Case Study for Customer Location CA62:
Reservoir or Lake Use:
Industrial wastewater pretreatment facility for a dried fruit operation.
System Overview and Reservoir:
Pretreatment pond: 1.1 acre, 12 ft deep, 10 ft operating depth, 2.4 MG capacity. Factory loading to the pond is 0.1 MGD (continuous flow for most of year) containing up to 8000 mg/L BOD. The flow path is to a barscreen, then to a bubble air flotation (BAF) system, then to the aerated pretreatment pond, then to a dissolved air floatation (DAF) system, and then the effluent is discharged to the city system. The effluent has about 900 mg/L BOD. Detention time in the pond is 24 days. The pond had 100-hp grid aeration (4 x 25 hp) for both mixing and adding dissolved oxygen (DO) that operated 24 hours/day, 365 days/year.
Reported Problem Before SolarBee Installation:
Factory experienced high energy costs of approximately $96,000 per year (at $0.13 per kwh). At full factory production, the estimated power needed for DO production is about 100 hp (at 2 lbs/hr/hp), which is higher than the estimated 75 hp needed for mixing (30
hp per MG of reservoir volume), so the SolarBee cannot reduce aeration horsepower at full factory production levels. But during reduced production periods, the power needed for DO production is much lower than the hp required for mixing, so it was determined that a SolarBee could provide most off the mixing hp during those periods, with annual power savings equal to removing 1 x 25 hp aerator from the system year round, or 25%.
SolarBee Installation:
Date: November 2002, installed (1) SB10000W with a 24-hour electrical kit.
Results:
Company management reports that the SolarBee has consistently allowed them to run without one of their 4 aerators, producing a minimum of 25% energy savings annually. In the slow season, they are able to turn off 2 aerators for even more savings. Other benefits include complete mixing, preventing shortcircuiting in the pond. They estimate a less than 2-year payback on energy savings alone. Treatment plant superintendent is very positive about the SolarBee and the energy/economic savings solar-powered circulation has provided.
Shows the SB10000W in the pretreatment pond between two splashers.
Updated: 04/25/2007
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