Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Partnership
Aeration Efficiency
and Optimization
Lee E. Ferrell, P.E., BCEE, CEM,
LEED Green Assoc.
2
WWW Challenges: Drivers/Trends
Belt Press
14.2% 54.1%
Clarifiers
Grit
14.3%
RAS
Chlorination
Pumping = 87% Gravity Thickening
Process = 91.9%
3
Water
energy use
71% of consumed electricity is used to
turn motors
Wastewater
energy use
Aeration System Overview and
Fundamentals
5
Overview
● The blower system:
Components End-use
– Blower – Water treatment
– Motors, engines – Wastewater treatment
– Piping – Water distribution
– Valves and fittings – Power generation
– Controls and – Irrigation
instruments
– Heat exchangers
– Tanks
– Others
6
Overview, continued
Electric utility System Approach
feeder ● Component optimization involves
segregating components and analyzing in
Transformer isolation
● System optimization involves studying
how the group functions as one as well as
Motor
breaker/starter how changing one component can help
the efficiency of another
Adjustable
speed drive
(electrical)
Served
Motor Coupling Blower Air System
Process(es)
7
Dresser Roots Wastewater Aeration Controls
8
DO Control Fundamentals
It’s all about the bubbles!
9
Aeration Energy
● Mechanical Aerators
● VFD Reduces Energy
● Challenge:
● Limit due to suspension
of solids
● Install submersed mixers
● Low Aerator speed
saves energy
● Mixer energy may be
less than savings
● Not needed at high
aeration
10
Jet or Diffused
Air
● Energy reduction via:
● Basin/Zone air control
● Blower control
● Challenge
● Air used to mix water
11
DO Control Fundamentals
12
DO Control Fundamentals
13
DO Control Fundamentals
DO (Dissolved Oxygen) concentration is an indirect
indicator of proper air flow to the process
14
DO Control Fundamentals
15
DO Control Fundamentals
16
DO Control Fundamentals
● O2 for BOD5 Reduction:
LbO 2
Re quire dO2_f or_B OD = 1.1
Lb B OD
17
DO Control Fundamentals
● SCFM = Air Flow Rate, Standard Cubic Feet per Minute (68°F, 14.7 psia, 36% RH)
18
DO Control Fundamentals
Oxygen Demand Varies in Time from Diurnal
Variations
100
80
60
40
20
0
12:00 AM 08:00 AM 04:00 PM 12:00 AM
04:00 AM 12:00 PM 08:00 PM
Tim e o f Da y
20
OTE and DO Control
OTE Varies with Air Flow per Diffuser
OTE Variation with Flow
DO ppm
0.50 1.00 1.50 2.00 2.50 3.00 3.50
14.0%
12.0%
Oxygen Transfer
Efficiency (OTE)
10.0%
8.0%
6.0%
4.0%
0.00 1.00 2.00 3.00 4.00 5.00
SCFM per Diffuser
21
OTE and DO Control
OTE Varies with DO Concentration:
OTE Variation with DO
SCFM per Diffuser
14.0%
Oxygen Transfer
Efficiency (OTE)
12.0%
10.0%
8.0%
6.0%
4.0%
0.00 1.00 2.00 3.00 4.00
DO Concentration, ppm
22
OTE and DO Control
23
OTE and DO Control
Response of DO to 20% Load Increase
Starting at 3.0 ppm DO
Oxygen Transfer Rate Variation with Air Flow
Response to 20% Organic Load Incre ase
6.00
1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 SCFM/diffuser
5.00
4.00
1 3
DO, ppm
3.00
2.00
2
1.00
0.00
20.0 40.0 60.0 80.0 100.0 120.0
Oxygen Transfer Rate (OTR), kg/hr
1) Initial operation at 50 kg/hr OTR, 2 SCFM per diffuser, 3.0 ppm DO
2) 20% load increase to 60 kg/hr OTR, 2 SCFM per diffuser, DO drops to 1.3 ppm
3) Operation at 60 kg/hr OTR, air flow increases to 2.5 SCFM per diffuser,
restore 3.0 ppm DO
25% flow change required to
correct 20% load change!
24
DO Control
DO Control Operation:
25
DO Control
26
DO Control
Savings Proportional to Driving Force of O2
27
Basic Control System
28
Blower Control Concepts
29
Blower Control Concepts
30
Blower Control Concepts
57
1212
1012
812
ICFM
Performance
612
Design
412
212
12
1000 2000 3000 4000 5000
BLOWER SPEED (RPM)
31
Blower Control Concepts
Multistage Centrifugal
Variable flow at Approximately Constant Pressure
Usually controlled by inlet throttling to modulate flow
VFDs to modulate air flow will improve efficiency and
turndown (with appropriate curves)
32
Blower Control Concepts
110
AVERAGE TEMP 61 F NO CONTROL
INLET THROTTLED HIGH TEMP 100 F
100
AVERAGE TEMP
90 NO CONTROL
% POWER
80
70
60
AVERAGE TEMP
REDUCED SPEED 57.3 Hz
50
40
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110
% MASS FLOW RATE
120
AVERAGE TEMP AVERAGE TEMP 61 F
INLET THROTTLED NO CONTROL
110
100
% GAUGE PRESSURE
AVERAGE TEMP
REDUCED SPEED 57.3 Hz
90
80
SYSTEM CURVE
70
NO CONTROL
HIGH TEMP 100 F
60
50
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110
% MASS FLOW RATE
33
Blower Control Concepts
Single Stage Centrifugal
Variable flow
Pressure varies with load
High efficiency
Most common > 500 hp
Inlet Guide Vanes and/or Variable Discharge Diffusers to
modulate flow and improve turndown
34
Blower Control Concepts - IGV
110
MAX IGV OPENING
100
90
% POWER
80
REDUCED IGV OPENING
70
60
50
40
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110
% MASS FLOW RATE
120
FRICTION LOSSES
90
80
STATIC PRESSURE
70
60
50
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110
% MASS FLOW RATE
35
Blower Control Concepts – Variable
DDV 110
MAX DDV OPENING
100
90
% POWER
80
70
50
40
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110
% MASS FLOW RATE
120
100
% GAUGE PRESSURE
FRICTION LOSSES
90
80
STATIC PRESSURE
70
60
50
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110
% MASS FLOW RATE
36
Blower Control Concepts
Dual Vane Operation Maintains Efficie ncy
120
X
% GAUGE PRESSURE
100
90
80
70
60
MIN IGV at MAX DDV OPENING
MIN IGV and DDV POSITION
50
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110
% MASS FLOW RATE
37
Blower Control Concepts
Equipment Cost
Installation Cost
Maintenance Cost
ENERGY COST
38
Blower Energy Evaluation
Use realistic inlet conditions
The Blower With the Highest Design Point Efficiency May Not
Provide Lowest Power Consumption
39
Manual Diffused Air Control Scheme
● Advantages
● Economical Construction
Aeration Aeration
● Disadvantages
DO DO
● Energy Intensive
● Efficiency = Continual adjustment
Basin Basin
● Solution
● Motor Starters/RVSS
[
Blower
Aeration
[
DO Blower
Basin
[
Blower
40
Average Diffused Air Control Scheme
● Average Basin DO controls blowers
Aeration Aeration
● Advantages
● Less operator intensive than manual DO DO
● Economical construction compared Basin Basin
to automatic distribution
● Disadvantages
● Rough control = Energy Intensive
● “Goldilocks effect”
M
[
● Solution Blower
Aeration
● Motor Starters/RVSS M
[
● PLC for blower control DO Blower
Basin M
[
Blower
41
Basin Control Schemes
● Each Basin Controls DO
● Flow to each basin measured
● Blowers adjusted to meet total Aeration Aeration
demand
DO DO
M
● Disadvantages
M
● Inter-basin DO variation ) ( M
[
Blower
Aeration
● Solution M
[
● Motor Starters / RVSS Blower
DO
● PLC for Basin and Blower Control Basin M
[
Blower
42
Multi Zone Control Scheme
● Each zone controls its DO
M M
) (
) (
DO DO
● Advantages Aeration Aeration
● Greatest energy savings M M
) (
) (
● No/Low operator intervention DO DO
● Minimize inter-basin DO Basin Basin
M M
variation
) (
) (
DO DO
● Disadvantages
● Most expensive to construct
● Energy Savings / Process
Stability Tradeoff M
M
[
) (
DO Blower
● Solution Aeration
M
● Motor starters/RVSS M
[
) (
● PLC DO Blower
●Basin valve control Basin M
M
[
●Blower inlet valve control DO ) ( Blower
43
● Inlet Throttling
● Traditional method
● Inlet Valve controls air volume
● Fixed speed
●Fixed curve
●Surge is at fixed
power/amperage
● Surge done through:
●Current meter
●Power meter
44
VFD Based Blower Control
45
P.D.
Blowers
under
different
rules
46
Inlet Throttling
● Curve sized for 60 Hertz VFD
● Throttled to meet
demand
● Surge Control via power
or current meters ●Curve sized for 80%
operating time
●Full Speed
● ~ 10% of the time
● Accept Power &
Pressure rise
●Surge control
algorithm with flow 47
Blower Energy Evaluation
100%
50%
0%
12:00 AM 04:00 AM 08:00 AM 12:00 PM 04:00 PM 08:00 PM 12:00 AM
Time of Day
48
Flow Control Basics
49
Flow Control Basics
51
Flow Control Basics
Combining the System Curve and the Blower Curve
defines the actual operating air flow
52
Pressure Control Basics
53
Pressure Control
Excess Pressure Simply Wastes Power
54
Pressure Control
Pressure control has a number of problems:
Problems with Pressure Control:
Instability
Basin and blower control loops “fight” each other
Difficulties operating at extremes of blower capacity
Interactions with multiple basins
55
Direct Flow Control
56
Direct Flow Control
Basin Air Flow Control Saves Power Because “Identical”
Basins Don’t Perform Identically
Variations Due to Influent Channels
Variations Due to RAS
Variations Due to Air Piping and Manual Valve Adjustments
57
Direct Flow Control
Totalize changes in air flow for tanks and modulate blowers air
flow accordingly
58
Most-Open-Valve Control Concepts
Excess blower discharge pressure wastes power
59
Most-Open-Valve Control Concepts
60
Most-Open-Valve Control Concepts
61
Energy Efficiency in Pumps and Blowers
• Load Characteristics
Water Wastewater Load Characteristics
The Main
Target ( first The Next
priority) Step ( second
priority)
62
VFD Benefits with Blowers
63
VFD Benefits with Pumps
• Physical Laws for Centrifugal Loads
Its Pure Physics: Due to the laws that govern centrifugal pumps,
the flow of water decreases directly with pump speed
64
VFD Benefits with Pumps
• Physical Laws for Centrifugal Loads
A motor running at 80% of full speed requires 51% of
the electricity of a motor running at full speed.
65
VFD Benefits with Pumps
• Physical Laws for Centrifugal Loads
A motor running at 50% of full speed requires 12.5% of
the electricity of a motor running at full speed.
66
Aeration Efficiency and Optimization
67
Efficiency of Blower Systems
• Equations for efficiency
68
Blower Energy Optimization is Complex
• Simple Guidelines for reducing
energy usage
Match blower airflow to the process
requirements
Minimize system discharge pressure and
inlet losses
Provide flexibility and adequate turndown
for loading variations
69
VFD Benefits with Blowers
• Other Benefits
In addition to Energy Saving, using a VFD has many other
advantages:
• Less mechanical stress on motor and system
• Less mechanical devices - Less Maintenance
• Process regulation with PID regulators, load management
functions
• Reduce noise, resonance avoidance
• Performance and flexibility, range settings, above base
operations
• Easier installation and settings, drive mechanics
• Can be controlled with Automation, Communication networks
70
Process Energy Optimization
Automation is the Key
• Develop consistent and
appropriate milestone and
deliverable expectations
• Standardize program schedule
tracking requirements
• Establish key energy
management performance
metrics
• Produce meaningful reports
that allow for clear and concise
decision-making
• Install additional monitoring
equipment as needed
71
Benchmarking and Key
Performance Indicators
72
Possible Benchmarking KPIs
• kWh/MG
• kWh/OTR
• kWh/lb BOD Removed
• kWh/TSS Removed
73
Thank you for your time
74
Appendix
75