Challenges

CLOSED ON: 05 MAY 2020  |  REWARD: INR 50,000
Reward money is paid in exchange of legally acquiring the solution, implementing it to solve the problem and meeting the success criteria. Milestones for paying the reward money would depend upon the complexity of challenge and maturity of the proposed solution, which would be discussed with the solver as soon as the proposed solution is selected by us.
Closed

Short Description:

We are looking for a solution to the Automation of dosing of chemicals in the CF tank for Flocculation and clarification.

Challenge Details

Tannery waste is treated in our Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP). Clari-flocculator is a combination of flocculation (sedimentation of suspended particles by adding clarifying agents) and clarification (Removal of sediments/residue) in a single tank. Solution for Automation of dosing of chemicals in CF tank for Flocculation and clarification is sought.

Clari-Flocculator (CF tank) has two concentric tanks where the inner tank serves as a flocculation basin and the outer tank serves as a clarifier. As heavy particles settle to the bottom, the treated effluent flows upward in the clarifier zone. The deposited sludge is moved to the bottom near to the sludge chamber and discharged. The height of the CF tank is 3 meters and the diameter is 7 meters. The average inflow of effluent into the CF tank is 20 m3/hr.

After pumping the effluent in the flocculation basin, chemicals like Lime, Aluminium sulfate, Polyelectrolyte are dosed/pumped into the tank. These chemicals are pumped in through dosing pumps. The reason for adding these chemicals is to sediment the suspended particles and to make it to the desired pH for the treatment of effluent. The sample liquid is taken for a jar test which is conducted in the laboratory to determine the optimal amount of above three chemicals dosed per m3/hr flow for flocculation and clarification. The Jar test is conducted only when there is a change in the operation of the Plant.

At present, the chemicals are dosed manually by adjusting the knob on the dosing pump, which, if inaccurate, leads to various problems like an improper settlement or undesired composition of treated effluent.  We are looking for an automatic chemical dosing system that can:

  • Decide the dosage based on the flow rate of effluent and the outcome of the Jar test, which should ideally be fed automatically into the system from the lab.

Requirements

  • The system should be able to wirelessly receive input on the amount of the three chemicals to be dosed per m3/hr.
  • The system should take into account the data from the inlet effluent flowmeter to decide the dosage and then dose the three chemicals accordingly.
  • The system should eliminate all manual intervention of the dosing of chemicals.
  • Implementation of the solution should not necessitate significant modifications and cost variation to the existing setup.
  • The dosing system should include pumps that should withstand the abrasion from the above three chemicals.

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