Special Waste Water Systems

Popular Special Waste Water Pumps

Preliminary Grinding

This is probably one of the most successful "grinding" systems in waste water treatment plants today! Known by the trade name "Muffin Monster"©, it is manufactured by a number of companies throughout the world. If you've never seen one of these devices in action, take a 3 minute break and click on this link to open a "You Tube" video and be prepared to be impressed. The video is of a "Muffin Monster"© manufactured by Sulzer Ltd., a company whose headquarters are in Switzerland, but one that is a Global Supplier with 21 Service Centers in the United States alone.

I've completed some additional research on the "Muffin Monster"© and found that it was patented in 1975 by a company called "JWC Environmental" of Santa Ana, California. JWC manufactured and expanded the success of the "Muffin Monster"© brand for many years. Then, on January 11, 2018, a news release states: "Sulzer Completes Acquisition of JWC Environmental". And so now, the company that invented this amazing device finds itself on the World Stage through acquisition by one of the largest Waste Water Engineering and Manufacturing firms.

If you have further interest in the product, here are 3 sales/engineering brochures that you may find interesting:

• Muffin Monster Family of Grinders
• Channel Monster Family Brochure
• Immersible Motor Brochure

Aeration

Another piece of technology that is a necessity in the waste water treatment process is the "Oxygenation" of the waste water flow, mostly through the use of "lagoons" or "sediment tanks". In either case, the creation of extra "oxygen" to keep the "bugs" (aerobic bacteria) alive, increase the efficiency of the cleaning process, and provide water to air (or air to water) scrubbing, is required.

Aeration equipment fall into two categories. The equipment used for wastewater aeration includes low cascades (water falls), jet fountains, spray nozzles, blowers, submerged perforated pipe and porous plates or tubes. Whether the water is thrown into the air via a fountain or diffused by air bubbles being blown or drawn into the wastewater in an aeration tank, aeration works by increasing the area of contact between the oxygen in the air and water. They either introduce air to water, or water to air. The water-to-air method (using a spray or fountain solution), is designed to produce small drops of water that fall through the air. The air-to-water method (the bubbler), creates small bubbles of air that are injected into the body of water, and smaller bubbles work better.

   

The 2 methods are certainly the most common. And while I haven't been successful in locating a percentage of each in use today, I did find a white paper that states: "...The most common wastewater aeration process in use today is the air diffusion process [basically the bubblers], where air is introduced from blowers through diffusion tubes suspended in a spiral flow tank, or in some cases, through diffuser plates in the bottom of the aeration tanks."

In either case, both methods use Electric Motors and Pumps to move the "water" or the "air". So this is definitely a Pump system and A.R.&E. can help you with your questions and/or problems. Need the system repaired? Call our repair department and set your mind at ease.

Fire Pumps

Our final discussion on "Special" pumps has to do with "Fire Pumps". We're NOT going to discuss the pumps on your local Fire Trucks, those are special too, but a whole different industry. We're talking about the fire pumps that are located in your local apartment building, or department store, or warehouse, that are connected to the fire suppression and sprinkler systems. These systems must be tested by a third party vendor and are regulated by the NFPA (National Fire Protection Association) under their "NFPA 20 Standard for the Installation of Stationary Fire Pumps for Fire Protection".

Fire pumps are required under specific conditions:

• When the local municipal water system cannot provide sufficient pressure to meet the design requirements of the fire sprinkler system.
• Or in systems that require a relatively high terminal pressure at the fire sprinkler in order to provide a large volume of water, such as in storage warehouses.
• If the fire protection water supply is provided from a ground level water storage tank.

    

Various types of pumps are used for fire pump service, including horizontal split case, vertical split case, vertical inline, vertical turbine, and end suction. The pump intake is either connected to the public water supply piping, or a static water source such as a tank (either ground level or elevated), reservoir, lake, or pond. The pump provides water flow at a higher pressure to the sprinkler system risers and hose standpipes than can be provided by the municipal water supply system. These pumps are normally operated by an electric motor or diesel engine. Other prime mover sources have been used but are uncommon. And a fire pump, depending on local regulations, total application, and process needs, can be as simple as an electric motor connected to a centrifugal pump, or a complete mechanical room filled with motors, pumps, valves, gages, piping, etc.!

Many of these systems are sold as a package, maybe through the sprinkler installation contractor, with all the components mounted on a metal fabricated "skid". It comes to the site ready to go. Put it in place, connect the required piping and any electrical and/or diesel finalities, and the system is ready to go.

A fire pump/sprinkler system works by the "pressure" in the outflow lines. If a sprinkler head is triggered, or a connected fire hose nozzle is opened, the line experiences a rapid drop in pressure. The fire pump control system senses this drop in pressure and commands the fire pump to START! The pressure is immediately brought back up to normal and water floods everything in it's path... desks, paperwork, people, and MOST IMPORTANTLY... any fire (or heat source) that has activated the system. Systems are designed to handle any and all circumstances, from a hundred GPM to thousands of GPM and increase pressures from 0 PSI to hundreds of PSI... ALL dependent on the environment and requirements of the application. A lot has to be considered and it is NOT our position to be the design engineers on the project. Our information here is totally for basic educational purposes and not meant to be design information. For that you need to talk to the manufacturers.

Finally, if you're looking for the rules and regulations from a National standpoint, you can visit NFPA.org by using this link. Rules, standards books and other appropriate information is available from their website. For your specific project, make certain you contact your LOCAL agencies having to do with Fire Protection for the most up-to-date requirements.

If A.R.&E. can assist you in any of these avenues, give us a call or send us a note.