Water has become an increasingly important topic in Africa. Of the sub-Saharan population, 334 million people lack access to clean drinking water and 600 million people lack access to sanitation, which according to the World Health Organization results in 480 000 hygiene related deaths per annum.
Efficient solutions for water and wastewater treatment are therefore particularly crucial when it comes to dealing with water as a resource. As a result, more and more attention is being focused on the automation of water and wastewater treatment plants for sustainable urban development. “As a global trendsetter, our automation solutions are making an important contribution to future, worldwide water supply and wastewater treatment,” explains Marthinus Venter, process automation manager at Festo. “The emphasis is on increased efficiency through process automation.”
Efficient operation is key
As far as communication structures and automation solutions are concerned, the focus is more and more on efficient operations. This is also the case in the field of wastewater technology where, for example, rainwater accumulated in decentralised basins is fed to a central water treatment plant. With the help of a GSM link, the entire system can be controlled and monitored from the central control station; condition monitoring at the component and system levels enables efficient operations management, service and maintenance. A current reference project dealing with energy self-sufficient automation of decentralised rainwater basins addresses this concept. It enables Festo to offer insights into innovative, energy efficient solutions for decentralised applications in process automation.
In the future, the concept of an energy self sufficient water treatment plant will no longer be just a vision, it will have become a reality. “Applications that include alternative energy sources such as solar power, for example, allow better management of networked systems and are the first step towards this goal,” explains Venter.
The water treatment plants of the future will demand solutions that offer better energy efficiency, optimised operational costs and reduced total costs of ownership. Thanks to its global industry expertise in the field of process automation, and particularly in the important area of energy efficiency, Festo is positioned to make a valuable contribution to the sustainable development of the megacities of tomorrow.
Efficient pneumatic technology today
Festo water technology is used around the world in the infrastructure of cities with several million residents. The company is making an important contribution to the automation of newly constructed water and wastewater treatment plants, as well as to the modernisation of existing facilities.
Festo is currently working on a water project in Saint Petersburg, where it is providing new systems based energy efficient technology using pneumatic automation. In addition to modernising 34 pumping stations, Saint Petersburg’s water utility has set itself the goal of reducing power consumption for drinking water supply by more than 33%. This is supported by the pneumatic automation technology, which results in much lower energy costs than using electric actuators for opening and closing the butterfly valves in the sand bed filters and pumping stations.
Futuristic AquaJelly technology tomorrow
At the recent Metropolitan Solutions Fair, Festo demonstrated with the help of its AquaJellies what efficient systems in the field of water technology might look like in the future. AquaJelly, developed within the framework of Festo’s Bionic Learning Network, is an artificial autonomous jellyfish with an electric drive unit and an intelligent adaptive mechanism that emulates swarming behaviour. These autonomous jellyfish display innovative communication capabilities and real-time diagnostics and offer the possibility for energy efficiency and lightweight construction of automated systems. The current status of each individual jellyfish can be recorded and monitored via a smartphone app, while other functions, such as detecting battery levels, are made possible through the real-time diagnostics.
As a concept for the future, AquaJelly demonstrates the self organisation of decentralised units, which, since its body consists of 99% water, Festo believes will be applicable to the coordination of rainwater overflow basins in the field of wastewater technology.
Industry training
Investment in basic and advanced training for qualified personnel is the basis for globally functioning water supplies. The Festo Didactic division will therefore be introducing a new, hands-on training course for the water sector. The modular training units for water transport and distribution, as well as treatment monitoring and energy optimisation, provide a comprehensive understanding of the issues surrounding water supply. They allow the simulation of operations, and foster the necessary process awareness. The goal is to provide practical training for the operation of equipment and systems in the water industry.
For more information contact Tracey Swart, Festo, 08600 FESTO, [email protected], www.festo.com
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