Along the years , Sulzer has been committed to working with its customers to deliver the most efficient and reliable solutions . The company was pioneering in its support of the Pressure Center Concept plants , supplying larger high-pressure pumps that had never been used at that time for such applications . This continued with the introduction of highly efficient and cost-effective end suction pumps for larger capacities , as well as the configured , product lubricated , ring section multistage high-pressure pumps . More recently , Sulzer brought the pressure center concept one step further with even larger high-pressure pumps that delivered never before seen efficiency ratings .
ENGINEERING ENHANCEMENT
Sulzer has been involved in the clean water infrastructure sector for decades . Water companies use its water pumping and treatment solutions as well as its engineering expertise on projects of all kinds , from local refurbishment and upgrades to the largest and most innovative new infrastructure investments .
In Brazil , the company has delivered five of the largest pumps to be installed in the country as part of a new water supply system that delivers up to 6 ’ 400 liters of drinking water per second to residents . Water is pumped from a reservoir to the treatment plant 83 km away and 365 meters higher in elevation . Sulzer ’ s pumps use a 970 mm diameter , high-efficiency two-stage impeller to deliver the large volumes of water , which will be sufficient to meet the projected demand for the next 10 years .
In contrast , Sulzer has also been involved in unique projects that demand specialist design and manufacturing skills . In New Orleans , the company needed to supply three custom pumps capable of operating on the local 25 Hz electrical supply . At the same time , equipment dimensions were required to be small enough to fit in the existing historical building ’ s main entrance door .
DESALINATION INNOVATION
One area of particularly active development in regions facing high levels of water stress is the construction of large-scale desalination plants using reverse osmosis ( RO ) technology . This has transformed the economics of desalination over recent years , halving the cost of producing clean , potable water from seawater .
The move to globally aligned water quality standards is sharpening the focus on treatment effectiveness and strong process control .
While advances in membrane performance and energy recovery have been central to these improvements , the efficiency of modern RO plants is highly dependent on their pumps . Capital Expenditure in pumps represents about 3 % to 5 % of total RO plant investment . However , the energy consumed by them accounts for 60 % to 70 % of the Operational Expenditure of the water produced by such a plant . Thus , taking into account the pump operational parameters as well as its design when creating the complete plant is crucial to achieving the lowest possible cost of the water .
Examples of these can be seen recently in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , where Sulzer pumps have been selected for the SWCC West Coast project , which involves the construction of eight new mid-size RO facilities across the region and for the larger SWPC Shuqaiq 3 plant .
Today , Sulzer is proud that its installed base is supporting the efficient production of more than 20 million of cubic meters per day of desalinated water .
NEW CHALLENGES
Today , society is not only facing water scarcity , which can be alleviated by desalination , but also the challenge of improving water reuse . This is elevated by new regulations for health and sanitation as well as the introduction of drinking water certification . Modern , industrialized societies are introducing new pollutants , such as chemical and pharmaceutical components as well as micro plastics , which require innovative treatment processes to remove them .
The recent addition of Nordic Water to the Sulzer family has provided significant additional expertise in the design and manufacture of filtration , sedimentation and other process systems . In particular , the company ’ s renowned water treatment products like continuous sand filters , lamella plate settlers and scrapers . These provide compelling offerings for customers seeking to improve the sustainability of their water treatment infrastructure , by using more biological processes , minimizing chemical consumption , increasing capacity and reducing the footprint of equipment .
The world ’ s water industry is pursuing an extraordinary range of approaches to meet the challenges of the 21st century . Sulzer ’ s equipment , technology and engineering expertise is playing a key part in the industry ’ s continual evolution .
For further information , please visit www . sulzer . com
Issue 52 PECM 133