Pulsar’s Norwegian distributor Sigum Fagerberg has supplied a Sludge Finder 2 sludge blanket monitor to Skådeviga treatment works, reducing pump starts by half and reducing pumping duration by a minimum of 20 per cent, as well as improving sludge quality.
Skådeviga treatment works lies in the beautiful area of Flekkefjord in the south of the Norway. When challenged to offer a way to help improve sludge blanket control, Tom Schorpen of Pulsar’s Norwegian distributor Sigum Fagerberg recommended Sludge Finder 2, a self-cleaning, maintenance-free ultrasonic measurement system that both measures the sludge blanket level and automatically controls the sludge pump.
In addition, Sludge Finder 2 has a ‘live’ display of sludge blanket profile in the tank, and can both log the data for sludge levels and pump starts, and transmit both data and alarm information back to a central system.
The equipment has now been in place for some time, and Tom Schorpen approached Eivind Hansen, the Operations Manager at Skådeviga, for an update on the benefits they had seen.
Mr Hansen said, “There are several benefits of Sludge Finder 2 in terms of a reduction in work in the removal of sludge, and more stable sludge quality in the thickeners.”
In addition, there are directly measurable benefits in energy reduction and reduction in pump usage.
Before the Pulsar equipment was installed, the normal operation of the sludge pumps was 14 pump starts, each of eight-minute duration, per 24 hours.
Since Sludge Finder 2 has been in operation, the sludge trend curve indicates that the pumps run between four and seven times per 24 hours.
In addition, depending on the sludge quality, pump run times are between two and five minutes, giving savings in both areas – a 50 per cent saving in pump starts, and a further 20 per cent saving in pump run time.
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