Applications

VorTech endeavour to deliver innovative, cost effective solutions that make a real difference towards improving the sustainability of the water industry. We offer complete aeration and mixing solutions to assist municipalities, industry and aquaculture farms to comply with regulation by boosting capacity and process flexibility while reducing energy and maintenance.

Activated Sludge

For wastewater treatment, why reinvent the wheel? Biomimicry offers simple solutions to complex problems already solved by nature.

At a fundamental level, the process of treating wastewater is relatively simple. Oxygen, bacteria and pollutants are mixed in order to degrade pollutants and yield clean water. This is the basis of the highly reliable activated sludge process which was discovered in 1914 by Ardern and Lockett. Similar processes are already present in nature; for example, river systems naturally replenish their oxygen rich environment to sustain aquatic life and good water quality, which is in many ways similar to the activated sludge process.

Aeration in a river is a natural process, derived from continuous high flow cascades delivering oxygen rich conditions to bacteria and protozoa which are responsible for breaking down organic matter and cycling nutrients. On the other hand, aeration in activated sludge treatment is an artificial process which drives oxygen into the water to activate bacterial metabolism. There is usually a large demand for oxygen necessitating significant levels of energy to overcome buoyancy to inject air deep into the bottom of a tank. The energy demand in this process is expressed as the amount of oxygen delivered per unit energy consumed, or kgO₂/kWh.

VorTech’s Vortex Power Aeration (VPA) technology emulates the river environment in an activated sludge tank. Instead of relying on costly, high maintenance blowers to pump air, under 4 to 5 m of water pressure at the bottom of the tank, the VPA instead lifts water to the surface of the tank where it is mixed with air in a cyclone requiring low pressure and power. In this way, similar to river cascades, every molecule of water gets dosed with oxygen in the VPA and is dispersed efficiently back into the reactor to effect further mixing. This is how the VPA can maintain high oxygen transfer rates and aeration efficiencies.

Activated sludge treatment is a well understood, reliable and robust solution to treat industrial and municipal wastewater. The Vortex Power Aerator (VPA) is not trying to reinvent something that works effectively, but rather aspires to make one of the world’s most energy intensive processes more efficient.

Aeration in a river is a natural process, derived from continuous high flow cascades delivering oxygen rich conditions to bacteria and protozoa which are responsible for breaking down organic matter and cycling nutrients. On the other hand, aeration in activated sludge treatment is an artificial process which drives oxygen into the water to activate bacterial metabolism. There is usually a large demand for oxygen necessitating significant levels of energy to overcome buoyancy to inject air deep into the bottom of a tank. The energy demand in this process is expressed as the amount of oxygen delivered per unit energy consumed, or kgO₂/kWh. VorTech’s Vortex Power Aeration (VPA) technology emulates the river environment in an activated sludge tank. Instead of relying on costly, high maintenance blowers to pump air, under 4 to 5 m of water pressure at the bottom of the tank, the VPA instead lifts water to the surface of the tank where it is mixed with air in a cyclone requiring low pressure and power. In this way, similar to river cascades, every molecule of water gets dosed with oxygen in the VPA and is dispersed efficiently back into the reactor to effect further mixing. This is how the VPA can maintain high oxygen transfer rates and aeration efficiencies. Activated sludge treatment is a well understood, reliable and robust solution to treat industrial and municipal wastewater. The Vortex Power Aerator (VPA) is not trying to reinvent something that works effectively, but rather aspires to make one of the world’s most energy intensive processes more efficient.

Municipal Wastewater

Working with municipalities to provide sustainable, low cost solutions for the next 50 years of operation

Wastewater is generated in municipalities as domestic wastewater and sewage and is often accompanied by significant storm water flows due to the presence of legacy combined sewer systems. As a result of general population behaviour and large variations in rainfall, municipal wastewater treatment systems must have sufficient capacity to cater for the highly variable treatment demands. The last wave of builds and upgrades occurred in the 1970/1980s, primarily using surface aeration technology. There is now pressure on operators to become more sustainable by doing more with less; to reduce energy and undertake more treatment in a smaller footprint. At the same time, effluent water quality regulations are becoming more stringent with the list of emission limit value (ELV) parameters getting longer and longer. This perfect storm of events presents a significant challenge for the municipal sector. VorTech works closely with municipalities to address these challenges. With aeration and mixing often forming a bottle neck for capacity increase, we can assess existing treatment plant aeration systems to baseline energy performance, efficiency and capacity to propose the next steps for increasing the sustainability of the plant.

Industrial Wastewater

VorTech helps industrial treatment plant operators to do more with less.

Wastewater is generated in several industries, among them Meat, Dairy, Distillery, Brewing, Soft Drinks, Pulp & Paper, Pharma, Chemicals, Steel, Mining, Petroleum and Biofuels. With populations steadily rising, the demand for products in these sectors will continue to grow, calling for more water in the process to be treated and discharged. VorTech’s products and solutions will help the industrial plant operator to boost the bottom line by doing more with less. With a more efficient aeration process, it is possible to achieve a higher throughput at a lower operational cost. VorTech’s VPA anoxic mixing capability also enables both nitrification and denitrification to be carried out in one tank, negating the need for an additional anoxic tank and of course the accompanying costs of pumping, mixing and maintenance. Doing more, with less, in a smaller footprint. Contact us at [email protected] to find out more.

Industrial Wastewater

VorTech helps industrial treatment plant operators to do more with less.

Wastewater is generated in several industries, among them Meat, Dairy, Distillery, Brewing, Soft Drinks, Pulp & Paper, Pharma, Chemicals, Steel, Mining, Petroleum and Biofuels. With populations steadily rising, the demand for products in these sectors will continue to grow, calling for more water in the process to be treated and discharged. VorTech’s products and solutions will help the industrial plant operator to boost the bottom line by doing more with less. With a more efficient aeration process, it is possible to achieve a higher throughput at a lower operational cost. VorTech’s VPA anoxic mixing capability also enables both nitrification and denitrification to be carried out in one tank, negating the need for an additional anoxic tank and of course the accompanying costs of pumping, mixing and maintenance. Doing more, with less, in a smaller footprint. Contact us at [email protected] to find out more.

Aquaculture

Bridging the gap between hydraulics, aeration, energy and aquaculture practice

Aquaculture is central to providing opportunities to increase food security to serve a growing population estimated to reach nine billion by 2050. It currently accounts for circa 50% of the worlds fish consumed globally. Growth in this sector has been significant, with a 12 fold increase over the past 30 years. Similar growth trends are projected into the future. Along with the significant opportunity expected from this sector, aquaculture farmers are now faced with the challenge of increasing the throughput of existing facilities to handle more product. This requires higher flow capacities, higher oxygen transfer rates and higher energy efficiency. The VorTech VPA technology addresses these needs directly by pumping twice the amount of flow for same the power as older outdated pumping systems while simultaneously aerating, degassing and mixing the pumped water. This is ideal in applications such as recirculating aquaculture systems by achieving three tasks (gas scrubbing, oxygen transfer and circulation) at once, all at a considerably lower power input.