Effective water treatment solutions for the CSG industry

Water management is a major issue for Australia’s $50bn Coal Seam Gas (CSG) industry. Exploratory work for the CSG industry is being undertaken on agricultural lands across eastern Australia’s Great Artesian Basin. 

Stringent laws and legislations being implemented to protect the groundwater interests of landholders are strengthening the environmental regulator’s enforcement powers to ensure compliance by CSG producers in water treatment and management. 

Low pressure air supply is vital to water treatment processes, according to Sri Srinivasan, the National Product Manager at Compressed Air and Power Solutions Australia (CAPS). 

He adds that it is vital for engineers and water utilities managers to have a solid understanding of the factors that influence reliability and efficiency of blower technology. 

Factors that determine the selection of blowers include air flow capacities, pressure requirements, turndown ratio, energy efficiency, installation, maintenance requirements and noise levels. 

Discharge pressure specifications can range from 20kpag to 80kpag, while flow capacity will also vary significantly, depending on the process and size of the plant. Temperature, humidity and inlet conditions can also have a huge impact on performance.   

Srinivasan says it is important for companies to partner with suppliers of expert blower equipment to select a product that addresses their specific requirements. 

In addition to providing low pressure air systems for water projects, CAPS provides value-added services such as local design, selection, assembly, testing, installation, commissioning and servicing of equipment from the world’s leading blower manufacturers such as Robuschi, HSI, Kawasaki and Neuros. 

Srinivasan also says that their brands are playing a major role in water treatment processes. 

Some of the blower types include:

• Positive displacement blowers
• Multistage centrifugal blowers
• Single stage centrifugal blowers
• High speed turbo blowers
• Rotary screw blowers

Each client is guided by CAPS through the wide range of blowers on the market to help them select the technology that will increase efficiencies and achieve reliable results. 

CAPS offers specialised after-sales service from its offices in Brisbane and Mackay.