Magmeters keep wastewater flowing precisely

The Wells Sanitary District wastewater treatment facility depends on OPTIFLUX electromagnetic flowmeters from KROHNE for three sludge treatment applications in its newly refurbished plant, located on the southern Maine coast. The magmeters? accuracy and reliability belongs to the painstaking calibration during the manufacturing process.

The Wells Sanitary District provides treatment for up to 7.5 million litres of wastewater per day. Originally constructed in the late 1970s, the treatment facility underwent a major refurbishment to update the facility and to meet all safety standards required by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Maine?s Department of Environmental Protection.

The district contracted a consulting engineering firm to redesign many of the facility?s systems and processes. Project engineers replaced all the electromagnetic flowmeters that measure the flow of waste throughout the facility. According to Dennis Thayer, superintendent of the facility, ?The existing meters had seen better days. They were worn out and just needed to be replaced. Many people don?t realize that these meters operate 24/7, under demanding conditions, so they need to offer superior performance and reliability.?

The engineering firm recommended OPTIFLUX electromagnetic meters from KROHNE for the newly designed facility. These magmeters are being used for sludge recirculation, keeping track of the amount of treated effluent and sludge wasting. In the sludge recirculation area, two of the meters measure the sludge recirculation rates per minute and day. This is part of the facility?s in-line, waste-activated sludge process. Another meter is used in the wasting sludge area to measure the flow of sludge that is removed from the system. A fourth meter is used in the treated effluent area that measures the flow of all the treated wastewater that moves throughout the facility.

?The use of accurate and reliable meters in this environment cannot be overstated,? says Thayer. ?Flowmeters are essential to the overall process here and at any treatment facility for that matter.?

Information: KROHNE Messtechnik GmbH & Co. KG, Thomas Zimmerling,
E-Mail: TZimmerling@krohne.de

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