INVENT Press Release
Submerged aeration systems are ubiquitous in modern wastewater treatment plants, dispersing bubbles of air below the water surface enabling the transfer of oxygen to the water for the growth and activity of the treatment bacteria. Integral with any submerged aeration system is a pressurised supply air source to compress air for release below the water surface. The new iTURBO®-Blower has been designed specifically for this application.
INVENT has designed an advanced turbo blower and implemented manufacturing techniques that allow every blower to be customized to the unique requirement of each wastewater treatment plant. This ensures the energy consumption and operating range is optimized for the specific process. The result is a dedicated machine operating at peak performance tailored for every application. This is a move away from standard machine size manufacture, where a one size fits all often results in under performance and/or unreliability.
The iTURBO®-Blower is a radial compressor in either single or two stage configurations. The compressor is direct driven by a high-speed permanent magnet motor. However, comparisons to currently available blowers stop here.
With over 5 years of development and operating experience the iTURBO®-Blower incorporates “rigid” cartridge style air cushion bearings, not foils. The result is a dependable bearing without the complexity of active electronic control.
The turbo impellers are customized for the pressure and flow range required by any particular aeration system. Modelled with computational fluid dynamic (CFD) analysis in addition to test tuning to achieve peak efficiency. The impellers are manufactured using precision 5 axis CNC machining of 7075-T6 Aluminium Alloy for maximum strength and accuracy.
Motor cooling is accomplished with a proprietary “2 pass” pressurised system for maximum heat transfer. Waste heat can either be discharged to the atmosphere or used for heat recovery. As the system is independent, a conditioned air source can be used in extreme environments where ambient temperatures exceed 50°C.
The iTURBO®-Blower is an integrated blower package, with PLC control, colour HMI local control panel. All measurement sensors required for the safe and reliable operation of the blower are included within the package. The blower constantly monitors air flow, pressures and temperatures within the package. A communications connection to the blower allows all operating and diagnostic information such as power consumption, speed and operating hours to be transferred to higher order plant SCADA or DCS systems.
The acoustic enclosure is robust and durable. INVENT have standardized on heavy section zinc anneal sheeting powered coated with 100um heat hardened surface protection. Fasteners, fixings and hinges on the blower enclosure are SS 316 stainless steel, the reason, to ensure all components have maximum life expectance as the working environments are usually very harsh.
The INVENT iTURBO®-Blowers are now available in a range from 22kW to 200kW, discharge pressure capability to 150 kPa.
