A Proven Success
RAUBIOXON PLUS pipe aerator
REHAU secured the largest water utility in Australia, Sydney Water Corporation, as its customer with the premium RAUBIOXON pipe aerator. Its superiority over EPDM pipe aerators was proven in a four-year trial commissioned by Sydney Water.
In February 2001 Sydney Water with the help of an independent testing body commenced a comprehensive trial of the REHAU-RAUBIOXON aeration system. The four(4) year study was conducted at one of Sydney Water’s most advanced sewage treatment plants (STP), West Hornsby STP. The study was supported and monitored by Mr. Elliott Burke, National Product Manager for Australia and New Zealand and Mr. Simon Ho, Product Group Manager for Asia/Australia.
As Australia’s largest water utility operating 31 separate wastewater treatment plants within the greater Sydney region, Sydney Water was looking for improved performance from their existing fine bubble diffuser aeration system.
Operational costs were driven up by the poor performance of their existing EPDM pipe diffusers, primarily due to higher power consumption of the aeration blowers. In addition the short service life of the EPDM diffusers was forcing Sydney Water to refurbish their aeration system every 4-5 years, significantly increasing capital expenditure and causing disruption to plant operations.
The majority of Sydney Water’s fine bubble aeration systems utilize Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer (EPDM) pipes for the diffusion of air. Over the years, many weaknesses of this material have surfaced.
The main weakness in EPMD pipe aerators is the mineral oils contained in the EPDM membrane. These oils leach out over time, leaving a brittle and stretched membrane, susceptible to splitting and fouling of the perforated slits. Additionally, the carbon black used as filler in the EPDM material has been thought to act as a food source for biological growth, causing slime to accumulate on the pipe aerator.
Recognizing the limitations of the existing EPDM pipe aerators, Sydney Water asked to test REHAU’s RAUBIOXON pipe aerators and compare their performance directly against other commonly used aerators.
In February 2001, a bank of RAUBIOXIN pipe aerators were installed directly adjacent to a bank of new EPDM pipe aerators at the West Hornsby treatment plant and performance was measured by monitoring pressure loss across the pipe aerators.
After approximately two years of the trial, it was already apparent that the RAUBIOXON pipe aerators had a better anti-fouling characteristic. In fact, the fouling of the EPDM pipe aerators was so bad that the majority of air flowed through the RAUBIOXON pipe aerators, despite throttling the airflow to the RAUBIOXON banks by the use of a butterfly valve.
Only two and a half years after the commencement of the four-year trial installation, the West Hornsby operators were convinced the RAUBIOXON pipe aerators provided a better alternative to the existing EPDM pipe aerators. In 2003, they replaced half of their existing EPDM pipe aerators with RAUBIOXON pipe aerators.
The remaining EPDM pipes will be replaced with RAUBIOXON PLUS pipe aerators this year. An enhanced version called RAUBIOXON PLUS contains an anti-microbial formulation in the silicone rubber membrane that further inhibits fouling of the membrane and also has higher tear strength.
The result proves that RAUBIOXON PLUS is better than EPDM pipe aerators. The successful installation at Australia’s largest water utility is now documented in a new sales brochure for RAUBIOXON PLUS - REHAU’s next generation pipe aerator.
Since the refurbishment of the West Hornsby STP, Sydney Water confident the RAUBIOXON aerator provided superior performance to other aerators on the market has refurbished two other plants, Riverstone & Hornsby Heights plus a brand new plant built at Warragamba. It is expected as other plants consider upgrade of their aeration system REHAU will be the preferred supplier!
As Australia’s largest water utility operating 31 separate wastewater treatment plants within the greater Sydney region, Sydney Water was looking for improved performance from their existing fine bubble diffuser aeration system.
Operational costs were driven up by the poor performance of their existing EPDM pipe diffusers, primarily due to higher power consumption of the aeration blowers. In addition the short service life of the EPDM diffusers was forcing Sydney Water to refurbish their aeration system every 4-5 years, significantly increasing capital expenditure and causing disruption to plant operations.
The majority of Sydney Water’s fine bubble aeration systems utilize Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer (EPDM) pipes for the diffusion of air. Over the years, many weaknesses of this material have surfaced.
The main weakness in EPMD pipe aerators is the mineral oils contained in the EPDM membrane. These oils leach out over time, leaving a brittle and stretched membrane, susceptible to splitting and fouling of the perforated slits. Additionally, the carbon black used as filler in the EPDM material has been thought to act as a food source for biological growth, causing slime to accumulate on the pipe aerator.
Recognizing the limitations of the existing EPDM pipe aerators, Sydney Water asked to test REHAU’s RAUBIOXON pipe aerators and compare their performance directly against other commonly used aerators.
In February 2001, a bank of RAUBIOXIN pipe aerators were installed directly adjacent to a bank of new EPDM pipe aerators at the West Hornsby treatment plant and performance was measured by monitoring pressure loss across the pipe aerators.
After approximately two years of the trial, it was already apparent that the RAUBIOXON pipe aerators had a better anti-fouling characteristic. In fact, the fouling of the EPDM pipe aerators was so bad that the majority of air flowed through the RAUBIOXON pipe aerators, despite throttling the airflow to the RAUBIOXON banks by the use of a butterfly valve.
Only two and a half years after the commencement of the four-year trial installation, the West Hornsby operators were convinced the RAUBIOXON pipe aerators provided a better alternative to the existing EPDM pipe aerators. In 2003, they replaced half of their existing EPDM pipe aerators with RAUBIOXON pipe aerators.
The remaining EPDM pipes will be replaced with RAUBIOXON PLUS pipe aerators this year. An enhanced version called RAUBIOXON PLUS contains an anti-microbial formulation in the silicone rubber membrane that further inhibits fouling of the membrane and also has higher tear strength.
The result proves that RAUBIOXON PLUS is better than EPDM pipe aerators. The successful installation at Australia’s largest water utility is now documented in a new sales brochure for RAUBIOXON PLUS - REHAU’s next generation pipe aerator.
Since the refurbishment of the West Hornsby STP, Sydney Water confident the RAUBIOXON aerator provided superior performance to other aerators on the market has refurbished two other plants, Riverstone & Hornsby Heights plus a brand new plant built at Warragamba. It is expected as other plants consider upgrade of their aeration system REHAU will be the preferred supplier!
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© REHAU Pte Ltd. 2008
© REHAU Pte Ltd. 2008