Treatment Phases of Water and Wastewater Treatment Facilities

During its treatment wastewater must go through several stages, and before sedimentation and filtration it must go through the crucial primary phase of coagulation and flocculation.

The direction of flow of the water is also important, so in these phases baffle panels are located at key points. Baffle panels have been made from traditional materials such as steel, concrete, and wood, but these quickly break down from corrosion and rot, brought about by interacting with large volumes of water holding chemical and organic matter.

Baffle Wall System from Strongwell

Baffles made from composites, such as Strongwell’s Baffle Wall system, are much superior to these materials. Made from pultruded fiberglass, Strongwell’s baffles have demonstrated the ability to yield maximum potable water and wastewater treatment flow during the process of coagulation. Taking the time to tailor the material to its specific application, the fiber reinforced plastic (FRP) used has high corrosion resistance, superior strength-to-weight ratio, and UV resistance for both outdoor and disinfection applications.

In a South Carolina water treatment facility the failings of the conventional materials were shown in full. By using redwood for the baffle panels along with concrete slabs, the constant flow of water had damaged the system beyond repair. The engineers at the facility could see that the existing materials would not only be costly to replace this time, but that it wouldn’t be long before it would have to be done over and over again. The decision was made to replace the existing panels with FRP over an 18-month period.

Lightweight FRP baffle panels are now being used for all types of underwater flow control applications. Aeration chambers, contact chambers, and retention basins all benefit from the longer lifespan and excellent flexibility of FRP.

TECHNICAL DATA

This information has been sourced, reviewed and adapted from materials provided by Strongwell Corporation.

For more information on this source, please visit Strongwell Corporation.