Transforming the Water and Wastewater Industry

INVENT Umwelt- und Verfahrenstechnik AG, a company with deep roots in fluid mechanics at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, has been a pioneer in CFD simulations for wastewater applications since its creation. Recognizing their potential, INVENT established THINK Fluid Dynamix^®, a specialized business unit offering advanced CFD-based engineering solutions for the water, wastewater, and chemical industries.

The Challenge of Wastewater Modeling

Modeling hydraulic processes in wastewater treatment demands a multidisciplinary team with extensive field experience. Optimal solutions involve not just simulating fluid dynamics, but also understanding the complex interplay of chemistry, biology, solids, civil engineering, materials, implementation costs, machinery, and more. THINK Fluid Dynamix^® excels by combining advanced numerical modeling, a highly multidisciplinary team, and over 25 years of industry experience to offer reliable and effective solutions.

CFD simulations offer numerous benefits to wastewater treatment, including improved process efficiency, cost reduction, and enhanced environmental sustainability. These simulations find practical applications in a range of processes, such as screening, analyzing flow distribution and head loss in pipes and channels, optimizing mixing and aeration tanks, evaluating oxidation ditches, clarifiers, anaerobic digesters, etc.

The modeling in the water and wastewater industry faces, however, unique challenges, such as simulating rotating machinery, handling multiphase flows (involving liquids, solids, and gases), and modeling complex substances like activated sludge with non-Newtonian behavior. Due to the intricacies of these systems, especially when dealing with organic compounds, relying solely on theoretical principles is often insufficient. Experimental calibration of numerical models is often necessary to truly bridge theory and practice.

CFD in Product Development

CFD modeling is also a cornerstone of INVENT’s R&D efforts. Innovative products like the CYBERFLOW^®-Accelerator and the latest evolution of the HYPERCLASSIC^®-Mixer were at first stage developed entirely through CFD simulations and AI-driven shape optimization. Utilizing cutting-edge CFD technology and high-performance computing clusters enables rapid analysis of hundreds of design variants and scenarios, leading to superior product design and optimization.

Conclusion

By integrating advanced CFD simulations, process engineering, experimental research, and over 25 years experience, INVENT has built a platform that bridges theory and practice and that offers the most advanced CFD services for the water and wastewater industry. We call it: THINK Fluid Dynamix^®.