The challenge

The blower station included two old turbo blowers that required frequent and costly maintenance, mainly the gearbox and diffuser vanes. The plant was running out of original spares. Furthermore, a more recent screw blower did not perform as was promised by the manufacturer. In addition to the blowers, the renewal of the complete station included accessories, piping, and electrical equipment. This renewal was to be done without disrupting the plant operation and in harsh conditions with a noise level of up to 113 dBA.

The solution

The client received proposals from various suppliers, but finally chose Sulzer because of the comprehensive solution. In addition to four highly-efficient HST 6000-2-H-6 turbocompressors, Sulzer offered a complete redesign of the inlet and outlet piping with filters, and an optimal arrangement of the new equipment in the existing facilities. The HST turbocompressors are controlled by one MCU (Master Control Unit), which allows an optimal number of machines to run simultaneously at the best operating efficiency, whatever the aeration needs of the plant are.

Customer benefits

Sulzer works in close technical cooperation with the world’s leading pulp and paper producers. Many successful HST references at other wastewater treatment plants of paper mills were an additional guarantee that the new Sulzer turbocompressors would provide complete customer satisfaction.

The compactness of the HSTs facilitated the arrangement and the renovation of the compressor room.

The upgrade was done in 2016. It resulted in significant energy savings of up to 10% and a dramatic noise reduction to less than 85 dBA.

The HST turbocompressors are air-cooled and utilize non-contact electromagnetic bearings. This means that regular maintenance will be reduced to changing the air filters only.