Natural water sources like rivers and lakes are designed to treat water naturally, but because of abundant wastewater – “India generates 72,368 MLD wastewater” (Source: CPCB) – the burden of water purification increases on them, which increases the urgency of wastewater treatment. Moreover, wastewater treatment plants face significant challenges like space management and downtimes, adding to the poor wastewater management in India.
Mobile treatment systems can come as a guardian angel to overcome land availability and breakdown issues. This is because they have modular designs, are available quickly on-site, and ideally address downtime problems.
What is mobile water treatment?
Mobile water treatment systems are modular, containerized units that can conduct various treatment processes like physical, chemical, and biological processes as per the requirement. In addition, mobile systems can include mobile membrane filters, clarifiers, chlorination systems, etc., or fully integrated mobile water treatment units.
Benefits of installing mobile water or wastewater treatment plants
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- Less operational costs
- Provides immediate solution
- Reduce environmental footprint
- Short set-up time
- Bridge the gap during retrofits and new installations
- Ideal alternative for expensive upgrades
- Turnkey solution to a problem
What to consider before implementing mobile water or wastewater treatment solutions?
- Understand the problem
Before selecting a solution, it is advisable and also essential to analyze the problem and understand it. Here, an expert engineering team can conduct a why-why analysis and help draw a proper plan to solve the issue. Furthermore, an in-depth understanding of a problem can be beneficial to invest in a specif solution.
For example, a customer orders an aeration tank for an area without mentioning frequent heavy rainfalls. However, rain could overflow the aeration tank and wash away media. Here, assessment of location and site condition proves to be beneficial.
- Analyze the service provider
When a service provider offers out-and-out services, from installation to maintenance, it improves the facility’s economic conditions. Moreover, such a holistic service approach is beneficial because it provides expertise and on-site management.
Comprehensive mobile rental solutions often present a better opportunity than equipment alone, as supervised operations can work effectively for months or even years. In addition, consistent staff is also essential for a holistic approach to work because the on-site manager will have the knowledge of the know-how of the operations and will quickly be able to understand the problem and minimize labor time.
- Know the difference between mobile and full installations
Many times when facilities undergo the upgradation and installation of new equipment, they often fail to abridge the gap between pulling off the aging equipment and installing new ones. In addition, their facility faces the problem of extensive downtimes. Mobile systems can prove advantageous here because they can curtail the operational gap and reduce or eliminate off-time.
However, the facility owner should understand the difference between mobile and full installations and adjust their expectations accordingly. For example, a mobile pressure filter might not handle the full flow of wastewater as conventional pressure filters. Moreover, when operators neglect the capacity of mobile units, the system often breaks down.
- Address the problem in its early stage
A minor breakdown in a wastewater treatment plant can lead to many other treatment issues, and delaying the employment of the solution to the problem just because of its expensiveness can worsen the situation. Moreover, it is necessary to address the problem early to avoid future complications. For example, a malfunction in a pump can overflow the plant and lead to other troubles.
In this instance, a mobile solution buys time and can be used to treat wastewater until a long-term solution is finalized. The significant advantage of a mobile solution is its flexibility, it can be tailored for a specific treatment process; its modular design, it is readily available on-site, and it is cost-efficient.
Mobile units are user-friendly, an ideal alternative to complete installations, and effectively bridge the treatment gaps. However, they operate differently from conventional plant equipment but can save time in the end and ensure ceaseless wastewater treatment in difficult times.