First Aid for water treatment

The membrane bioreactor is one of the most effective and efficient ways to treat wastewater.The effluent is of such high quality that this can be discharged into vulnerable waters or even be reused. This advanced technology requires professional monitoring. But what if the MBR is floating somewhere remotely at sea? “In such a case it is not always possible to promptly send a technologist” says Cees van Dijk, sales manager at Triqua. This innovative Dutch company has already installed six MBR-installations to purify wastewater aboard of (hotel) ships and drilling platforms in the Caspian Sea. “Triqua offers ‘remote technology assistance’ (RTA), to provide technological service in such cases” Cees says. “It is a 24 hrs helpdesk especially for wastewater treatment. We can basically look over the shoulder of an operator anywhere in the world 24 hours a day using internet- and satellite connection. This way we can always give the operator the right advise.

Black Gold

The RTA-system is a plug and play system. Triqua designs a website specifically for monitoring the parameters of the wastewater treatment plant. All the key figures of the purifying process are shown on the website such as energy use, quality of effluent (czv, bzv, N, P, pH-levels)
The hotel ships on which Triqua built the water treatment plants accommodate the personnel of the drilling platforms in the Caspian Sea. This area is well-known for its black gold; not just the oil but also the caviar. The dark sturgeon eggs are worth a fortune. The environment, and therefore also the sturgeon, is under great pressure because of dehydration and pollution. Environmental regulations have been tightened and the oil winning consortia have become extremely careful in fear of claims. A hotel ship can house about 200 – 300 people, the MBR processes a maximum of 50 m3 of wastewater per hour. The treatment installation must always be in optimal condition. “The RTA is ideal for these conditions”; says Van Dijk. “The technician aboard the ship can always depend on our expertise, even though we are not in the neighbourhood.”

24/7

The water technologist can check the installations performance based on the feedback and if necessary advise preventive maintenance or inspection. He is even able to detect hidden problems in an early stage. For example if the energy use rises, the membrane flux drops or a certain concentration in the effluent rises than Triqua investigates what could be the matter. “Often we can ask the operator to make an adjustment, or for example clean the membranes”’ says Van Dijk. It is a first-aid for water treatment. “A team of water technologists work in shifts to provide 24/7 backup. They do regular checkups and in case of problems assist the local operator. With the information available on the website Triqua supplies a monthly report. This report shows the performance of the installation, the quality of the effluent and includes advice if necessary. These management reports are a very useful source in many industries which can not only be used to gain insight in the process but it can also be presented to for example authorities, auditors and licensing authorities.

Stringent demands

According to Van Dijk the RTA system pays itself off pretty quickly. “This way unnecessary wear and bad functioning can be avoided. And we don’t need to fly in personnel all the time, that makes the difference. Van Dijk emphasizes that RTA is suitable for MBR as well as other water treatment technologies.

Security

The RTA-system is set in an extranet-environment. An extranet can be viewed as part of a company's intranet that is extended to specific users outside the company only. The Triqua-technologists are not able to influence the installation themselves in any way. Only authorized users, like the process operator, the plant manager en the involved Triqua-technologist can logon to the special website. The owner determines who gets access to the system and who not. And again this is only for monitoring purposes and not for control.
 
The RTA is not only used in regions far away, but Triqua applies the system also to water treatment installations close by. The company has realized several BOOT-contracts in the Netherlands, in which Triqua is responsible for the built, maintenance and management of the plant. (BOOT means Built, Own, Operate and Transfer) In such a case it is also very handy to be able to keep a close eye on the plant.
“We use the RTA ourselves to keep an eye on the plants we manage in The Netherlands.”