Why Should Ready Made Pumping Stations with Solids Separation System Be Preferred?

Pumping Stations are used to convey the wastewater generated in the residential areas where there is no sewage network treatment plants. The main objective here is to transfer the wastewater accumulating at a lower elevation to a wastewater treatment plant or sewer chute at higher elevations.

The purpose of this article is to provide brief information on old technology, Reinforced Concrete Pumping Stations, and new technology, Ready Made Pumping Stations with Solids Separation System, so that their difference can be understood better.

Old Technology : Reinforced Concrete Pumping Stations

Pumping Stations were often made of concrete in the past. Various gases in the wastewater damaged the reinforced concrete over time, and after a certain period of time, the pumping stations in question may become unusable in terms of occupational health and safety.

Pumping station dimensions are determined according to parameters such as wastewater intake elevation, total amount of wastewater and peak water usage etc. during the sizing of Reinforced Concrete Pumping Stations. In our country, we often see that reinforced concrete pumping station tanks are designed much larger than required, based on a high safety factor in the design of the station. As the Reinforced Concrete Pumping Station volumes are much larger than required, sedimentation takes place in the wastewater, which leads to a higher septic medium in these tanks over time. In this case, the gases arising from wastewater increase in these pumping stations, occupational health and safety risks occur, bad odors are formed and the wastewater characteristics deteriorate due to becoming more septic.

The gases generated in the Reinforced Concrete Pumping Stations pose serious risks to occupational health and safety. However, the technical staff responsible for the operation of these pumping stations in our country, unfortunately, do not have sufficient operational awareness. In recent years, many dramatic work accidents have occurred regarding this issue, resulting in an unfortunate loss of life for many engineers and technical staff.

Submersible wastewater pumps are frequently used in Reinforced Concrete Pumping Stations to lift the wastewater. However, particles in the wastewater quickly lead to a clogging of the pump, resulting in their breakdown. It is likely to see a great number of old pumps that have become unusable in many pumping stations. In order to avoid this problem, a grid structure should be built at the plant inlet. In most of the plants where manually cleaned screens are used, it is found that the screens are clogged and thus the plant fails to operate efficiently. This is due to the operation staff often not cleaning the screen on time. After experiencing such problems in many pumping stations, automatic cleaning screens have been implemented. But in both cases, the plant must be monitored regularly by the operating staff, the equipment must be regularly checked for proper functioning, and the waste retained at the screens must be regularly removed from the plant. This increases operating and maintenance costs.

It is apparent that in the past, pump capacities have been selected much larger than necessary at the design stage of many reinforced concrete pumping stations in our country, to attempt to remain on the safe side. Due to reasons, such as selecting the next larger model in stock while purchasing, etc. larger pumps have been selected instead of appropriate pumps. This situation creates unnecessarily high power consumption.

New Technology : Ready Made Pumping Stations with Solids Separation System

Ready Made Pumping Stations with Solids Separation System are made of High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) material, with an expected service life of 70 to 100 years, according to scientific literature. Thus, problems like corrosion, etc., do not occur in Ready Made Pumping Stations for many years, ensuring trouble-free operation of the plant.

Thanks to the special design of Ready Made Pumping Stations with Solids Separation System, solutions with 90% to 95% smaller space requirements compared to conventional reinforced concrete pumping stations can be provided. This is especially advantageous in applications where space is important.

One of the greatest advantages of Ready Made Pumping Stations with Solids Separation System is collecting the particles in the wastewater in a tank before they go into the pump by means of a solid separation system. Then, lifting the water by the pumps has been made possible. This way, the pumps in the plant can be used smoothly for years without the risk of clogging. Also, as these pumps are prevented from contact with the particles, substantial power savings can be achieved through using pumps with lower solid material permeability. The following table shows the 31% power savings achieved by an industrial zone by preferring a Ready Made Pumping Station with Solids Separation System with 1,000 m3/day capacity. 

The main aim for Pumping Stations is to lift the wastewater. The requirement to use a screen before the pumping station poses significant operational challenges, as well as increasing the initial investment costs, and leads to constant labor and maintenance costs for the facility. As the Ready Made Pumping Stations with Solids Separation System removes the necessity of a screen at the inlet of the plant, thanks to the solids separation system used, substantial ease of operation and maintenance are provided. Thus, the need for removal from the system of solids that will be separated from the wastewater by means of the screen is eliminated.

The pumps in the Ready Made Pumping Stations with Solids Separation System are dry installed type. A minimum volume of reserve space is needed due to the operating principle of the system. Hence, the bad odors formed in the plant are minimized and a hygienic working environment is provided to the operation staff. Since the operation staff does not need to work inside the wastewater tank, situations that will cause the occurrence of any risks in terms of occupational safety and health are not experienced.

In Ready Made Pumping Stations with Solids Separation System, which are sized according to the project, all technical details such as all tank dimensions, pump capacities, suction line and discharge line diameters, valve diameters and check-valve diameters, etc., are selected in accordance with international engineering norms. All units and equipment comprising the system are assembled in the factory and shipped to the construction site after their tests are carried out, in a ready-to-install shape. The system can be commissioned and operated after all excavation and installation works are completed in just one or two work days. Thus, all risks associated with project design and trouble-free operation of the entire plant are borne by the manufacturer.

As a result, many reinforced concrete pumping stations and wastewater lifting lines in our country are working inefficiently, which necessitates optimization in most of these plants. When the pumps located in the old plants are replaced with new ones, the label data of the old pumps are referred to during purchase, and the actual conditions in which the pumps will operate might be ignored. This situation leads to substantial loss in operations and economy of the country. Employing Ready Made Pumping Stations with Solids Separation System should be preferred within the scope of both the new pumping stations to be constructed and modernization of the old reinforced concrete pumping stations, due to their design that does not require a screen structure, the facilities they provide in terms of occupational safety and health, long service life and lower power consumption.