GEA at IFAT in Munich: Presentation of resource-efficient decanter centrifuges and digital real-time monitoring for wastewater treatment plants, GEA Intellicant®

At the world's leading trade fair for water, sewage, waste, and raw materials management (IFAT) from May 13 to 17, 2024, GEA will present decanters for sludge treatment and the digital real-time monitoring system for wastewater treatment plants, GEA Intellicant® (Hall A1, Stand 451). The decanter centrifuges are validated with GEA’s "Add Better" eco-label for resource-saving solutions. GEA Intellicant® heralds a new digital era of efficiency in the sludge treatment process through monitoring, automation, and optimization of decanters. All the technologies presented by GEA at IFAT 2024, also and especially in combination, ensure the sustainable and safe economic operation of municipal and industrial wastewater treatment plants.

Optimal dewatering of sewage sludge is crucial for the economic efficiency of wastewater treatment plants

For all types of disposals, i.e. incineration, landfilling, and agricultural utilization, the optimal economic dewatering of sewage sludge is a key step. In practice, this means that less sewage sludge to dispose of saves on transportation costs, reduces energy consumption for disposal and incineration, and cuts CO₂ emissions.

Reduce sludge disposal costs by dewatering with GEA environmental Decanter

The GEA environmental Decanters are continuously operating centrifuges with a horizontal solid bowl, specially developed wastewater and sludge treatment in municipal and industrial sewage treatment plants and agriculture. GEA decanters ensure a high degree of dewatering with a considerably reduced sludge volume thanks to a high g-force for optimum separation efficiency and process-optimized torque control. The GEA environmental Decanter pro series is designed for "plug & play" integration into standardized processes with little need for adaptation - with the best possible achievable performance as well as economical investment and life cycle costs. A high degree of standardization ensures a fast delivery time. GEA environmental Decanter prime, on the other hand, can be flexibly configured for highly complex processes with individual requirements and large capacities. GEA decanters are also available as a skid, mobile, or retrofit solutions.

GEA environmental Decanter pro series validated with Add Better Label - energy savings of 15 to 60 percent possible

With the Add Better label, GEA decanters receive fact- and process-based recognition for even greater economy and efficiency compared to previous models. The Add Better label is validated by TÜV Rheinland and is based on a calculation and documentation process that complies with ISO 14021. The design of the pro series focuses on modularity, energy-efficient product handling, the efficient use of electric motors, and state-of-the-art gear technology.

Numerous possible applications for the GEA environmental Decanter pro series

GEA environmental Decanters pro are used in many areas. This enables users in a wide range of applications to achieve even greater efficiency in sludge treatment through maximum dewatering and recovery of recyclable materials.

GEA biosolids Decanter pro has been specially developed for the (pre-)dewatering and thickening of sludge from municipal sewage treatment plants.

GEA sludge Decanter pro is an energy-efficient solution for sludge treatment in industry and waterworks.

GEA manure Decanter pro is a decanter centrifuge for the resource-saving recovery of valuable materials and energy from liquid manure and fermentation residues.

GEA Intellicant®: A new era of efficiency in the sludge treatment process through monitoring, automation, and optimization of decanters

GEA Intellicant® ushers in a new era of efficiency in the sludge treatment process by monitoring, automating and optimizing decanters. Specifically designed as an upgrade kit for existing GEA systems in wastewater treatment plants, this solution ensures efficiency and drastically reduces disposal costs. GEA Intellicant® is an intelligent system that monitors decanters for sewage sludge dewatering and automatically optimizes them based on the data collected. And it does so in real-time and continuously. With this system, the decanter is automatically operated at the optimum operating level at all times. For sewage treatment plant operators, this means higher dry substance values, less effort, lower disposal costs, and high process reliability.

Composition of the sewage sludge changes - adjustment of the decanter required

The inlet to the decanter is subject to permanent changes, for example, the parameters of temperature, precipitation, major events, and the type of business located there all influence the composition of the sewage sludge. The decanter must therefore be constantly adjusted to work at the optimum operating point. This requires several samples a day to check the most important value: the dry substance of the dewatered solids. However, the value is only available after half an hour. If this shows that the regulation of the decanter needs to be optimized, this time has already been lost from an economic point of view. GEA Intellicant® maps the inspection much more closely, with real-time process monitoring - so every second is a data point.

How real-time monitoring by GEA Intellicant® works

GEA Intellicant® consists of a sensor package and software, the "Virtual Operator". The sensors monitor three key process parameters in real-time: the solids concentration of the feed, the turbidity of the centrate, and the dry substance of the dewatered solids. This sensor data is transmitted to the Virtual Operator via a local network connection. The software is integrated into the decanter's existing system control and reacts automatically and intelligently to the incoming data.