subject: Finding Good-quality-of-fine Bubble Diffusers [print this page] Purchasers of fine bubble diffusers for their sewage remedy plant or industrial waste water treatment plant have lots of alternatives to make when selecting tools for their task.
Fine bubble diffusers are accessible in several designs, including discs, tubes, squares, and rectangular panels, and in several materials, including Elastoplast like EPDM and holey medium like Aluminum Oxide, Porcelain, or HDPE. Several books and papers have been published on the differences between these medium.
But, there are yet numerous questions regarding the supremacy or utility of disc vs. tube vs. panel.
Several of the suppliers in the industry make multiple types of diffuser, though they tend to prefer and market one moreso than the others, usually for commercial factors (they have a greater margin on one product) or for factors of product differentiation (when mentioned by a customer or technician, it is hard to find "equal" rivals).
Many assessments of oxygen exchange efficiency have been carried out around the years on every kind of diffuser (few of which are published in the ATV Handbuch), however product development is dynamic, and what was tested in the mid 1980's might not utilize today to modern discs, tubes and panels.
There are certain sense ideas to follow, irrespective of the development of the systems.
In a correctable technique made of pricey stainless steel, the diffuser, which can deal with the most air with the least stainless infrastructure, is going to be a beautiful option. Typically, tube fine bubble diffusers are seen on retrievable systems for this reason.
In a fixed system where the pipes are bolted to the floor, and longevity and low maintenance are required, disc fine bubble diffusers are more popular than tubes.
Where failure mode is essential (i.e. catastrophic vs. slow) disc fine bubble diffusers might be preferred over tubes. Tube fine bubble diffusers usually have a big air orifice, therefore in case of a membrane rupture or clamp failure; a big volume of air can escape from that orifice, depriving the remainder of the system.
The much deeper the tank, the much less benefit panel fine bubble diffusers offer with regards to effectiveness. Panels are typically developed to produce very fine bubbles. In a shallow tank, this is an advantage, albeit a costly one because panel systems generally bear a heavy cost tag because of the amount of devices needed to buy and set up. However, in a deeper tank, a lot of the oxygen is moved by the time the bubble has increased 15 ft that the bubble is said to be oxygen reduced, hence the benefit vanishes. One should also be cognizant of the head loss of panel fine bubble diffusers, because what is obtained with regards to performance from small bubbles is often lost in extra energy required to get over the high back pressure of panel membranes.
No matter the type of diffuser, one should consider PTFE coated membrane fine bubble diffusers, which may increase the lifetime of the membrane and will also decrease surface fouling as well.
Normally fine bubble diffusers are installed in the same tank with flow boosters. This is the case for the Oxidation Ditch process, for example.
