Energy consumption at the biological stage is one of the main cost drivers in wastewater treatment plants, due mainly to the oxygen blowers in the aeration process. Optimisation of this process offers enormous potential for energy and cost savings.
More efficient aeration control
Oxygen blowers are often operated in a time-based fashion or using only a simple form of oxygen control. In many cases the blowers run longer than necessary resulting in wasted energy. Endress+Hauser now offer an aeration solution for dynamic control of blower hardware in accordance with the actual load, this is Liquicontrol.
It optimises operating times for nitrification and de-nitrification processes, which minimises energy consumption and operating costs. Moreover, Liquicontrol ensures accurate and reliable outlet values at all times. This modular and scalable system can also be used for phosphate elimination. Precipitant pumps are controlled based on the actual load, offering significant savings on precipitant costs. Based on a PLC and individual signal interfaces, it is available as a stand-alone solution or as a master-slave configuration for larger plants with multiple aeration basins. This allows simple integration into existing process control systems and incorporation of existing instrumentation. The remote access functionality offers flexible and effective process monitoring.
Process reliability and control
Thanks to continuous measurement and signal validation, Liquicontrol guarantees stable plant operation and reliable plant discharge. Should a blower fail to operate within set-point, the system switches the affected control loop to failsafe and signals an alarm. The original plant operation settings can be restored at any time via selector switch and plant personnel can switch between automatic and manual mode at any point, ensuring complete control at all times.
Inspiration for times of change Endress+Hauser South Africa
News
More than 2000 customers, partners and experts gathered in Basel, Switzerland, for the Endress+Hauser Global Forum in April 2026. Under the theme of driving sustainable transformation together, the event combined keynote sessions on strategy, technology and the future of work with practical case studies from across the process industry.
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Endress+Hauser’s inline measuring devices, the Proline Teqwave MW 300 and the Proline Teqwave MW 500, determine the total solids content of wastewater directly through microwave transmission.
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By connecting field devices, systems and people, digitalisation creates new opportunities to optimise operations, enhance maintenance strategies and support continuous improvement. As a leading instrumentation provider and major source of process data, Endress+Hauser plays a key role in enabling this transformation.
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ABB has introduced SPR2025, the latest Symphony Plus DCS package release to enable modernisation and efficient performance for the process and power industries.
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The highly adaptable SALZ control system consists of open hardware, modular engineering software based on a virtualisation concept and an integrated app store.
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