Clean water is vital in both consumer and commercial areas, including numerous industrial applications, such as mining, petroleum refining and groundwater remediation, in addition to residential applications. Environmental Operation Solutions (EOSi), a provider of products and services used in water treatment, evolved its business model to include the Nitrack control system, which creates value to plant operators by optimising the dosage of carbon supplements. The PC-based control system used in this area is designed to support functions such as remote access to the processes in conventional plants.
BY SHANE NOVACEK
Environmental Operating Solutions (EOSi), a Massachusetts-based environmental consultant, ahs been providing sustainable solutions and technical services for biological contaminant removal in water and wastewater treatment systems in the US and Canada since 2003. Samuel Ledwell, president of EOSi, revealed that the company currently provides over 550 wastewater treatment plants with safe, effective and environmentally-sustainable solutions.
The MicroC line of supplemental carbon sources forms the basis of the EOSi portfolio, and represents a non-hazardous and environmentally sustainable option to remove contaminants such as nitrogen, phosphorus, selenium and perchlorate, among others, from wastewater. The MicroC products contain various carbohydrates, alcohol and glycerine-based supplemental carbon sources, which serve as nutrients for the microorganisms in the sewage sludge used for biological wastewater treatment. These products are subjected to the most rigorous quality control processes.
Alternative to traditional sales models
“Maintaining regulatory compliance at the lowest cost is a common goal for our customers,” Ledwell claimed. About five years ago, EOSi began a new initiative to help its customers further optimise their use of MicroC products. This evolved into providing and later developing their own product dispending monitoring and control equipment. In addition, EOSi process engineers develop customised control strategies for the specific process configurations of clients and offer services to help monitor plant performance.
The Nitrack is a PC-based control system used to monitor and control biological nutrient removal in wastewater treatment. It collects sensor data from a multitude of inputs and uses this data to control and optimise treatment processes.
The Nitrack system will dose the appropriate amount of MicroC based on, for example, the amount of nutrients present in the wastewater system compared to the end-of-pipe target concentration. The Nitrack systems feature a variety of PC-based control solutions from Beckhoff, facilitating integration into customer facilities along with improvements in both processing power and remote connectivity options. Remote connectivity functionality enables location-independent plant monitoring by the EOSi team, or by the operators themselves. However, it also entails connectivity requirements that conventional process control systems might not be able to meet.
Shan Novacek is marketing communications manager North America at Beckhoff Automation.
The full article is published in the Water & Wastewater Asia Nov/Dec 2021 issue. To continue reading, click here.
