ACTI-Mag eliminates odours at TasWater, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.
case study summary
Challenges
- Magnesium hydroxide liquid product was constantly blocking the peristaltic pumps and dosing lines causing headaches for the operators.
- Highly-viscous with a low surface area and slow reactivity time.
- Once blocked in the lines it was a time consuming and painful job to chip the hardened, cement like material out of the pipework.
Objective
- Manage H2S odour levels.
- Save on chemical and maintenance costs.
- Reduce blockages and improve operational efficiency.
Solution
Download Success story
TasWater minimises odours with Calix’s ACTI-Mag and Netco Pumps.
Download the PDF NowBenefits of ACTI-Mag
Higher neutralising value per kilo when compared with caustic while being significantly safer to handle than other traditional alkalis.
Very safe and cost competitive option for hydrogen sulphide gas (H2S) control in wastewater treatment.
Introduction
Formed through the merger of three Tasmanian water and sewage corporations, TasWater is Tasmania’s water and sewage utility. TasWater is responsible for providing drinking water across the state as well as collecting and treating sewage.
With a vision to be a trusted and respected provider of essential services that makes a positive difference to Tasmania, TasWater aims to efficiently provide water and sewerage services to customers in the most cost-effective manner, encourage water conservation, and deliver sustainable returns to its members.
Challenges
TasWater was experiencing issues with the magnesium hydroxide liquid product it was using at a Southern Wastewater Treatment Plant, the product was constantly blocking the peristaltic pumps and dosing lines causing headaches for the operators.
The product they were using was a standard type of MHL, highly-viscous with a low surface area and slow reactivity time. Once blocked in the lines it was a time consuming and painful job to chip the hardened, cement like material out of the pipework.
Solution
TasWater engaged with Netco Pumps to explore different options and after speaking with a lot of industry contacts Netco ran a trial at the treatment plant of ACTI-Mag product by Calix. This immediately proved successful as the product had a much finer molecular structure and was more viscous, overall it proved much easier to pump and handle as well as having a good reactivity time. ACTI-Mag is a concentrated stabilised suspension of magnesium hydroxide, an inorganic compound with the chemical formula Mg(OH)2, the method by which Calix calcinates the raw product results in a product with a much higher surface area which has multiple benefits.
A few months later TasWater were experiencing odour issues in the Hobarts Eastern Shore network where stations were being injected with Oxygen. TasWater decided to engage Netco again to run a trial using ACTI-Mag dosing at 4 stations over the summer months to treat the odour and measure results. Netco Pumps installed and commissioned 4 somewhat crude dosing packages at the 4 sites identified and the result was spectacular with H2S measurement at the receiving treatment plant down to almost zero. The dosing units were operating on a simple timer based dosing method which is not optimal, however the results spoke for themselves and 4 years later 3 of the 4 sites are still dosing whilst the 4th site was decommissioned as the retention effect from the upstream station made it unnecessary.
Netco general manager Nathan Cruickshank comment was – “the Calix’s ACTI-Mag ticked all our boxes for TasWater. While the dosing units were only supposed to be temporary, they are still in place today albeit a few upgrades to make them more functional. The combination of an excellent product coupled with our unique delivery and maintenance service has resulted in a very painless experience for TasWater and its operators, at the same time solving odour issues and protecting their assets from the stations through to the treatment plant”
ACTI-Mag has a higher neutralising value per kilo when compared with caustic while being significantly safer to handle than other traditional alkalis, making it a very safe and cost competitive option for hydrogen sulphide gas (H2S) control in wastewater treatment.
With a chemistry similar to the antacids used in our human digestive systems, ACTI-Mag can also safely and cost-effectively remove phosphorus from the wastewater discharge, which improves the wastewater quality.
Netco Pumps recommends ACTI-Mag because it is less viscous, has a high surface area, which means it reacts quicker, and is a 60 per cent concentrated solution resulting in less of the product being required to treat the same problem.
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