Introduction
Water and wastewater treatment plants are one of the most energy-intensive sectors. The major reason behind the energy-intensive nature is the energy consumption at every stage of water treatment. Notably, water and wastewater treatment facilities constitute about 4% of global electricity consumption; hence its essential to reduce the energy consumption in the various processes of domestic and industrial wastewater treatment.
Danfoss has a host of state-of-the-art energy-efficient solutions that help to extend the precious water and energy resources. Danfoss technologies formulate the best energy-efficient solutions. These solutions can be employed in a wide range of processes, from traditional water processing, desalination through reverse osmosis, and water and wastewater treatment distribution. Water efficiency applications are not surprising today since, using Danfoss technological solutions, it’s possible to re-generate energy throughout water processing, thus fulfilling a significant part of the energy demand of the complete water cycle.
There is a need to undertake efforts that target to imbibe sustainability along with economics management. Danfoss solutions help to optimize the water application processes and save energy using dedicated solutions for water efficiency. Danfoss water/wastewater solutions optimize the strategies to target the best possible energy efficiency.
Danfoss solutions to enhance water efficiency
Danfoss technological solutions can be employed at different stages of the water cycle; the list includes irrigation, desalination, water treatment and distribution, sewerage system, and industrial water/wastewater applications. The innovative Danfoss solutions employ numerous technologies to carry out energy efficiency in the various processes; highlights of a few of them have been presented here:-
1) Semi-welded plate heat exchangers: Featuring resilient and reliable design, these plate heat exchangers are best suited for the harsh environments of wastewater treatment applications. The advanced gasket system helps easily customize the gasket and improves the plate pack stability. These heat exchangers are 100% helium leak tested for advanced leak protection. Danfoss's proven plate and solid frame design ensure excellent heat transfer functionalities for the highest efficiency of wastewater treatment plants.
2) Danfoss sensing solutions – sensors & switches: These smart solutions target reduction in energy consumption of the energy-intensive water/wastewater sector. These solutions have been designed to inhibit the water hammering and maintain the precise pressure required in the applications of the pumping station and irrigation sector. Being self-diagnostic, these enhance safety, maximize efficiency and reduce downtime, thus enabling longer life with reduced maintenance cost. The installation process is fast and easy, while the corrosion-resistant design helps to withstand harsh environments.
3) High-pressure pumps: The Danfoss HPP pumps are designed to withstand a maximum pressure of up to 120 bar; this reduces the discharge of industrial wastewater and increases the reuse of water, making it best for the ZLD/MLD treatment applications. With Danfoss HPP pumps, you can target ultra-low energy consumption with market-leading efficiency of up to 92%. These pumps are highly scalable, and their compact design and flexible & versatile applications, when combined with low leakage risk owing to the low housing pressure, make them the most preferred pumps for small to medium-sized desalination plants.
4) Energy recovery devices: Danfoss has innovated and patented high-efficiency Energy Recovery Devices (ERD) fabricated from best quality corrosion-resistant and high-grade duplex stainless steel. These energy recovery devices are optimised for seawater reverse osmosis applications. When integrated with a pressure exchanger, booster pump, and motors, these devices integrate into a compact unit giving high efficiency and short pay-back time. Employing these devices, you can target an efficiency of up to 92% water efficiency, as the iSave feature captures the wasted water pressure from the reject flow of the membrane and transfers it directly to the feed flow of the membrane without the need for dedicated high-pressure flow meters.
5) VLT AQUA Drive FC 202: With Danfoss AQUA Drives, you get the best-in-class AC drive performance for water and wastewater applications. These drives have a resilient design fitted with powerful drive technology to make operations in water/wastewater plants easier and more efficient, thus saving significant installation and running costs. Using these innovative Danfoos AQUA drives, you get to realize more than 30% cost savings in the first year compared to traditional drive systems. Danfoss AQUA drives target high efficiency with Intelligent Back-channel cooling, thus resulting in reduced energy consumption and maintenance costs for your water/wastewater facilities.
6) Soft starters MCD 600: These starters provide a smooth stop to control the impacts of fluid hammer often observed with uncontrolled pump stop, thus ultimately reducing the running costs and extending the overall pump life. The pump-clean functions are easy to use; with PowerThrough operation and calendar or run time-based scheduling features, the protection can be enhanced, leading to more uptime. The start-up protection feature prevents reverse running, and the integrated protection reduces motor overheating. The smart sensors can easily detect blocked pipes or lack of fluid flow, thus increasing the system efficiency and resulting in overall energy efficiency.
Conclusion
Danfoss is undoubtedly the market leader in the field of drive technology and providing digital solutions for water efficiency of wastewater treatment plants to move towards maximum energy savings. Danfoss has played a remarkable role in the transformation of municipal wastewater treatment plants from being energy consumers to becoming energy generators. These advanced technological solutions of Danfoss are now transforming the water and energy sectors into a new game-changing industry with best-in-class energy efficiency.