1. QGC/GE/Veolia Four 26M Solids Contact Clarifiers
Support After the Sale
Agent Training 2016
QGC/GE/Veolia Four 26M Solids Contact Clarifiers
$1,800,000 USD
“Support After the Sale” is a phrase that has been around for a long time and every supplier claims to do it well. As WesTech, we need to be committed to it and agents are integral to the process. You can:
Help convince the client of the value of after sales service. And not just a mechanical checkout, but process support.
Paying for it up front ensures that the service happens.
Staying in touch with the client to see if they are struggling and what can be done to help them resolve their issues.
Coordinate with WesTech personnel before, during and after they are at site to ensure complete communicate with the customer.
That sort of involvement tees up future parts sales, service sales and capital equipment sales for you and WesTech.
Presented by:
Blain Chappell

2. Customer did not know how to operate the equipment
Customer did not know how to operate the equipment. So they thought it was defective.
Unfortunately, that is not an uncommon event. We at WesTech know that thickeners and clarifiers are pretty simple pieces of equipment and, even if they are inappropriately sized, will not completely fail so long as they are operated properly. May customers new to the equipment however, do not know that.

3. Inconstant Raw Water Stream
Turbidity of Overflow in NTU (note scale of NTU)
Inconsistent Sedimentation Pond Stream
Findings from reviewing data:
The intermittent stream from the Sedimentation Pond cause further disruptions to already unstable system
Analysis showed the Raw Water stream contained very little solids, only 10% of the design requirements, the low solids caused contact problems in the reaction well. So a healthy reaction well could not be developed.
Operations data showed trends of poor turbidity during processing of the Raw Water stream and increasing turbidity when the Sedimentation Pond stream was introduced.
The white line shows the turbidity, the y axis scale of this slide is max 800 ntu. The yellow line is the sedimentation pond stream being fed the clarifiers.
The Sedimentation Pond stream cause multiple problems: first the aggressive change in feed characteristics and second changes in flow rate.
Ultimately the clarifiers could not develop a healthy reaction well and if they did, it would be destroyed by the introduction on the Sedimentation Pond stream.

4. Strategy to help customer and show WesTech equipment's value
Review past clarifier operations data and isolate problems
Test feed stream and set operating parameters
Operate clarifiers under tested parameters
Train plant operators
This should be a strategy we consider for every installation. Of course it can be adapted as needed, but it is the strategy we followed in our case study at Queensland Gas Company (QGC).

5. The permitted flocculent could not bond to Sedimentation Pond solids
The permitted coagulant effectively coagulated the Sedimentation Pond solids
The permitted flocculent could not bond to Sedimentation Pond solids
Testing each stream separately helped draw out the cause of the problems.
Testing the Sedimentation Pond stream showed the inability for the flocculent to bond the solids, and it also showed the effectiveness of the coagulant. We could see the Sedimentation pond needed to be fed continually, and be coagulated properly.
Further testing of the Raw Water showed the polymer could capture the small particles in the raw water once a floccule was developed. Proper flocculation and consistent raw water feed allowed for the small particles to attached to the floccules in the reaction well.
Testing showed these floccules were very weakly bound and possessed no ability to compact, which led them to be easily re-suspended.

6. More Controlled Underflow Constant Sedimentation Pond Stream
Constant Raw Water Stream
Turbidity of Overflow in NTU (note 90 NTU scale)
After developing an operating plan and training customer
New operating parameters stabilized the Sedimentation Pond stream and created a healthy reaction well by using the Sedimentation pond stream as the main feed, and using the raw water stream as a secondary stream. The new parameters also optimized the coagulant to create a nice floccule which bound the small particles in the raw water stream.
During operation we found a bed could not be maintained in the clarifier, so a short periodic blow down scheduled was implemented. To keep solids from re-entering overflow, short, frequent pump downs were used to clean the underflow form the bottom of the clarifier, NO bed was maintained.

7. Turbidity of Overflow in NTU (note scale of NTU)
Constant Raw Water Stream
Inconsistent Sedimentation Pond Stream
Findings from reviewing data:
The intermittent stream from the Sedimentation Pond cause further disruptions to already unstable system
Analysis showed the Raw Water stream contained very little solids, only 10% of the design requirements, the low solids caused contact problems in the reaction well. So a healthy reaction well could not be developed.
Operations data showed trends of poor turbidity during processing of the Raw Water stream and increasing turbidity when the Sedimentation Pond stream was introduced.
The white line shows the turbidity, the y axis scale of this slide is max 800 ntu. The yellow line is the sedimentation pond stream being fed the clarifiers.
The Sedimentation Pond stream cause multiple problems: first the aggressive change in feed characteristics and second changes in flow rate.
Ultimately the clarifiers could not develop a healthy reaction well and if they did, it would be destroyed by the introduction on the Sedimentation Pond stream.

8. According to QGC management the improvements created savings for QGC of $3,000,000 AUD per year (~$2,160,000 USD)
Project Manager pointed us to another QGC site that has similar challenges and would benefit from Solids Contact Clarifiers.
Working closely together we can create opportunities!

9. © WesTech Engineering, Inc. 2016