding and the fact that NWL have chosen to replace all blowers with the Atlas Copco units speaks volumes."

Brian Tinham

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