Led by East Asia, municipal wastewater treatment plants around the world will spend $8.35 billion for pumps in 2014. This is the latest forecasts in Pumps World Markets published by the McIlvaine Company.
Nearly $6 billion will be spent on centrifugal pumps. Rotary pumps will account for just under $1 billion in expenditures. The remainder is divided between diaphragm and reciprocating pumps.
A significant portion of the total expenditure will be for the transport of sewage from households and other generation points to the plants. Within the plant there is primary treatment usually followed by secondary treatment and in some cases tertiary treatment.
Sludge dewatering is one of the processes incorporated in secondary treatment. In one of the typical processes, pumps are used to:
Move activated sludge to the gravity belt thickenerMove thickened waste sludge to the sludge digesterMove digested sludge to a belt press or centrifugeMove dewatered sludge to dryer or landfillPumps can move dewatered sludges long distances and result in lower capital and operating costs than using mechanical conveyors.
