The River Mountains Water Treatment Facility (WTF) is one of two plants that provide drinking water to the Las Vegas Valley. In 1998, the facility was designed to produce 150 million gallons per day (mgd) and included provisions for subsequent 150 mgd expansions, up to 600 mgd if more supply was needed. The current capacity of the River Mountains WTF is 300 mgd.
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Overfeeding chlorine, other oxidants, and/or dechlorination agents used in the disinfection process can present several problems, including increased chemical costs and risk of discharge violations. Determining proper levels of disinfection and establishing better process control can sometimes prove equally challenging, with many plants inadvertently transitioning in and out of nitrification. These events cause traditional test methods to provide false results with respect to the actual disinfection result.
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Most people involved in the wastewater industry are familiar with biological nutrient removal (BNR) where biological processes are incorporated into wastewater treatment systems to reduce effluent total nitrogen to an average level of 8 to 10 mg/l and total phosphorus to an average of 1 to 3 mg/l before being discharged into a receiving water. Certain receiving waters are showing evidence that BNR limits are not strict enough to protect water quality and, as a result, these levels are still causing unbalanced ecosystems. more

Since its development in Germany in the 1950s, RH plants - or vacuum circulation plants - have been applied in the steel industry to improve the quality of steel and to increase the range of the steel products produced. The RH process has undergone continuous development over the years, including the application of a top lance to promote forced decarburization, chemical heating, enhanced degassing and natural decarburization. Also, to increase the productivity of RH plants and to reduce the total treatment time, the diameter of the RH vessel and snorkel have been enlarged, the argon flow rate increased and the evacuation time of the vacuum system reduced. more

Digester gas is a source of free energy that can greatly reduce operating costs for wastewater treatment facilities. As the cost of natural gas and other fuel alternatives continues to soar (see Figure 1), more facilities are viewing their strategies for handling digester gas. Simply wasting this sometimes troublesome energy source is no longer an option. In the last year alone, the number of upgrades and retrofits to existing anaerobic digestion equipment and processes has climbed drastically. more

Identifying mail by its image without barcodes has long been a challenge. Now the technology is about to hit the market: introducing the first fingerprint application more

The disposal and landfill ordinance that entered into force in June 2005 means that changes to disposal routes in the paper industry are imperative: Essentially, the new regulation prohibits land filling. Consequently, screenings are now sufficiently separated and processed for most of them to be able to be incinerated for heat recovery, but disposal proves to be an expensive affair. Siemens is now offering a way out of this impasse. more

The use of reverse osmosis (RO) membranes for desalination of brackish and seawater for drinking water applications is now widely accepted in many parts of the world. While the process is very effective, RO membranes are susceptible to fouling by colloidal material, bacteria and suspended solids, leading to high operating costs and reduced life. Low-pressure membrane filters - microfiltration (MF) and ultrafiltration (UF) – are specifically designed to remove suspended solids, creating the ideal pre-treatment to RO systems. Using MF/UF as pre-treatment increases the quality of the product water fed to the RO and in turn optimizes the RO performance and prolongs module life.
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A wide range of pathogenic microorganisms such as viruses, bacteria, fungi and protozoa can contaminate swimming Pool water. They enter the swimming pool via sweat, urine, mucus, saliva, hair, skin scales, fecal matter, vomit or general dirt. Other potential sources of contamination include faulty plumbing and, for outdoor pools, bird droppings, dust and insects.
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An increasingly stringent regulatory environment and a need to better manage water resources as a competitive advantage lead some metals processing plants to revaluate how they view water treatment and management. Manufacturing high performance conductor wires involves the use of plating processes, including nickel, silver and tin. The wastewater generated from plating operations must be treated to remove regulated pollutants prior to discharge to local publicly owned treatment works (POTWs).
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Around the world, the treatment requirements for wastewater generated in petroleum refineries and petrochemical plants are becoming increasingly complex. These innovative wastewater treatment (WWT) systems are driven by a combination of increasingly strict discharge requirements and the need to reuse wastewater (motivated by extreme water shortages and high costs off fresh water). Due to tighter wastewater discharge requirements and the urgency for alternative water supplies, the hydrocarbon processing industry applying advanced and more complex wastewater treatment technologies. However, many innovative technologies, such as biological treatment systems, membrane systems and deionization systems, can be severely impacted by one of the most common constituents in refinery and petrochemical plant wastewater oil.
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Siemens Water Technologies' membrane bioreactor (MBR) technology integrates a portfolio of biological processes with membrane filtration. The small-footprint system combines Memcor membrane operating systems with Siemens biological technologies such as the aerated anoxic Envirex Orbal and VLR systems and the Cannibal solids reduction process. more

When the revised arsenic rule reduces the acceptable level of arsenic in drinking water from 50 parts per billion (ppb) to 10 ppb in January 2006, thousands of once-compliant water treatment systems will be required to further reduce their arsenic levels. To meet the revised rule, utilities face a two-fold challenge: identify and adopt an arsenic reduction method and properly dispose of any residuals. Arsenic removal systems requiring minimal Operator intervention are preferred, due to labor and budget considerations.
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Contaminated water. Drought. The shutdown of a well. A change in process water quality requirements. A maintenance shutdown at the local water treatment system. These scenarios require immediate action from municipalities and such end users as power plants, refineries, and chemical plants. Communities expect safe drinking water and clean water to do business. Water treatment plants are designed to provide that commodity but unforeseen situations often arise.
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A relatively new treatment process offered by Siemens Water Technologies is designed to reduce the amount of biological solids generated by wastewater treatment facilities. As a side benefit, it also can reduce the amount of aeration required, which can lead to energy savings.
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Water for Injection (WFI) international pharmacopoeial standards have been brought closer through harmonization efforts, but significant differences still exist. WFI can be produced with a number of water treatment processes to meet the United States Pharmacopeia (USP) standards. The Japanese Pharmacopeia (JP) allows distillation, reverse osmosis (RO), or ultrafiltration. Distillation is the only WFI method of production that is approved by the European Pharmacopeia (EP). more

Founded in 1947, the West Basin Municipal Water District in Carson, Calif., wholesales imported water to cities, mutual water companies, investor-owned utilities and private companies in South Bay and unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County, serving a population of more than 900,000.
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Across America, housing and industrial expansion are overtaking farmland, which is requiring managers of municipal wastewater treatment plants to find alternatives for their Class B and liquid Class A biosolids disposal program. An increasing number of municipalities are selecting thermal drying as the solution for the growing problems associated with biosolids disposal. Thermal drying systems, which dry biosolids to a granular product either by direct or indirect heat are available from many different manufacturers. more

Ice cream brings fond memories of childhood and hot summer days running after the clanging bell of an ice cream truck. Even today, as we reach into the grocer’s freezer, rarely do we think about the steps it takes to produce ice cream.

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Petroleum refineries and petrochemical plants around the world increasingly install complex wastewater treatment systems. Strict discharge requirements and the need to reuse wastewater make this necessary. However, many of the technologies used in these wastewater treatment systems can be severely impaired by one of the most common constituents found in refinery and petrochemical plant wastewater-oil.
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