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Powder and Bulk Engineering,May 1991

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Case history

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Densephase
pneumatic
system
conveys
hydrated
lime to treat
sewer
sludge

alley Forge Sewer Authority,a municipal corporation in Phoenixville, Pa., collects and treats waste
water from eleven cammunities in suburban Philadelphia. Once collected, the
waste water first enters a primary clarifier
- a settling tank where gravity removes
primary sludge. The waste water then enters an aeration basin that converts the wa-

ter-soluble portion - sugars, starches,


ammonias, etc. -into water, carbon dioxide, and energy. From there, the waste water goes to a secondary clarifier where the
bacteria settles. The waste water then goes
through a pressure filter that removes any
remaining solids. After filtration, the
waste water is disinfected and discharged
into a river.

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Conveying dry, hydrated


lime with a dense-phase
pneumatic system and
adding the dry lime directly
to sewer sludge eliminates
the problems incurred by
injecting the sludge with a
hydrated lime slurry.

This surge hopper (positioned above) and transporter are components of a


dense-phasepneumatic conveying system at Valley Forge Sewer Authority.

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Powder and Bulk Engineering May 1991


Sludge that has collected during the various treatment stages is pumped into a
gravity settling tank. The settled sludge,
which is a 3 to 4 percent solids slurry, is
conditioned with dewatering polymers
and centrihged the result is a 30 percent
water cake that looks like clay, which is
then stored in a sludge hopper. To kill the
bacteria in the sludgebefore its used as fertilizer, hydrated lime is added to raise the
sludges pH from 6.5 to 12; this pH level is
held for 2 hours.
Injecting lime slurry causes
problems

Before 1984,the sewer authority raised the


sludges pH by injecting a hydrated lime
slurry before the sludge was dewatered
and centrifuged. Because of high pH levels, only expensive, specialty polymers
could effectively condition the sludge for
dewatering. Injecting a hydrated lime
slurry also added water to the sludge, reducing the effective capacity of the centrifuges. In addition, pumps conveying the
lime slurry required frequent maintenance, because the slurry was abrasive.
Authority seeks dry lime addition
method

The sewer authority wanted to add dry,


hydrated lime to the sludge after centrihging to avoid the problems related with injecting a lime slurry Adding the hydrated
lime in dry form would require conveying

the lime from the silo before adding the


lime to the sludge. Although the authority
had extensive experience conveying liquids, conveying dry, hydrated lime presented a challenge. A sewer authority employee who had previous experience with
a dense-phase pneumatic conveying system suggested conveying the dry, hydrated
lime with such a system.
The sewer authority considered a variety
of dense-phasesystemsand then shipped a
test sample of dry, hydrated lime to one
conveying system supplier. Tests of the
limes characteristics showed a 200-mesh
nominal hydrated lime with agglomerated
lumps up to %-inchin diameter.The limes
bulk density ranged from 10 to 40 lb/ft3.
Also, the lime had fair gravity flow, wasnt
abrasive, and contained negligible
moisture.
Sewer authority personnel, including a
consulting engineer, witnessed a conveying test at the suppliers test facility. The
dry, hydrated lime was conveyed under
on-site conditions with no problems.
However, to simulate the worst possible
conditions, the test was performed again
after 10percent water was added to the hydrated lime. Again, the system conveyed
the lime with no problems.
Dense-phase system chosen

Pleased with the test results, the sewer authority asked the supplier to design a
dense-phase pneumatic system to convey
the hydrated lime from an existingstorage

These blue centrifuges remove water from sewer sludge before hydrated
lime in the two green receiving bins (right side) kills bacteria in the sludge.

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Powder and Bulk Engineering,May 1991

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Figure 1

Dense-phase pneumaticconveying system

Electrical

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Existin
hydratedyirne
storage silo

level
control

rnergency high-level control

slurry tank

Surge hopper

Air-control panel

silo (fitted with a bin bottom activator) to


either of two receiving bins. The system
(Figure 1) has a surge hopper, a 3-cubicfootcapacity transporter (calledthe MiniTransporter), a compressor (not shown),
conveying lines, booster fittings, two volumetric screw feeders, two existing sludge
hoppers, and both an air-control and an
electrical panel.
In operation, hydrated lime exits the storage silo, bypasses the existing hydrated
lime slurry tank,and goes through a twoway reversing screw feeder with variable
drive that feeds the surge hopper. From
the surge hopper, the lime enters the transporter, which seals for pressurization with
an inflatable, seated butterfly valve. The
compressor pressurizes the transporter,
which then empties the lime into a 3-inchdiameter, 280-foot-long set of conveying
lines. The booster fittings maintain the
conveying pressure in the lines, which divert through either a switch receiver or an
end receiver, depending on the receiving
bin selected.Each bin has an 8oCubiofoot
capacity and is equipped with a dust filter.
From each receiving bin, the hydrated
lime exits through a volumetric screw
feeder into a sludge hopper equipped with
a sludge pump and level controls that indicate an emergency high level, a runagain level, or a low level. The aircontrol

and electricalpanels control the conveying


systems operation.
N e w conveying system solves
problems

Installed in 1984, the dense-phase pneumatic conveyingsystem completes 1% cycles and conveys 1,600pounds ofhydrated
lime each hour at an average velocity of
117 ft/min. Each conveying cycle takes 30
seconds and consumes 28 standard cubic
feet of air,overall, the system consumes an
average of 9 standard ft3/min.
The conveying systems volumetric screw
feeders add the dry, hydrated lime after the
sludge has been conditioned with dewatering polymers and centrifuged adding the
lime later means the sewer authority can
use less expensive dewatering polymers.
The centrifuges no longer have to remove
the water added by a lime slurry, so effeo
tive centrifuge capacity has risen. And the
lime slurry pumps are no longer in use,
saving maintenance costs.
Were well pleased with the equipment,
said Valley Forge Sewer Authoritys general manager, Joseph s. Bateman. It continues to work every day and has really
needed minimal maintenance.
PBE
Dynamic Air, St. Paul, MN.

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