FEATURE
Containerised plants offer
a quick way of supplying
water on-site
With virtually no installation costs and minimal set-up time, containerised
portable treatment plants quickly provide water on-site for a range of
applications. This brief article, which focuses on systems developed by
Veolia Water Technologies, reveals the advantages of using these systems
and how they can be deployed.
Containerised portable water-treatment plants
play an important role in water delivery and
treatment of waste. This is especially so in
South Africas remote districts and mining and
industrial-related sites.
Veolia Water Technologies SA has developed
technologies and systems that have been engi-
neered to provide ideal containerised water
treatment plants for a range of applications
throughout Africa operating in remote ter-
ritories and arduous terrains.
The ease of transport, set-up and use of these
packaged plants, and other advantages, were
discussed by Ian Lemberger, General Manager
Engineered Systems, Veolia Water Technologies
SA, during a recent panel discussion.
General advantages
Containerised portable water treatments
plants from Veolia provide quick delivery
times and their plug-and-play installation
makes them user-friendly and cost-effective
there are no installation costs and set-up time
is minimal.
They can be transferred from site to site, if
necessary, and plans for future expansion are
easily incorporated into the design of each
plant. Their ease of service and maintenance
means fewer challenges for plant managers.
Lemberger commented: In addition our
containerised plants can be easily adapted to
meet clients specific requirements they are
energy efficient and facilitate easy integration
into other plant systems.
Veolias packaged water treatment plants
include:
U >Viiii]V`} ment plants for use with surface, borehole,
design, fabrication and installation, as well
as a technical services team that provides
after-sales servicing and plant maintenance
throughout sub-Saharan Africa;
8
Membrane Technology
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products allows for quick delivery to clients;
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/ requirements for both process and service
prior to release ensures product perfor-
mance and quality control;
U >L>`ViiV>ii``i} These systems are suitable for a range of
results in minimal on-site work, reducing
downtime and minimising required user-
input and maintenance needs; and
U >>Lii>i>Vii`} systems across a range of industries for various
continuous improvement in the design of
the firms packaged plants.
A systems-based design approach to our
projects means products are designed for more
than clients current needs, but in such a way
that it ensures our products last their entire
lifecycle providing for clients future needs as
well, continued Lemberger.
In addition to the more common advantages
provided by Veolias containerised water treatment
plants, the product and processes are of such a
standard that the advantages mentioned each have
their own distinct benefits, resulting in an excep-
tional well-rounded offering. Additional advan-
tages can be gained from the companys product
versatility, technology, products and equipment,
service, applications and operational qualities.
Versatility advantage
The versatility of these plants means they can
be used for a range of water treatment applica-
tions covering groundwater, industrial effluent,
human/community wastewater, borehole water,
sea water, and sludge treatment and handling.
Its specialised range of systems include:
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system package
sea water or brackish water as a feed source;
U >>}iv>V>}i``iVi>}ii>- Veolia provides complete systems to clients, includ-
ment plants, using new-generation trickling
filter technology; and
that are designed to meet specific client
water applications.
applications. They can be used by utilities,
small towns, schools, resorts and temporary
installations. Veolia is in a position to provide
applications involving petrochemicals, food
and beverage, pharmaceuticals, and for water
and wastewater treatment.
Technology
These plants are based on a range of technol-
ogy, including membrane-based systems, such
as reverse osmosis and ultrafiltration; ion
exchange; and disinfection.
Veolia is ISO 9001: 2008 certified and uses
a strict quality management system to ensure
required quality parameters are monitored and
controlled from start to finish.
Products are sourced from reputable sup-
pliers and OEMs, locally and internationally,
and include, amongst others, pressure vessels,
pumps, motors, membranes, instrumentation,
valves and chemicals. They all meet strict qual-
ity control standards including ISO, ASME,
AWS, SABS, ANSI and NSF.
A global network of subsidiaries and sup-
plier partnerships provide the firm with access
to a multitude of products including instru-
mentation, valves and evaporators.
Complete
ing the design, management, fabrication, operating
and maintenance of a supplied treatment plant. Its
September 2015

Importance of pure water for planned outages
A s the main article shows, portable
water treatment plants are impor-
tant in mining and industrial-related
sites, but mobile water services can
also play a critical role in the energy
sector in this case, nuclear power
generation as highlighted here by
EDF Energys David Davidson.
EDF Energy owns and operates 15 nuclear
plants at eight nuclear power stations in the
UK. These stations have a combined capac-
ity of just under 8800 MW about 10%
of the UKs total installed electricity genera-
tion capacity from all energy sources, which
amounts to about 85 000 MW. One of the
stations, Sizewell B, is a pressurised water
reactor whilst the other seven Dungeness B,
Hinkley Point B, Hunterston B, Hartlepool,
Heysham 1, Heysham 2 and Torness
all use advanced gas-cooled reactor (AGR)
technology.
Hunterston B power station at West Kilbride,
on the west coast of Scotland, started generating
power in 1976, and its two AGR reactors are
capable of generating 890 MW of electricity
sufficient for 1.7 million homes.
Advanced gas-cooled reactor
In an AGR the nuclear core consists of
enriched uranium-clad stainless steel cans with
a graphite moderator, and reaches a tempera-
ture of over 600C.
This heat is transferred from the core by
pressurised carbon dioxide coolant. This hot
gas gives up its heat to water in the boilers,
forming superheated steam at high pressure
that is then piped away to drive the turbines
which, in turn, drive the electricity generating
sets, and is then condensed back into water by
sea-water-cooled condensers.
ability to offer and assume full responsibility for
any specific aspect of a plant provides clients with
performance and quality assurance.
Some of the companys key services are
summarised below.
U
iii`i}>V>i` to monitor and record basic process param-
documentation, including process, electrical
control and instrumentation, and mechani-
cal engineering.
U *>>`}vViii In the unlikely event of a failure an audible
and plant optimisation.
A condensate polishing ion-exchange plant
removes impurities from condenser in-leakage
and corrosion residues from the condensed
steam prior to its return to the boilers.
At such high operating steam pressures,
control of boiler water chemistry is critical to
minimise corrosion and deposition.
Like all nuclear power stations, Hunterston B
has a sophisticated ion-exchange plant to pro-
duce high purity boiler make-up water with
conductivity less than 0.1 S/cm and silica con-
centration less than 10 g/l SiO2.
Uninterrupted supply
Clearly an uninterrupted supply of high-purity
water is vital to the continuous operation of
the power station, and its loss would result in
a station shutdown no simple matter in the
case of nuclear reactors which take a consider-
able time to shut down and restart. The loss
of revenue, should this occur, is estimated at
1 million per day.
But water of the same quality is also required
for reactor cooling prior to planned mainte-
nance outages. The demand in this situation is
higher than the volume that the ion-exchange
plant is capable of delivering and although the
station has reserve feedwater storage to cover
48 hours of normal operation, the financial
implications of water loss are so high that EDF
Energy decided additional security was required.
Mobile water services
The solution that EDF adopted was to set up a
service contract with Veolia Water Technologies
Mobile Water Services team (formerly known as
Aquamove) under which one of Veolias fleet of
mobile deionised water trailers would be on-site
within 24 hours of a phone call.
automation allowing for complete stand-alone
operation with minimum operator intervention.
A text-based HMI screen provides user-friendly
control and status display, whilst alarm messages
are logged for historical viewing.
In addition, inline instruments are used
Contacts:
eters such as level, flow, pressure and quality.
Instruments for additional parameters are easily
added to suit individual client requirements.
Africa. Tel: +27 11 663 3600, www.veoliawaterst.co.za
beacon provides local warning of process or equip-
FEATURE
The trailer houses two streams of ion-exchange
units (cation-anion-mixed bed) which can be run
in sequence or in parallel, and are capable of pro-
ducing 150 m3/h of 0.1 S/cm high-purity water.
All of the equipment is installed in a standard
40-ft trailer, which is insulated and supplied with
heating and lighting so that inside the container
the environment is like that of most plant rooms.
The trailers are also kitted out with safety
equipment as necessary. Once exhausted the
complete trailer is returned to the central regen-
eration facility, which means zero discharge on
site and no problems of handling or disposal of
regenerant chemicals. It also means that on-site
chemical systems can be completely isolated
whilst maintenance or repair work is carried out.
The advantage of a contract of this type
is that all the important details where the
deionised water trailer can be parked, the
location and type of connections for raw and
treated water are on record so there are no
delays when the trailer arrives. Furthermore,
Veolias technicians have been inducted in site
safety and method statements have been agreed
in advance, so installation of the trailer can
commence immediately.
Hunterston B has used a temporary trailer
over thirty times to cover routine water treat-
ment plant maintenance, to supplement the
ion-exchange plant during planned outages
and for the rare ion-exchange plant failure or
potential problems, such as a resin change.
Contacts:
EDF Energy, Hunterston B power station,
West Kilbride, Ayrshire KA23 9QX, UK.
Tel: +44 1294 826000,
www.edfenergy.com
www.veoliawatertechnologies.co.uk/processwater/
services/aquamove
Veolia Water Technologies SA has the local
expertise combined with multinational resources
to provide effective water treatment systems
to practically anywhere in Africa, concluded
Lemberger.
Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies South Africa
(Pty) Ltd, S04 Modderfontein House, Moddercrest
Office Park, High Street, Modderfontein 1609, South
U *>>}}`i} ment faults. There are options available for con- Veolia Water Technologies, Windsor Court, Kingsmead
packages. necting the plants via Ethernet or Profibus (cop- Business Park, High Wycombe HP11 1JU, UK.
The companys base-line containerised plants per, fibre-optic or wireless connection) to SCADA Tel: +44 1628 897000,
utilise a programmable logic controller for and BMS for remote control and monitoring. www.veoliawatertechnologies.co.uk

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September 2015 Membrane Technology