[ Water & Wastewater ]
Ham Baker supplied duplex stainless-steel penstocks for the Dubai Deep Storm Tunnel System .
drinking water supplies for the Vendée ’ s inhabitants . Recycling also works within buildings : by collecting rainwater and recycling wastewater in a closed circuit , waste can be greatly reduced . Such closed loops are being installed in a Nestlé factory in Mexico and the Pearl gas-to-liquid complex operated by Shell in Qatar .
Economies and maintenance Throughout the world , an alarming amount of water is lost each day because of leaks . Corrosion-resistant stainless steel and leak-free valves are essential in the battle against this waste . But it is not only water that needs to be saved . Water management is energy-intense , mainly because of the pumps required . Compression exchangers can save a great deal of energy by recovering heat from brine in seawater RO desalination facilities . Cumwhinton , near Carlisle in the UK , is the first treatment plant to install UV LED reactors to reduce energy costs . Water companies are harnessing solar power and other renewable energy types to run their plants . Veolia and TotalEnergies have partnered to build a large solar-power system for a desalination plant in Oman .
Wastewater treatment Over the world , urbanisation and increasing population are driving wastewater treatment projects . Even in the UK , despite the negative news about sewage discharges ( see box ), a number of upgrades of sewage plants have recently been carried out . At Bicester , a predicted increase in population induced Thames Water to build an activated sludge plant and filter beds . At Burnley , the wastewater works have been refurbished , including a detention tank and pumps , primary settlement tank , activated sludge plant , power upgrade and more .
Desalination units . Photo : dreamstime .
Drinking water Apart from recycling , a good way to conserve drinking water is by preventing leaks . To this end , secondary water supply systems bringing water from mains to tap are an ideal candidate for stainless steel type 316L , as shown by a refurbishment project in Shenzhen , China , where the grade was applied to prevent corrosion and contamination .
www . stainless-steel-world . net Stainless Steel World November 2022 17