Package Sewage & Effluent Treatment Plants: Problems with Specification, Design, Installation, Commissioning and Troubleshooting
Examples from Previous Projects (1)
a. Training Centre
A package plant which was supposed to aerate sewage from a training centre was buried underground in an airtight chamber. Naturally it never worked, and smelled bad whenever the covers were opened. The corrosive gases produced dissolved the badly specified concrete of the chamber, which fell into the aeration tank. Three years of visits from plant installers failed to notice that air conduits supposed to carry air into system had not been fitted. When they were eventually asked at our request to fit the conduits, they fitted them to the primary tank, instead of the treatment chamber. The "designer" was forced to upgrade the plant in accordance with our recommendations at their own expense, as the client still had retention monies. Before our visit the "designer" insisted the plant worked, despite no valid sample evidence.
Photo
shows package plant buried underground in an airtight chamber.
Note very poor installation quality: Package plant installers are not
professional engineers
Photo
shows how the corrosive gases produced had dissolved the badly specified
concrete of the chamber, which fell into the aeration tank.
Photo
shows conduits fitted to the primary tank instead of the treatment chamber
Photo
shows failure to fit air conduits supposed to carry air into system. The
vent in the left of this shot is not connected to the surface.