Water Journal June 1981 by australianwater

I 1SSN 0310 - 0367 1 Official Journal of the AUSTRALIAN WATER AND WASTEWATER ASSOCIATION Vol. 8, No. 2, June 1981 Registered for posting as a periodical -

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EDITORIAL

Chairman, C. D. Parker F. R. Bishop Mary Drikas E. A. Swinton T. M. Smyth Dr. Barpara Bowles C. Tucak J. H. Greer C. Coucouvinis C. Weeks R. Camm R. McGrath P.R. Hughes Editor: H. Wilson G. R. Goffin Publisher: A.W.W.A. BRANCH CORRESPONDENTS

CANBERRA A.C.T. C. Coucouvinis , Ci- River Murray Commission , P.O. Box 409, Canberra City, 2601

062-480-177 NEW SOUTH WALES T. M. Smyth, G. H. & D. Pty. Ltd., P.O. Box 219, Neutral Bay Junction, 2089.

02-908-2399 VICTORIA E. A. (Bob) Swinton, C.S.I.R.O., P.O. Box 310, South Melbourne 3205.

Official Journal of the

!AUSTRALIAIQ WATER AND)

!WASTE WATlJfAsSOCtATION I Vol. 8, No. 2 June 1981

CONTENTS Viewpoint . ... . . . ... .. ... ....... .. . .... ..... . . ... ... .

•

Association News, Views and Comment . ... .. . ....... . . .

Continuous Ion Exchange Using Magnetic Microresins - Part I. Dr. Michael Flynn Award Paper, 1981 . - E. A Swinton, P. R. Nadebaum, R. W. Murtagh and R. J. O'beirne . . ...... . ...... . ... . .... . . .. .

Ninth Federal Convention - Perth, 1981 . . ..... . . .... .. . .

'The Convention on the Swan' - Poem .. .. . .. . . . .. . . . .. .

Ninth Federal Convention Manufacturers Exhibition .. . . . . . ... .... . . .... . . .. .

Polymer Membrane Dam Lining Performance Testing - R. P. Burford ..... . .. . . .... .. . .. . . . .. .. . . .. .. . .

I.A.W.P.R. and W.P.C.F. News . ..... . . .. . .... ... . ..... . .

Water into the Hunter Valley Abstract - N.S.W. Branch Regional Conference ... . .. .. . ... . . . . ... . . . . . . . . ,, . . ... . .. .

Equipment .. . . . . . . . .. .... . . . . . .. ... . . . . .... . . . . . ... .

Symposia and Calendar . . .. .. .... .. ......... . . .. .. ... . .

03-699-6711 QUEENSLAND P. R. Hughes, P.O. Box 276, lndooroopilly, 4068.

07-378-9111 SOUTH AUSTRALIA Mrs. M. Drikas, State Water Laboratories E. & W. S. Private Mail Bag Salisbury 5108.

08-258· 1066 WESTERN AUSTRALIA C. M. Tucak , 18 Ven tor Ave. , W. Perth 6005

09-321-2421 TASMANIA R. Camm, Cl· Met. Water Board, Macquarie St., Hobart.

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002-30-2330 NORTHERN TERRITORY H. Wilson, Water Div. Dept. of Transport & Works, P.O. Box 2520 , Darwin NT 5794.

089-81-2450 EDITORIAL & SUBSCRIPTION CORRESPONDENCE G. R. Goffin, 7 Mossman Dr., Eaglemont 3084,

03-459-4346 ADVERTISING Mrs. L. Geal, Appita, 191 Royal Pde., Parkville 3052.

03-347-2377 WAT ER

COVER PICTURE Perth - Western Australia 's Capi ta l - venue for the A. W. W.A. Ninth Biennia l Federa l Convention featured in this issue. · An easy, pleasing city with its 900,000 population spread about the Swan River and i ts lower reaches, enjo ying i ts waterways and the coasta l beaches . Perth offers the good life and simultaneously provides the foca l point and nerve centre for the enormous State - 2 500 000 sq. km , rich in resources and pursuing a course of rapid development.

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!AUSTRAL IAN WATER AND! !WASTEWA TER ASSOCIATION]

FEDERAL PRES!DENT D. J . Lane, State Water Laboratories , E & W .S. Department , Private Mail Bag, Salisbury, 5108 FEDERAL SECRETARY F. J. Carter Bo x A232 P.O . Sydney South, 2000 . FEDERAL TREASURER J. H . Greer, Cl- M.M .B.W ., 625 Lt . Collins St., Melbourne , 3000. BRANCH SECRETAR IES Canberra, A.C .T. D. Coucouvinis, Âˇct- River Murray Commission , P.O. Box 409 , Canberra City , 2601. (480-177) New South Wales R. M . Lehman, Sinc lair Knight & Partners, 2 Chandos St. , St. Leonards , 2065. (439-2866) Victoria J. Park, S.R .W.S .C., Operator Training Centre , P.O . Box 409 , Werribee, 3030. (741 -5844) Queens land J. Ryan , C/- Gutteridge Haskins and Davey , G.P.O . Box 668K, Brisbane , 4001. (221-7955) South Australia A. Glatz, State Water Laboratories, E. & W .S. Private Mail Bag , Sal isbury, 5108. (258-1066) Western Australia R. Loo , 455 Beach Rd. , Carine . (09-447 -6550) Tasmania P. E. Spratt , C/- Fowler, England & Newton , 132 Davey St. , Hobart , 7000 . (237-591) Northern Territory K. Sajdeh , Water Div. Dept. of Transpo rt & Works , P.O. Box 2520 , Darwin , N.T. 5794. (895-511) WATER

VIEWPOINT 'WATER IS ,RESOURCE NO. 1' PREMIER -

WESTERN AUSTRALIA

Papers presented to th e Associat io n 's Nint h Federal Co nve ntion in P er th, a nd summari sed in this special issue o f "Water" m agazine, cove red a diverse range of problems in the water and wastewater field. But they were all based on one in escapable co nclusion - in resources-ri ch Australia, water is RESOU RCE ONE ! ll is ironi cal that in a la nd so bountifully end owed with energy and min era l resources, and so envied by ot her na tio ns, the most basic resource of all - wa ter - is scarcer t han in a ny ot her contin ent. Our average rain fa ll is the lowest, our evapo rat ion rate the hi ghest, a nd our resultant run-off about half t he average of the next lowest cont in ent, Africa. Australia has o nl y a small fraction of it s avai lab le fresh water in streams and lakes is underground. Eac h State has it s own prob lem s learned during the co nventi on.

th e rest

and W estern Austra li a is no excepti o n, as del egates

In Western Austra lia, two-thirds of the est im a ted fresh water resources are in the North yet resources in the South must serve the bulk of its population! Alt ho ugh the prime concern in th e State' s first 150 years was to get water supplies to our communities, the prime concern of th e future mu st be to recog nise water as a basic reso urce to be discovered , de ve loped and co nserved. The seconc! great chall enge confro nting Western Australia, as it moves through a decade of rapid popu lation growth a nd conseq uently increased dema nd on the suppl y system, is to better ma nage sa lini ty. About l .5 per ce nt of the State 's agricultura l land has bee n damaged by salinity and a third of the surface water that ca n be di ve rt ed into rese rvoirs has be en made unu sa ble for publi c suppli es. The main cause of th ese prob lems has been the clearing for fa rmin g of trees a nd scrub which, because of th ei r deep-rooting systems, he lped to keep down water-tables and sa linity ' levels. As a result of wid e-ra nging resea rch into thi s problem, we now have not o nl y th e need but the ab ility to bring a more co-ord inated approach to sa linit y management , especia ll y in the southern half of the State where our main rural industri es are estebijshed . With so much in prospect for W es tern Australia's futur e - a $ 13 bi lli on resources development programme is no w moving forward - the work of professionals en trusted with water ma nagement is assum ing ever-in creas ing importan ce. Initi at ives now being taken - in groundw ate r abstraction , water clar ification and even aquifer re-cha rge - leave me confident that tomorrow 's dema nds CAN be met. ln a Sta te coverin g 2.5 mi llion squ a re ki lometres, I doubt that we shall ever reach that happy point where water quality is the on ly remaining issue in water ma nagement. But, because o f the sustained gro undwater programmes a nd the work now being carr ied out by Assoc ia tion members a nd their co lleagues, I also doubt that our- suppl y system will fa ll short of th e future before us . The Pe rth Conve nti on was imm ensely importa nt in the brea dth of topics di scussed and ideas excha nged. l was ce rt ain ly delighted to join in the welcome extended lo delegates and pleased that so many of th em had an opportunit y to see something of our Sta te. My o nl y regret, as I remarked at tile opening cere mony, was that Perth had waited nin e years to be ho st to an a nnu a l convention . Now that Assoc iat ion members in ot her States have sampled Western Australian hos pit ali ty, I a m co nfid ent they wi ll not wa it a no ther nin e years to return.

Sir C HARLES COU RT KCMG, OBE, MLA , Prem ier, Western Au stra li a

ASSOCIATION NEWS VIEWS AND COMMENTS PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE Ninth Federal Convention

The outstanding technical and social success of the Perth Convention will be commented on in other parts of the Journal, my remarks will be confined to the Federal Council viewpoint and how the Convention will benefit all members of the Association. There is no doubt that the status of the Association has been significantly enhanced by the Convention. Visitors and non-member delegates have been impressed to such an extent that an increase in membership numbers is anticipated. Also, for the first time the Association has made a public statement on a matter of concern to its members. This originated from the General Meeting held during the Convention where the view was strongly expressed that the Association should take action aimed at increasing the resources allocated to the protection and / or treatment of water and wastewater systems. A Press Release prepared by the Executive resulted in a television interview with the Federal President which was shown through the national station in Perth on the evening of 10 April 1981. It is anticipated that as a result of this initial step the Association will play an increasing role in providing an informed viewpoint for the Public and for Government. 10th Federal Convention

The 10th Federal Convention will be held in Sydney in April 1983. An Organising Committee has been formed with Ken Waterhouse as Chairman and preliminary arrangements are under way. This conference will concentrate on aspects of water quality with a special stream on Drinking Water Quality but papers on Wastewater Management will be included. Identification of water and wastewater research In Australia

At its last meeting Federal Council endorsed a proposal of the Science & Technology Committee to prepare a Status Report on Water & Wastewater Research in Australia, to provide information for the development of an A.W.W.A. policy and position paper on research and to provide information to A.W.W.A. members on this topic. Initially it is proposed to write to water authorities, universities and other organisations to collate a summary of existing research activities in Australia. Although some reports of water research activities are available (e.g. Australian Water Resources Council) a preliminary survey indicates that the scope

and form of documentation envisaged is not available elsewhere. Association Rules

The Rules of the Association are under review by the Standing Committee on Administration and Policy (Tasmanian Branch). With one or two exceptions the proposed changes are of a minor nature although a large number of alterations are proposed. Copies of the proposed new Rules have been forwarded to Branches for comment and following further consideration by Council, a plebiscite of members will be held. Michael Flynn A ward

The first Michael Flynn Award was won by Mr. E. A. Swinton and his co-authors for their paper on " Continuous Ion Exchange using Magnetic Micro Resins " , presented to the Biennial Convention. The method of selection of this paper which was endorsed by Council for future Conventions was by the awarding of points as follows: Significance/ originality 5 Content 5 Format 5 Total - 15 In this instance the selection of papers was carried out by the Science & Technology Committee ; only the first volume of papers could be used. It is not considered practical to take the physical presentation of the paper into account. The award , a Scroll together with a cheque for $200 was presented at the Convention to Mr. Swinton, the principal author. New Chairman Committee

Science & Technology

Federal Council has appointed Mr. Frank Bishop as Chairman of the Science & Technology Committee. As Federal President I found it difficult to continue as Chairman of that Committee. Frank is a very appropriate person for this important task. Increase In subscriptions

Council has resolved that Member and Associate fees be increased to $20 from 1981/82, the increased income to go to Federal Funds . Sustaining membership subscriptions will increase from $65 (minimum) to $100 (minimum). The need for this increase is due partly to increased costs of travel and for the Journal and partly to the need for the Association to develop as a strong force in the water industry. One immediate requirement is for an Association brochure to promote the image of the Association . DOUG LANE

FEDERAL COUNCIL A meeting of Federal Council was held in Perth on April 7th and 8th in conjunction with the Federal Convention. Items of particular interest to members are: • John Carter of the M.W.S . & D. Bd., Sydney, succeeds Peter Hughes as Federal Secretary. • Fee increases were approved as described in the President's Message. • The computerised distribution list of "Water" is to be expanded to meet the legal requirements of providing a full list of membership . • Closer ties will be pursued with China aiid with the N.Z. Water Supply and Disposal Association and will be sought with I.E. Aust. • Mr Guarino of the WPCF indicated interest in a joint meeting with A WW A in Australia - possibly in 1985. • The next Convention , 1983 , is to be held in Sydney . For 1985, the suggested venue is Melbourne , this is a matter for consideration by the Victorian Committee. • Workshops for 1982 and 1984 are fo~ consideration by A.C .T. and Queensland.

GENERAL MEETING PERTH - APRIL 7th, 1981 The Federal President reported on the following matters: , Organisation: The Standing Committees established some two years ago hav,<; contributed materially to improved management of the Association. In particular, the Executive Committee, meeting three to four times each year, results in more orderly presentation of business to Council with more time for discussion and decision making. Matters in hand by Committees include policy, administration and rules and the need for action in areas including Legislation, Government Policy, Science and Technology, External Relations and Membership Services. Production of an Association Brochure has been initiated. 1983 Convention: The Tenth Biennial Federal Convention will be held in Sydney in April 1983. Water Quality will be the main theme with scope for papers on wastewater treatment. Journal: There has been significant improvement in the quality and production of 'Water' with the appointment of a part-time Editor. Salary costs are shared between AWW A and IA WPR. International Affiliations: The A WW A is a Corporate Member of I.W.S.A . and a Member of W.P.C.F. Close liaison is WATER

ASSOC/A TION maintained with the Australian Nation~! Committee of I.A.W .P.R. Using funds provided by major water authorities, the AWW A has been represented at recent overseas meetings of I.W.S.A . and W .P.C.F. Representatives of W.P.C.F . have attended the last two Federal Conventions of our Association. Australian Water Co-ordinating Committee:. Set up on the initiative of AWW A to co-ordinate the planning of major conferences in Australia, the Committee is achieving progress. Council: Present policy provides for two Councillors from each Branch to attend Council ~eetings, travel expenses being met by Council. It is considered the benefits warrant continuance of this practice. Association Papers - Copies: A service has been established to provide members with copies of papers presented at Association Conventions and Summer Schools at nominal cost. The service is proving very popular.

•

NEWS

•

VIEWS

obtained his B.E. (Civil) and B.Sc. (Geology) at Queensland University. He spent some years in Queensland in the Co-ordinator General's Department and with the Gold Coast City Council and then moved south to the Sydney Board in 1962.

DISCUSSION In general discussion of Association matters, members raised the matter of the AWW A's voice in the public forum and the role of the Association in providing formal viewpoint and comment upon matters within its field. The meeting resolved that the Association ,should take a much more active role in this area and directed the Federal Council accordingly. An initial step in this direction followed immediately with a Press Release and ; television interview as commented in the President's Message in this issue.

FEDERAL SECRETARY CHANGES After five years of solid service to the Association , Peter Hughes has handed over the Secretarial reins to John Carter. Peter now occupies the onerous post of Engineer-in-Chief to the Metropolitan Water Sewerage and Drainage Board, Sydney and the demands of his office are such as to no longer leave room for AWW A executive activities. During his period as secretary, Peter has seen a marked expansion of Association activities, and of the AWW A and the associated organisations of IA WPR and WPCF for which Peter also fulfilled Secretarial functions . At the Perth Convention, the Federal President and Vice-President expressed the great appreciation of A WW A for services rendered by Peter. Successor as Secretary to the AWW A is John (F. J.) Carter who at present holds the position of Specialist Designer of Dams in the Sydney Board. John , now 47, is a New Zealander and WATER

John Carter -

New Fed. Secretary.

He has produced a number of technical papers , is active in the S.A.A. and the Board's Engineering Club and was formerly a · Committee member of the Concrete Institute of Australia. His former interests in cricket, rugby and judo have subsided to jogging , surfing, sailing and sk iing . Well -wishes to John Carter in undertaking the arduous activities of Secretary, AWW A.

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COMMEJYT

AWW A and that he should be the first Australian to receive the Bedell Award of the WPCF for outstanding services. The Awards were presented during the proceedings of the AWWA Ninth Biennial Convention in Perth. The citation accompanying the presentation reads: 'Dr. Trevor Judell has made an outstanding contribution to the Australian Water and Wastewater Association and has spared neither his time nor his resources in furthering the aims and objectives of the Association. He has served the Association long and well at both the branch and federaUevel including a term as Federal President. The New South Wales Branch has recognised his contribution to the industry by nominating him fo_r the service plaque and his contribution to the Association by nominating him for honorary life membership. Federal Council was more than pleased to approve these awards. The Federal Council now seeks to honour Dr. Judell and recognise his great contribution in the forging of the strong links which now exist between the WPCF and the Association, and between the IA WPR and the Association. Dr. Judell has played a leading role in representing the Association in the overseas councils of both bodies. He is governing board member of IA WPR and a director of WPCF. He has most strongly represented the Association in the councils of WPCF and the interests of WPCF in Australia. In the opinion of Federal Council there is no more fitting person to be the first recipient in Australia of the WPCF Bedell Award.'

DR. TREVOR JUDELL RECEIVES AW ARDS

THE DR, MICHAEL FLYNN AW ARD - 1981

Trevor Jude!! has served the Association staunchly since its inception in N.S .W. Branch affairs and on Federal Council as a Committee man and Federal President. His contribution has extended beyond the Australian scene to associated bodies with valuable results to AWW A . It is most fitting that Dr. Judell's work and enthusiasm should be recognised by the

TO BOB SWINTON & CO-AUTHORS Dr. Michael Fynn will be well remembered by many members of the Association for his great contribution to the A WW A and the cause of the water industry. The decision by the Council of the Association to create an award in his name is a tangible and lasting recognition of his service. At the Ninth Convention in Perth the award was presented to Mr. E.A. Swinton who with co-authors Dr. P.R. Nadebaum, R. Murtagh

E. A. [Bob] Swinton with Dr P. Nadebaum receives Award from Pres. Doug Lane. 11

ASSOC/A TION and R. O' Beirne prepared the paper "Continu ous Ion Excha nge Us in g Mag netic Microres ins ", adj udged to be the best pa per presented to t he Convention . T he citation read s ' having rendered to the fi eld of Water and Was tewater tec hnology the contributi on of a n excellent work in th e form of Best Pa per of the 198 1 AWWA Federal Bienn ial Convention '.

NEW SOUTH WALES FEBRUARY MEETING On t he 17th , th e Bra nch hea rd a most interesting presentation by Dr J. F . Skidmore on "Biological Aspects of Water Management · and Fish Toxicology Testing as a Means of Control" in which he described the legislative approaches to pollu tion control in the USA , Canada and Engla nd, a nd the a pproach to problems of biological monitoring . In the USA, the legisla tive aim is to conserve total natural ecosystems irrespective of their intrinsic va lue . Indu stry counter argues th a t it will spend " clean-up " money if Government ca n show bad effects. USA researchers mostly use microcosm models for fut ure prediction (eg 1. 8m dia mini -lakes in series at the University of Rhode Isla nd) . In Canada , whi le Government starts from the premise t hat da mage to a ny pa rt of the ecosystem is un acceptabl e, it uses indicator species as a measure. In the U K , water a uthorities are the polluters and the policeme n of pollution. T hey, like th e USA use biological models , but mostly a rtificial streams up to 300m long . Here in NS W, we individual citize ns have han ded over our rights to prosecute polluters to the SPCC watchdog. Dr. Sk idm ore ad voca tes measu ring pollu tion by bi o logical sur veilla nce.

REGIONAL CONFERENCE - HUNTER VALLEY T he 7-8th of March saw proba bly th e most successful confe rence to date, due in part no doubt , to the ready availability of Hunter win emakers a nd their well stocked cella rs. Hungerford Hill 's conference centre at the vineyard proved to be a first class venue where the seventy registrants plus some forty wives and fa mily members heard the opening address by the Mayor of Cess nock a nd the later technical addresses - of high sta nda rd a nd promotin g interested discussion. Professor Carmichael , Chairma n of the Hun ter District Water Boa rd , set the sce ne with his "Water into the Hunter Valley" describing broad future water needs, a nd the mea ns of achi eving a water bala nce with proposed developm ent. John Moorhou se of th e Depa rtment of Pub lic Work s initiatives and investigation and design efforts in "The Impact of Rapid Coal

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Mining Development on Town Water Supplies". Dr . Stuart Miller of the State Pollu tion Control Commiss ion summ arised th e "Overburden and Spoil Leachate Characteristics In the Hunter Valley Coal Fields" a nd the important parameters of acidity, salinity and their effects. In his paper "The Impact of the Hunter Valley Industrial Development on the Work of the Hunter D istrict Water Board" Peter Mic hel exa mined future demand a nd growth in th e region a nd proposals for meeting them . Garth Coulter presented th e Electricity Commission's proposa ls for "Water Management at Hunter Valley Power Stations" as exa mplified in development of the Lidd ell Bayswater complex. Fin ally, Dennis De Kantzow of Sydn ey University provid ed the agricultural insight in "Water Into Food and Wine" by givin g monetary valu es to foo d and wine production with a plea fo r stored water reserves. Murray Tyrrell, res pected loca l maker of fi ne red wines , entertain ed all registra nts a nd guests at t he Satu rd ay night dinner with talks of strik ers and pickets durin g th e '81 vi ntage a nd his increasin g concern with aluminium smelting. On the Sund ay morning, fi rst ha nd knowledge of a n operating smelter was generously prov ided by the staff a nd management of Alca n's Kurri Kurri Smelter , which is currently up for ex pa nsion from 90,000 to 135,000 tonnes per yea r . T hen winetasting a nd a barbecue a t t he Wyn dh a m Esta te a nd home, echoing th a nks to t he confere nce orga nising commi ttee a nd es pecially to David Steve ns, its moving force. BRANCH PROGRAMME For t he record and whilst this issue is tied up with Convention ha ppenings a nd goin g to press , Apr il 2nd saw t he Branch a t the Royal Automobile Club for a talk by Walter Shiffrin of Consoer Townsend (Chicago) on the Duluth, Minnesota Wastewater Treatment Plant a nd on May 6th hearin g Ken Hu ghes of SM EC on 'Gandakl River Basin Study'.

June 12th: Mid Yea r Social at Dirty Dick's Tavern July 28/ 29th: Secretary of th e WCPF , Shapiro, will give a technical presentation August 12th: Annual General Meeting, spea ker to be a nnounced September 18th: Annual Dinner, venu e a nd spea ker to be ad vised MAJOR ITEM A one day symposium on 'Instrumentation and Control in Water and Wastewater Treatment Plants' on July 16th will be jointly spo nsored by the Bra nch , the University of N .S. W . and the In stitute of In strum entation a nd Control. A full program me is provided coverin g vari ous aspects of control with a n impress ive

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a rray of speakers fro m depa rtm ental a nd in d ustry sources.

A. C.T. In April (9th) the Branch held an In fo rm ation Exchange Se min ar for the in tercha nge of in for mation on water and wastewater matters . T he seminar was prompted by t he realisation th at ma ny members workin g in the wa ter fi eld were not necessarily well in for med as to other activities pa ralleling their own a nd with the aim of provid ing a fo rum for the exchange of informat ion. Some eightee n speakers participated a nd presentation was in two groups: - Research pertinent to the A.C.T . region - More broadly based work As an outcome of the sess ion , it is proposed to list the participa nts with a res ume of their work with 'phone nu mbers a nd addresses for contact by mem bers. Next meeting of the Bra nch will be on May 28th as we go to press. T he speaker will be Prof. P. Young of A.N.U.

QUEENSLAND BRANCH ACTIVITY Brisbane 18th Febru ary 1981 - an in format ive night for t he fi rst meeting of the year was held when Neville Jon es and Greg Young presented a join t paper "Advances In Water Treatment." Nev is with Kinhill P/ L a nd G reg with Munro John son . The piper was well illu st rated wit h colour slides on cur rent practice. 15th April - Mi ke Lever , t he delightfu l " Porn " that he is, chemist, a nd Manager of t he Brisbane City Council Luggage Point Sewage Treatm ent Pla ns since 1977, represented his joint a uthors in presentin g the paper e nti tled "Commissioning Difficulties at Luggage Point S.T .W. and the Use of Oxygen to control Sulphide Generation In the Eagle • Farm-Luggage Point rising main. " T he paper was enterta ining and tec hnically enlightening. The paper well merits publication . 24th Jun e - Peter Noona n will present a pa per on 'Chlorination'. The meeting will be at the usual venu e, the Majestic Hotel, at 5.30 p .m . 15th July - T his will be a presentation night for Plant Operators Certifica tes a nd Geoff Cossin s will give a paper 'The West Bank Treatment Plant' describing the a ugmentation of the Mt . Cros by Water Treatment Pla nt . Subject to confirm ation , the meeting will be at the Brisba ne City Council Club , B.A. C. Building, Ann St. 19th August - Annu al Genera l Meetin g. At this meeting t he Bra nch Committee will be an nounced. WATER

ASSOC/A TION Presid ent for 198 1/ 82 is Bria n Rigden who undertakes his second term in this office. Co mmittee and Members congratulate Bria n on his re-election and look forward to a year as frui tful as his first. REGIONAL

T he Bundaberg meeting was held on 29th April , at the Bundaberg Rowin g Clu b venue. 77 members and visitors attended this ina ugura l meeting. The speakets for the night included Queensland Branch President, Brian Rigden , who presented a precis of a paper by Koe and Brady of the Uni vers ity of Queensland on 'Sewage Odour Proble ms - A re so me Large Plants to Big?', and Bra nch Secretary John Ryan presented an imprompt u paper on oxidation ditches when Alan Strom of Gutterid ge Haskens and Davey - Melbourne could not attend d ue to industrial problems in the Domestic Airline industry. It is hoped that this very successful meeting wi ll be fo llowed by m any more. T hanks to C. l. G. Yalveco, and W illiam Boby, for their contributions to this meeting. T he North Queensland local group plans to hold a furt her meeting in the near fut ure and convenor Henry Friend (C l - G.H & D, Consulting Engineers, Cairns) would appre ciate receipt of outsta nding qu estionnaires, so that he can arrange this forthcoming meeting.

NEWS AND COMMENT Mr. R. S. (Dick) Hopk ins has retired from directorship of Card no and Dav ies (A ustralia) P/ L after some 15 years with the Company and a long and varied caree r. Dick is a Past Pres ident of the Branch and has contribu ted many years to the Comm ittee. Our qu adrapleg ic memb er and former Committee man, Bill Garsden is progressing steadily and at last, we can put him to work aga in . Bill , a chem ist, has been included on investigation and research projects and committees recently, includin g the assessment of Environmental Impact Statements, editing of A.W.W.A. and Chem ica l seminar pa pers , and in the preparation of Water Quality stan dards and req uirements. Should any member or interested organisation li ke to ava il themselves of Bill's assistance and h is specia li sed Water Quality knowledge, contact ca n be made through our Bra nch Secretary, John Ryan. T he Town Water Supply and Sewerage Bra nch of the Q.W.R .C. course in Operation and.Ma intenance of Water Supply, Sewerage, and Swim min g Pools was held at Bundaberg between 28-30 April , hosted by the Bundaberg City Co uncil, and assisted by some of the Queensland A .W.W.A. Bra nch Members . T he Department of Ed ucation has formed a ~yll ab us committee to upgrade the water supply and swimming pool operators course of the Departments Tec hnical Correspondence Sc hool. Mr. Roy Willi ams is the A.W.W .A. Queensland Branch representative on this Committee.

WATER

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Branch membersh ip ·is ever increasing due to the enthu siasm of the Committee and especia lly the Membership Secretary, Clive Norton . From our latest count there are 425 Members of Associate Members and another 25 Sustaining Members . The overa ll increase is about 5 per month - this is rea l progress . From April , Queensla nd Branch Records inclu din g Membership, Treas ury and Members addresses will be on computer. The Branch hopes that this will speed up ma ilings and membership records incl uding the members fi na nc ia l sit u ation within A. W. W .A . Should any member's addresses be wro ng on the newsletter etc_ please contact Secretary, John Ryan .

NORTHERN TERRITORY BRANCH ACTIVITIBS Mr. George Brown, Superintendent of Parks and Recreation Grounds for the Darwin City Corporation , on April 23rd, gave an interesti ng talk to members and wives with the title 'The Importance of Water and its Conservation'. Two controversial iss ues raised during the talk were the watering of recreation grounds with treated sewerage and the elimination of water metering for household and garden usage. As could be expected, these led to questions and disc ussions. Territorians attend ing the very successful Convention in Perth incl uded our Secretary Kewat Sajdeh and Past Pres ident , Bob Lloyd. At the Bra nch meeting on May 28th they gave recounts of the high -lights of the Perth activities a very successful and well attended convention - with comment on the organisation , which was relevant to a possible fu ture convention in Darwin. T hey also touched upon the technical content, which was very extens ive with some 76 papers in two and three 'streams'.

TERRITORY NEWS DRILLING SCHOOL AT BATCHELOR An introd uctory training course for water well drillers was conducted in Batchelor, N .T. early in April by Mr. Frank Eggington, Director of Training , National Drilling In d ustry Train ing Committee. T he School was attended by Drill ing Supervisors and 21 drillers from private and Departmental sources. T he Drilling Certificate, to be iss ued will be recognised Australiawide. T his was the first of a series of schools to be run in eac h State and it is appropriate that Mr . Egginton , who was previously 0 .1.C. Groundwater in Water Resources Branch, should provide his traini ng course first for the N.T.

TENNANT CREEK WATER SUPPLY Tennant Creek is at present undergoing a rapid expansion in popu lation and ind ustry with the result that the town water supply has come under strai n. A major five year

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augmentation program, if pursued will involve a total expenditure of some $16 million . RECREATIONAL LAKE FOR JAB/RU IN THEN. T. URANIUM PROVENCE An earth and rock fill wall, seven metres high , impounds a lake approximately 750 metres long and 500 metres wide. Designed by Cameron McNamara, Minenco Joint Venture and bu ilt for the Jabiru Town Development Authority, during August and November, 1980, the dam cost approximately $1.14 mill ion. It was constructed by a Darwin company, Leighton Contra~tors Pty. Ltd., and fill ed by 28January, 198'1. FILTRATION SYSTEM FOR THE NGUKURR WATER SUPPLY Construction of a slow sand fi ltration system at Ngukurr on the . Roper River is nearing completion. T he plant with raw water control tank , settling tank , sand filters, aeration weir and clear water control tank , wi ll be commissioned within three months and will provide high quality water to a population of approximately 650. The project is part of a five year plan proposed by the Chief Minister to upgrade water and sewerage facilities to all Aboriginal Commu nities within the Northern Territory. Design of the $ ¼ million Nguk urr project was undertaken by Gutteridge, Haskins and Davey Pty . Ltd ., and construction is being carried out by So uthern Cross Machinery Pty . Ltd. DARWIN- WATER SUPPLY& DEVELOPMENT The second and fina l stage of duplicating the 750 mm rising main from McMinns to Darwin is out for tender. Further development of Darwin will be centred on a completely new township to be developed at a new major centre to be called P1lmerston, approximately 15 km south of Darwin. Tenders are out now for the initial civil works to build an elevated water tower holding 3 Ml to serve this development and also a large sewage treatment ponds system to serve the new town site.

VICTORIA BRANCH ACTIVITIBS The Victorian delegates (66 at the last count, with 17 wives) would like to compliment the West Australians for their excellent organisation and hospitality at the 9th Convention. Meanwh ile, back at the ranch, the year progresses well . In March we heard a positive barrage of four papers in one evening, from students . But these were not callow youths, they were quite senior men from industry, who had completed their Master of Environmental Engineering at Melbourne Un iversity . They were introduced by Professor Jack Lawson , who described the development of the School from its initial emphasis on air pollution,

ASSOC/A TION under the late Dr. Strauss, to a broader base, as exemplified by the brief papers presented that evening. A new stream on Industrial Hygiene (noise, vibration) is just starting. The papers themselves were brief summaries of the projects researched for the degree. Dr. Ray Wallis , at prese nt with A.P.M., described his study of the reduction of t.d. s. from the Maryvale wastewater treatment plant, and the options explored for isolation or reduction at source. Mr. Eddy Mak described a theoretical analysis of the effect of wind , temperatu re and radiation on the performance of stabilisation ponds where there is a conflict between mixing and shortcircuiting and stratification. Mr. Bill Regan surveyed the actual performances of several effluent treatment plants in the electroplating and metal coating industry. He was in an excellent position to do so, hav ing worked twenty years in the industry itself, and th en _becoming lice nsin g officier with th e E .P.A. A totally different investigation was described by Mr. John Brumley, a Senior Eng ineering Geologist with the S.E.C.V. He studied the landships which have occurred in the hills between Trafalgar and Mirboo North , both in recent and past and geological, history. They have had economic importance both for railway and road building and pipe line layout. He suggested guidelines to minimise their occurrence in the future. The evening finished with a plea that organisation and authorities could suggest projects suitable for M.Sc work which could have practical use. The April meetin g was held jointly with the Environmental and Civil Branches of the In stitution of Engineers. Entitled "The Environment, Decades come and go" it was a seminar with three speakers who explored the directions of environmental control since it became "fashionable" in the late 60's. Alan Strom looked at the situation from the point of view of the perceptive and somewhat cynical civil engineer, and then listed his ideas on the priorities which we will probably face in the next ten years . John Alder, Deputy Chaimian of the Victorian E.P.A. , started by saying that this year marks the tenth anniversary of the Authority, and then reviewed the achievements and deficiencies over the past decade, and his predictions for the fu ture . In the seventies, the accent was on cleaning up a polluted environment ; in the eighties we face the greater challenge of maintaining environmental qu ality in the wake of industrial development, the future of the Latrobe Valley is a case in point. . T his theme was taken up by Bruce Ham ilton, Environmental Affairs Coordin ator of Shell Australia. As he sum marised it, we are no longer dealing with "crisis pollution" but with "predictive pollu tion" . Within industry we are already reaching the stage where improvements in environmental quality are costing more and t he gains are smaller . The challenge is to the comm uni ty as a whole . .. can we accept the realities of risk and probability? Is a perfect env ironment worth the cost? How are these conflicts best settled? 14

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The speakers issued preprin ts with well doc umented arguments, and those particu larly interested yet unable to attend ca n no doubt obtain copies on request from the In st itut ion's office in Melbourne. Our May meetin g was addressed by Dr. Gustafson , on tertiary treatment practice in Sweden as we went to press . Giving Branch members notice well in adva nce, our Sp ring brea kout will be on the first weekend in October , when we will be hosted by the MMBW at the T homson River Project Site. We wi ll be staying in quarters, eating construction workers meals , and visiting various aspects of the works, as well as our usual presentation of papers, and social integration in the Tavern.

SOUTH AUSTRALIA BRANCH ACTIVITY T he year started with a special meeting on February 19th at the State Water Laboratories to take advantage of the Australian visit of Dr. B. B. Ewing, Director, Instituft of Environmental Studies at the University of Illinois in U.S.A . Dr . Ewing spoke on 'Carcinogens & Mutagens in Drinking Water' and discussed the work currently und ertaken at the Institute on determining trihalomethanes and synthetic organics, both qu antitative analys is and mutagenicity testin g. A modified Ames test utilising maize, yeast and lately biological exa mination of species has been developed together with biologic al induction assays to pick up differences in DNA molecules . He produced grap hical resu lts indicating t he level of mutagenicity in a number of water supplies, and the mutagenic activity of various fractions of these water supplies. However, at this stage the mutagenic activity had not been attributed to specific compou nd s but broadly classified into fract ions extracted by various means. At the second meeting of the year, on 27th March, Dr. Noel Norman of Australi an Paper Manufacturers Ltd. gave a talk entitled 'Water Related Problems in the Paper Industry'. Dr. Norman first presented a broad primer of the various pulping and paper-making processes including the vol um es of water required and the volumes and types of effluent produced. This included basic details of the groundwood, kraft, bisulphite and thermomechanical pulping processes . Graphic examples were given of the huge volumes of water required just to move pu lp within th e mill s and of the intense colour of 'black water'. He discussed the water control processes used by the industry saying that the most significant control factor in the Australian industry would appear to be recycling and reuse within the mills and in this respect it would appear that the Australian companies are amongst the world leaders.

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He concluded by describing the types of treatment used for pulp and paper mill wastes and the prob lems encountered in treatment with mention of the potential toxicity of the wastes and the processes for removal of this toxicity. T his informative and well presented ta lk was well received by members, particularly in view of the recent ca ll by the South Australian Government for tenders for the use of excess softwood th innings in the South East that could be used for pulping .

STATE NEWS The first stage of a $25 million sewerage sc heme for the Stirling District Country Living Areas was recently completed. The Heathfield Sewage Treatment Works and Associated Head works will serve the Stirling, Aldgate and Bridgewater areas. The full sc heme is made up of the new ly completed head works and the reticulation works which will be carried out over the next ten to twelve years. The treatment works covering an area of 16 hectares has been designed to serve 10 000 people, tw ice the existing population with provision for increa,e to 30 000. The area to be sewered forms part of the water catchm ent area for the Mt Bold Reservoir and includes the seven country districts of Crafers, Picadilly , Stirling, East Stirling, South West Stirling, Ald gate and Bridgewater. T he headworks necessary comprise two pumping stations delivering the sewage to HeathfiP, ld Treatment Works by way of a common trunk sewer. T his scheme is the result of a lon g term study pursued sin ce 1970 into water quality from the Mt Lofty watershed. Construction of the South East freeway had resulted in a greatly increased population in this area which created an obvious need for a sewerage scheme . Impervif)us local soils and high rainfa ll wash ing septic tank effluent to the surface soon presented a serious health hazard and unpleasant odours in the area. Septic tanks and other pollutants were discharging into the Aldgate and Cox Creeks lead in g in to Onkaparinga River, fl ow ing into the Mount Bold Reservoir. The Stirling area, being the largest of the watershed townships, was chosen for the scheme.

NINTH CONVENTION PERTH 1981

PAPERS COPIES NOW AVAILABLE DOUBLE VOLUME - $40 AWWA Convention Secretariat 712 Murray St., W . Perth, 6005

WATER

CONTINUOUS ION EXCHANGE USING MAGNETIC MICRORESINS PART 1 E.A. Swinton, P.R. Nadebaum , R.W . Murtagh, R.J. O'Beirne DR. MICHAEL FLYNN AWARD PAPER 1981 A WW A CONVENTION SUMMARY : Ion-exchange resins made in the form of magnetic micro beads exhibit unique properties, both hydrodynamic and kinetic , which may provide the basis for the development of a truly continuous ion -exchange process which is both simple and economic, and does not require preclarification. To exploit these properties, a novel continuous multi -stage contactor has been developed and tested on a laboratory and pilot plant scale. A larger scale prototype has been designed to demonstrate the "Sirotherm" desa lination process on the scale of one megalitre per day. It will be constructed at Leederville, W.A. INTRODUCTION

The prin ciple of ion excha nge has been used in indu strial, muni cipa l a nd domesti c water treatment for over 50 years. In the 1950' s th e fir st uranium extraction plants gave a stimu lus to th e app lication of ionexc hange to hydrometa llurgy . · Many attempts have been made over the years to develop co ntin• ion -exchange sys tems, but a number of inherent pro blems hav .revented th e attainment of continu o us co untercurrent co ntact betwee n ion -exchange beads a nd liquids . No sys tem has yet emerged which ca n be said to be trul y success ful and by far the greater majority of ionexchan ge applications still rely on the cycli c fi xed-bed sys tems. This pape r desc ribes a novel approach to continuous ion exchange . Uti lising th e unique properti es of magnetic mi crobeads, a simply truly continuou s contactor has been developed with the potential for large scale application s. This version utilises a seri es of mi xed fluidi sed beds, and affords flow -rates and an ease of operation which are a di st inct improvement over any existin g sys tem. Magnet ic mi crobeads were fir st developed by CSIRO in 1967 (Bl esing et a l. 1970) . A joint programme of develop ment with IC I Austra lia commenced in 1972 a nd more recently there has been co llaboration with overseas associates speciali sing in ion exc han ge . Most work has been conce ntrated on two types of ion-exc ha nge resin in the mag netic form: (a) Wea k acid resin which is used primarily for dealkalisa ti on , or softening of water co ntainin g temporary hardn ess . (b1 "Sirotherm" resin , whi ch is a combination of weak acid a nd weak base exchangers within the sa me bead. Th e "Sirotherm" res in adsorbs salt from cool water, and releases sa lt in hot water. A number of other types of ion -exchan gers have been prepared in magnetic mi crobead form and tested on th e laboratory scale. This paper is di vided into three part s. Part I outlines the kinetic and hydrodynamic properties of some magnetic mi crobead s. Part 2 outlines the deve lopment of pilot-sca le co ntinuou s co untercurrent co n-

Mr. E.A . (Bob) Swin ton (th e principal author of the paper) is a Principal Research Scientist in the Division of Chemical Technology, CSIRO, South Melbourn e. Dr. Peter Nadebaum is the Technical Manager of Austep, the joint venture established in 1979 by Clough Engineering and Davy McKee Pacific to develop and market new Australian process technology. Dr. Ron Murtagh was, during the period of the development of the process, the Leader of the Chemical Engineering Section in the Central Research Laboratories of I. C. I. ;l ustralia. Mr. Richard O'Beirne is a Process Engineer with Davy McKee Pacific, engaged in the design of the demonstration plant. Part 2, describing the development of the multi-stage contactor and Operation of the pilot plant, and Part 3, outlining the design of the 1 ML/d plant, will fo llow in the next issue. WATER

Principal Author Mr. E. A. Sw inton and Dr. P. Nadebaum.

tacto rs whi ch utilise th ese properties . Part 3 outlines the des ign of a I ML/ d demonstration plant based o n the pi lot-scale wo rk . 2

PART 1. PROPERTIES OF MAGNETIC IO N EXCHANGE MICRO BEADS

Ion exchangers ca n be prepared in magneti c form by incorporating some 10-150Jo by vo lume of magnet ic oxides or ferrites into th e organic mix before polymerisation . T he materi al is th en di spersed into droplet s and polymerised to form tough sp herica l beads, or alternatively polymerised as a solid block a nd ground into th e required particle sizes . In some cases the acti ve ion exchange groups a re reacted into the beads a fter polymeri sat ion. The oxides are substantially th e sa me as those used in magneti c audio -ta pes, and they retain th eir mag net ic state permanently, unl ess • deliberately demagnet ised . Conve ntion al ion-excha nge beads, as used in fi xed-beds, are usually made in the size range 14-25 mesh (300-1200 micro met res). This is an engineerin g compromise . .Smaller beads would react faster a nd more effici ently but a mu ch higher pressu re drop would be required to force water through th e deep bed of beads. In fluidi sed-bed contactors, larger beads in a narrow size range a re usua lly used, otherwise flo wrates of water up through the beds a re so restricted th at the reacto rs are uneconomically large. Magnetic mi crobeads have been tes ted in vari ous sizes, ranging fr om 100 mi cro metres to 700 micro met res. Such sma ll sizes wo uld be impracticable to ha ndle in fluidi sed beds were it not for th eir magneti c properti es. When mag net ised , the mi crobeads clump together to form fl oes, of perhaps 50 or more beads . These flo es settle considerably fa ster than the indi vidual beads, a nd yet, in normal agitated conditions, have kineti c properties little different from those of the ind ividual beads . The optimal choi ce of size of bead a nd a mount of magnet ic compo nent is a complex relationship between the kinetic and hydrodynami c properties of the beads, and th e engineerin g costs of the co ntacting equ ipment. 2.1

Kinetics

The smaller the pa rticle, the more rapidly it sho uld react. As Glueck hauf (19 55) has demonst rated, if the reaction rate is co ntrolled by diffusion of ions through the bead itse lf, then the rate is proportional to the di stance to be traversed , i.e. th e particle radius, di vided by the volume - i.e. r I r', or r _, . H owever, if the rate is co ntrolled by

diffu sio n through the " stagnant li q uid film" which surrounds each bead, th en th e ra te is proporti o nal to the sur face area , di vided by the volume, i. e. r' / r' , o r r -, . It is also profoundly affected by the degree o f turbulence in the liquid ph ase. In practi ce , it has been found th at the relati o nship ca n vary from one mode to the other, dependin g o n theÂˇ type of res in , size of bead , degree of agitation and conce ntra tion of solute. Where particle diffu sio n is dominant , the immediate past hi story of the bead ca n al so be signifi ca nt. Five types of resin were therefore tested empirica ll y to det ermine the effect of redu cin g parti cle size . "Siroth erm" desa linating resin Strong-base resin Wea k-base res in Weak acid resin Chelatin g resin These resins were wet -screened into particle-si ze ran ges with med ia n di a meters of l IO, 175,250,360,460,600, 780 micrometres. Two system s were utilised to conduct the reactions. Th e usual method is to use a stirred beaker, but it is difficult to quantify th e degree of turbulen ce. Consequently, a shallow-bed tes t was a lso devised , in which the sample of res in was held in a sinter glass filter as a bed only 5 mm deep (to minimi se concentration gradient s through the bed), and a fixed volume of solution was recirculated through the bed by an adjustable flow pump. The concentration of the so lution was monitored exactly as in a stirred beaker test. The 'half-time' O v, , as exp lained in Fig. I was used as the parameter of reaction rate .

Using thi s modifi ed Rey no lds number to correlate fri ction facto rs in packed beds, P er ry de fine s th e region for la minar fl ow as below I 0-20, a nd for turbul ent fl ow as 100 plu s, wi th a tran it,lon region betwee n th e two types of fl ow. Fig. 4 is a loga rithmic plot of half-time aga inst Reynolds number, for variou s particle sizes of resin. A strai ght line co rrelatio n was obtained, indica ting that film diffusion was the controllin g factor. However , the ex perimental co nditions were such that all the result s were obtained in the lamina r fl ow region , where fi lm thickness is large, and diffu sion is slow . C urves E a nd F describe the conditions, at constant flow, relating to curv es C and O of Fig. 3 and show clea rl y why th ese curves obeyed the film diffusion law. In the stirred -bea ker experiment, (Curve A), however , sufficient turbulence had bee n generated, at least for the larger particles, for the liquid film res istance to be so reduced that rates were controlled by particle diffusion . These result s demon strate that reducing the particle size of io nexchange resins increases th e rate of reaction . For resin s with fa st kinetics, liquid -film diffu sion is usually the co ntrolling factor , and the effect on rate is inversely proportiona l to the firs power of particle diameter. If the hydrodynamic conditions can be made so turbulent that the liquid film resistance is decreased, intra-particle diffu sion becomes the co ntrolling factor, and the effect of reducing pa rticle size is enhanced . However, below a certain particle size , the benefit of further reduction in particle size is diminished . For ion-exchange reaction s which are contro lled by slow diffu sion through the resin matrix, the effect on rate is more dramati c, bein g inversely proportional to the square of particle dia meter.

2.1.1

2.2

Effect of concentration

The effect of co ncentration of the solution was explored using " Sirotherm" res in of 360 microm etre average size, and strong-base resin of 575 microm etre average size. The resultant half-times a re plotted in Fig. 2 aga inst concentration on a logarithmic scale . If the co ncentration range for which "Sirotherm" resins are designed (5-40 meq / L), the slope of the line indicates that rate is proportion al to conce ntration . A similar relationship was shown for stron gbase resin in thi s ra nge, but above 100 meq / L t he rate became pro gressively less affected by increases in concentration.

2.1.2. Effect of pa rticle size The result s of so me preliminary tests on the effect of reducing particle size are shown in Fig . 3 where half-tim e is plotted again st average particle diameter (Op) on a logarithmi c scale. Curve A describes the results of a st irred beaker test on a "Sirotherm" resin . At the right-hand end of the curve, for larger particles, the reaction rate is proport iona l to op- 1 , consistent with intra-particle diffusion as the controlling factor. (Ha lving particle diameter from 890 to 450 micrometres increased the rate of reaction by a factor of four) . However , with further reduction in size, the reaction rate became proportional to Op -â&#x20AC;˘, co nsistent with film diffu sion control. For even smaller particles, below 250 micrometres, no further increase in reaction rate could be obtained by decreasing particle size. Curves B, C, 0 describe resu lts obtained from shallow-bed tests, using a "Sirotherm" resin, a strong-base resin, and a chelating resin (extracting copper from a dilute solution). The chelating resin is very slow, a nd curve B show s that the reacti o n rate is inversely proportional to the square of particle diamete r indicating that it is intra-particle diffusion which controls the rat e, eve n for very small particles. However, curves C and O have a slope of 1.0 indi cating that film diffusion is the controlling factor. . Curve C is not co nsistent with curve A, so further investigatio ns were undertaken in the shallow-bed a pparatus, on the effect of fl owrate . 2.1.3

Effect of turbu lence

The rate of recirculation through the shallow bed was varied, and the effect on half-time measured. The flowrates were ex pressed as " modified Reynold s numbers" for flow through packed beds (Perry, Chemical E ngineer' s Handbook, 5th Edition, p. 5-52, McGraw-Hi ll ,

N.Y .). Re

Op up where Op = average pa rticle diameter (cm) u = superficial liquid velocity (cm / s) J.J = viscosity, (po ise) p = specific gravity

-u-

Hydrodynamics

The preceed ing di sc ussion has been based on th e effect s of part icle size , irrespective of whether the resin was mag netic or otherwise. The effects of the magnetic prope rti es on the handling characteristi cs of small particles is described below . 2.2. I

Fluidisation

The relative expansion of a bed of pa rticles with increas ing rates o f up flow of water determines the ca pacit y of a fluidi sed bed reactor. If the bed is expanded to, say, more than four times its settled vo lume, then the sheer volume of the contactor must be increased in propor tion. Obviously, the diameter of a co ntactor is determin ed by the maximum rate of up flow which can be tolerated . Fluidisat ion curves for various resin s and particle sizes were determined in a laboratory apparatus, 70 mm in diameter, usin g a sett led bed 70 mm deep. A selection of these curves is shown in Fig. 5, comparing the bed expansion in upflow of a conventional "Sirotherm" resin of particle-size 530-710 micrometres and the same particle-sized resin containing l 0OJo by volJ.lme of iron oxide. In the unmagneti sed state, the hi gher specific gravity results in a flatter fluidi sation curve. When the particles are magnetised, by exposure for a second to a field of 1000 gauss, the magnetic flocculation results in an even flatter curve. Conversely , a much small er particle size of 200300 micrometres has a fluidi sation curve of the same order as that of the 530-7 10 micrometric conventional resin . The difference in the shape of the lower regions of t he fluidi sation curve is characteri stic of magnetic resi ns, and is due to floe formation. Fig . 6 expresses the results by comparing the upflows which ex pa nd a bed to three times its initial settled volume, against in creasing particle size, for conventional resin , unmagnetised weighted resin , a nd magnetised resin . Note that these values were derived for a shallow bed . Hig her upflow rates are practical in large r, deeper beds . 2.2.2

Non-segregation

A fluidi sed bed of conventional resin tends to segregate with the large beads towards the base , and the smallest beads at the top, with the smallest continually escaping. For multistage tran sfers, it is unfortunate that t he largest beads are preferentially transfe rred, but the more comp letely reacted small beads tend to be left behind . Consequently, a narrow size range of beads has to be used. Some systems of contactor using conventional resin go to co nsiderable length s to overcome this problem (Hims ley and Farkas 1976). However, with magnetic resins each floe is a random mixture of a ll the size ranges avai lable, and the top of the bed is remarkab ly well defined. Small numbers of the beads do escape from a fluidi sed bed of magnetic resin as " pin floe " , where about 6 to IO small beads form a

WATER

2.2.4

floe which is magnetica lly sati sfied , with little residual attraction for any other wandering beads or flo es . These mu st be captured from the final overflow either by strainers or by magnet ic means. 2.2.3

Flowability

A major pract ica l advantage of magnet ised mi~o beads is that a

settled bed retai ns its ability to flow through tubes, va lves , pumps, etc . The magneti c floe structure is part ly prese rved in the sett led bed, all owing the bed to retain a few percent more water tha n a set tled bed of co nve nti onal res in. The la tter settles, like sand or grit, into a closepacked lattice stru cture with minimum vo ids. In order for thi s settled bed to flow, thi s lattice mu st ex pa nd to generate shear planes. T he extra water must be supplied from outs id e the bed . T hi s has always bee n a major nui sa nce in start -up of prev ious co ntinu ous io nexchange plants . In contrast, the bed of magnetic resin has suffi cient extra void age to " lubri cate" its fl ow, and it therefore behaves more like a sludge than a sand.

Magnetic filters

The magnetic properties of the resin enabl e st ray beads to be ca ptured by magnet ic filt ers, preferably of the hi gh-gradi ent type, usin g sharp-edged elements in a strong magnet ic fi eld . Other particul ate matter, however , will pass throu gh such a filter. T hi s enables magnetic resin fluidi sed-bed co ntactors to handle dirty waters or even slurri es. It is eve n possible to treat very thick slurri es , such as fermentat ion brews, wit h magnetic particles, and recover th e particles by means of magnet ic drum se parators such as are used in mineral dressin g. REFERENCES

convenhonal

BLES ING. N . V . et al. ( 1970). " Ion Exchange in the Process Industries" Soc. of Chem. Ind. London, p . 371. BOLTO. B. A ., DIXON , D.R ., PRIESTLY , A. J ., SWINTON, E. A. (1977). Prog. Wat . Tech 9 p. 833-844, Pergamon

0::

Press. CA BLE, P . J .. MURTAG H, R. W.• PILK INGTO , N. Y. (1977). The Chern. Eng. No. 324. CLOETE , F. L. D., STREAT, M. (1963). Bri t. Pat. 1070251. GLUECKHAUF, E. (1955). Trans. Far. Soc. 51 p. 1540. HIM SLEY, A., FARKAS , F . J . (1976). "Theo ry and Practice of Ion Excha nge". Soc. of Chem. Ind. Londo n . NEWMAN, J ., MORLEY , J. B. (1973). "A nu idi sed mov ing bed ... " Proc. 74th Mee ting Am. Ins t. Chem. Eng.

L:J

~ z

w u

0::

a..

z 0 Vl

5 30 -7/0 ,u I I

4·0

ct.

I I

;:'; 3·0 0 LLl

2·0

t<(

Fig. I. Reaction half-time .

X /Tl

"'C

.,u

LLl

E E

cf so,~--------------,

-!:'.!

50 % "lw Fe 203

1-0 -=-- ' - - - ' - - - ' - - - ' - - - L - - L - - ' ----' 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14

o::

magnet is ed

WATER UPFLOW

mm/s

Fig. S. Fluidisation curves for va rious "Sirotherm " resins.

tt-

< 10

z"'

.=10 u w

"' 5

LL..

500

o,_

l.l...

::::,

w ::,:

w t-

-' <(

4 2 0

:,:

1 ' - - - - - - - -- ' - - -- - - - - - - ' 10 100 1000 CONCENTRATION meq/ L

Fig. 2. Effect of concentration on reaction rate.

200

400

600

800

PARTICLE SIZE, micrometres

Fig. 6 . Effect of particle size and magnetisation on bed expansion .

1000

500 500 VI "Cl C:

300

3 QJ

'O C 0

100

part i cl e sizes in micrometres

<. LU er LL..

0 LU

l.l...

turbulent ~ flow region

i LL..

<. I

'""----- laminar flow region - - - - - - - - - - - - - , E - transitional flow

10L-- - - - - - - -1~.o---- - - ---1~0----- - - -~100 MODIFIED REYNOLDS NUMBER

FOR PACKED BED

Fig . 4. Shallow-bed kinetics: Effect on particle size and superficial velocity combined, on reaction rate.

WATER

w ::,: II

l.l...

-' <(

:,:

100

200

300

500

900

AVERAGE PARTICLE SIZE micrometres

Fig. 3. Effect of particle size on reaction rate.

NINTH FEDERAL CONVENrlON PERTH - APRIL 1981 THE EVENT Superlatives become wearisome and comparisons are odious but after the Perth Convention it is difficult to see just where the organisers of the next gathering can excel. G iven the advantages of the climate , the weather and the locale, the Convention was sti ll outstanding. Accommodation arrangements, catering, the organisation of meeting facilities, the service arrangements and the helpfu lness of Branch personnel were excellent. This means of course that a great deal of hard work and planning went into organisation and preparation. Any thoughts of distance presenting a problem were confounded by the registration figures - 304 Delegates with 82 accompanying persons, with 188 and 58 from out of the state. Overseas Delegates numbered 12 with 4 spouses. T he activities fo llowed the now trad itional pattern of Opening, Cocktail Party, Technical Sessions , Dinner Dance when awards were presented , and Closure with Site Visits and Excurs ions during the course of events. Official guests were Mr Carmen Guarino , the Keynote Speaker with Mrs . Guarino; Mr. 'Roger Simmons, Guest Speaker at the Dinner and an old friend , Bob Canham of the WPCF with Mrs. Canham . Ven ue was the Sheraton-Perth Hotel where the faci lities and serv ice were excellent. Organisation and operations before and during the Convention proper were ass isted greatly by co-operation and staff from the I.E. Aust. The Organising Committee, under the Chairmanship of Don Montgomery, has the satisfaction of a most successful Convention and a job well done. The Branch President, Charles Tucak, acknowledges their services elsewhere in this issue . An excellent Manufacturers' Exhibition was staged by 21 exhibitors and attracted great attention during the week foll owing a ribbon cutting open ing ceremony by President Doug Lane. Display s by techni ca l and trade organ isations are a welcome growing aspect of the A WW A Convention s.

OPENING Over 400 Delegates and 'accompanyin g persons' (there must be a better term!) and visitors saw the Convention officially opened on Monday April 6t h with a welcome by AWW A President Doug Lane, opening address by the Premier, Sir Charles Court and Keynote Speech by Carmen F . G uari no, President of the Water Pollution Control Federation - all the way from Washington D.C. 18

AWWA PRESIDENT

In introducing the Premier, Doug Lane gave a run-down of the AWW A history, its objectives and its organisation. He also sketched the relationship with kindred organisations in Australia and abroad and the mu lti-disciplinary nature of the AWW A and its unique role in water assoc iated matters.

He concluded with reference to the overseas delegates to the Convention and warm appreciation of the assistance given by industry in preparations for the making and mounting of the excellent Manufacturers' Exhibition. THE PREMIER

Sir Charles Court welcomed the attend ance of experts in the water field from overseas and other states. He emphasised in his speech the vital importance of water to the State and called upon experts throughout Australia to be more vocal in the explanation of water management needs, problems a nd costs. He referred to the great contributions of engineers in the past to W .A. , to Sir Russel Dumas and Sir John Palmer and to O'Connor and Forest and the historic Goldfields supply. Sir Charles stressed the advances made and the technical resources available today and the Government's determination to maximise the availability of fres h water at reasonable cost. He spoke at some length of the erosion and salinity prob lems and of the initiatives in hand and proposed , to reverse past trend s in this area. Western Australia , he said, was not experiencing a resource 'boom', it is pursuing a path of continu ous resource development and is now on the verge of one of the most exciting periods in its history.

Sir Charles concluded with a strong appeal to the Association to speak out on water supply matters: "As pragmatic professional people, the members of this Association have a voice which is both credib le and acceptable in the public forum. It i a voice which I believe should be heard more often" . CARMEN F. GUARINO KEYNOTE ADDRl:SS

Mr Guarino is the current President of the Water Pollu tion Control Federation. He has a lengthy and impressive history of experience and activity in t he wate r industry and is the recipient of national and intern ational awards for his contrib utions to pollution control prob lems. Commencing his address with appreciation of the invitation to take part in the Convention, he referred then to the widespread pollution of the world 's water resources and particularly to the 'industrialised rivers' of the United States. In talking of that country and of legislative approaches, he exp lained that the laws enacted in 1972 'due to the lobbying of well meaning but uniformed theoretical environmentalists ' were im possible to implement and that this was destructive to the credibility of the true profess ional in the field. Amendments of 1977 have corrected some of the more obvious errors but more changes are needed and Mr Guarino expressed the fervent hope that the advice of competent professionals would be sought. T he generally accepted parameters for performance, suspended solids and B.O. D. , WATER

CONVENTION whilst of importance , do not control tlie potential harm from organics in effluents and much attention is needed to this aspect of pollution.

The W.P.C.F. is · determined to achieve greater impact on national and world pollution matters and is now taking a position on all key issues. It has changed its policy from passive resistance to active involvement. When concluding, Mr Guarino expressed enthusiasm for greater participation of the AWW A and its members in WPCF affairs and in the possibility of a joint meeting in the near future.

TECHNICAL SESSIONS With a total of some 75 papers the technical sessions presented a formidable programme which was organ ised in two and sometimes three concurrent stream s. The session coverage included water supply and water and wastewater systems, water and wastewater treatment and ind us trial water with specialised sess ions on amoebic meningitis. Papers were available prior to presentation in two bound volumes, well assembled and produced with key-word abstracts for separate filing. The standard of papers was high, presentation was generally very good and well disciplined to avoid conflict in the very tight time schedu le . Copies of the double volum e are available at $40 .00 from the AWW A Convention Secretariat, 712 Murray St. , West Perth, 6005.

CONVENTION DINNER-DANCE Preceded by a well -supplied pre-dinner drink session the dinner-dance was a most enjoyable function rendered practicable - or the dancing aspect was - by the presence of WAT ER

•

PERTH

'accompanying persons·· (that term again!) in considerable numbers . The after-dinner address was given by Roger Simmons , M .P. , Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of the Environment, Government of Canada. The theme of Mr Simmons talk was toxic chemica ls, the real or potential hazards associated with their release to the environment and the implications for control. Canada is well to the fore in appreciation of this problem and in seeking solutions and in 1976 passed the Environmental Contaminants Act marking a transition to prevention. In the Department of the Environment there is a full-tim e Toxic Management Centre with multi-disciplinary staffing. Mr Simmons spoke of the problems associated with the recognition and measurement of contaminants in trace quantities , of the OECE activity and of the absolute necessity for international co-operation and freedom of information exchange. The seriousness of his address was lightened from time to time by anecdotes and comments which demonstrated the marked similarity between Canadian and Australian sense of humour. An enjoyable session.

•

198t

Metropolitan area and for those with a yen to travel further , a post-convention tour to Si ngapore - all proved very popular. The metropolitan visits attracted some 175 delegates and others, and a description follows.

MlRRABOOKA WATER TREATMENT PLANT The Sirofloc plant at Mirrabooka was a well attended in spection and the commentary and guidance provided by Neville Blesing and Peter Nadebaum were very uch appreciated. At Mirrabooka , the conventional plant treats groundwater extracted from the Gnangara Mound, by alum flocculation and filtration and has a current capacity of 95ML/day. Of this quantity 35ML/day is treated by the Sirofloc demonstration plant using finely divided magnetite to remove impurities and colour particles. The plant is an Austep project, a joint venture of the Clough Engineering Group of Perth and Davy McKee Pacific P / L of Melbourne, utilising developments of CSIRO.

AWARDS With the completion of dining activities and the Guest Speech, award presentation followed in recognition of quite a range of achievements , some also referred to elsewhere in this issue. Dr Trevor Judell was awarded the A WW A Service Plaque and Honorary Life Membership of the Association. He also became the first Australian to receive the WPCF Bedell Award. On behalf of his co-authors , E.A. (Bob) Swinton, the principal author , received the Dr Michael Flynn Award for the best paper presented at the Convention the first presentation of this newly-created A WW A honour. Suitable mementos of their visits were presented to Carmen Guarino and Roger Simmons and to Don Montgomery for his sterling service as Chairman of the Organising Committee. Some of the Association 's widely travelled members have , with due ceremony been made members of the WPCF "Select Society of Sewage Sludge Shovellers" . T he AWW A can not offer a parallel distinction but has created an "Odd Achievement Award", this year bestowed on Don Montgomery for ingenuity in circumventing a recent airline strike by planning to return from Sydney to Perth via Singapore. Events made the detour unnecessary.

FIELD INSPECTIONS Half-day inspections were arranged of water and wastewater installations in the Perth

Neville Blesing ex6ounds at Mirrabooka,

BEENYUP WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT This plant of the Metropolitan Water Board has a present capacity of 150,000 persons which current extensions will increase to 300,000, the ultimate will be 600,000 persons with a flow rate of I 10,000m3/ day. T he plant serves developing areas to the north of Perth and is a conventional activated sludge process with screening, grid removal, rectangular primary sedimentation tanks, diffused air aeration tanks and clarifiers. Primary sludge , screenings and excess activated sludge pass to thickeners, thence to centrifuges and fina lly to a multiple hearth furnace . In the plant, cons id erable attention is paid to odour control. Odorous gases are collected from trouble points and treated in a Pepcon scrubbing system . The present flow rate to the plant is 27ML/day A.D .W.F. The final effluent is discharged to the ocean some 1.6km offshore. Tours of the plant were well organised and documented by the Board with ample staff

NINTH

The Rodgersons, Charles Tucak and the Sanders.

FEDERAL

CONVENTION

Keynote Speaker Carmen Guarino flanked by the Tucaks.

Victorians looking happy.

A variety of visitors from various places mixing it with W.A. Members.

Mrs. Audrey Hewlett (W .A.) with Len Herbert (Qld.) and Bob Swinton (Vic.).

Convention Committee Chairman Don Montgomery with Lyn.

Top left: The Pettigrew/Butler table.

Left: New Fed. Sec. John Carter and Rex Dengate (H.Q.).

WATER

WINING

DINING -

AND SERIOUS

Above: Part of the Opening attendance.

Don Montgomery presenting visit mementos to Roger Simmons and Carmen Daguarino.

Barry Sanders in full flight at the Closure Luncheon.

Fed. Pres. Doug Lane hands a presentation to Doug Montgomery. Roger Simmons M.P., Canada , Guest Speaker at the Convention Dinner.

â&#x20AC;˘

Carmen Daguarino presents AWWA and WPCF Awards to Dr. Trevor Judell.

Harry Butler (W.A.), Margaret Pettigrew (Qld.) with Roger Simmoms (Canada).

Jan Lloyd (N.T.) with Alan Strom (Vic.). WAT ER

,, ' Bob Canham (WPCF - U.S.A.) and John Fitzmaurice (N.Z.). 21

CONVENTION

â&#x20AC;˘

PERTH

examp le of trade-waste treatment and a preamble to a tour of the brewing and bottling activities. In the Brewery, great attention has been given to facilities for tour parties. These were greatly appreciated and provided a fasci nating insight into the mass production of the 'glass that cheers' - read ' can' for this if you wish. Visits terminated in the Company's 'hospitality room ' perm itting appreciative assess ment of the final produ ct. JANDAKOT WATER TREATMENT PLANT

Slud ge thickening intrigues at Beenyup.

availab le for explanation and the provision of a wealt h of detail. SWAN BREWERY

T he brewing and production facilities at Swan are amongst the world 's most up-to-date and the visits provided an opportunity to see these , in addition to the extensive waste disposal system. Wastes from the process are treated in a low-rate activated slud ge plant with surface aeration. Average flow rate is of the ord er of 7()()()m3/ da y. After settling in clarifiers , the effluent passes to polishing lagoons, final disposal is on the Brewery property and through the Company's irrigation systems. Slud ge is thickened and then passed to aerobic di gestion with extended aeration. Digested slud ge is discharged periodically to slud ge dryin g beds, normally th ere is no flow from the digester. As with all surface aeration plants, the power input requirements are forcib ly demonstrated in the violence and turmoil of the aeration. The plant provided an interesting

The fascination of surface aeration at Swan Brewery.

This plant, comm issioned in 1979, h as a capacity of 22ML/day and includes chemical aeration , chemical addition , circular solids contact sludge recirculation clarifier and anthracity/ sa nd filtration. It treats gro und ,yater from a shallow unconfined aquifer and a deep artes ian formation. The installation is important in the context of effl uent re-use as secondary effl uent from a wastewater plant is bei ng re-charged to groundwater via spreading basins and monitoring of the effl uent during its passage through the soil will provide valuab le information . Initially 15 shallow and 2 artes ian wells have been established. T he water is first aerated for removal of hydrogen sulphide odour and carbon dioxide , oxidation of iron and addition of oxygen. After dosage with alum , clarification usin g polyelectrolyte and filtr ation, pH correction, chlorin ation and fluoridation, the water passes to clear water storage. In the experimenta l re-charge area which has j ust commenced operation, the second ary effluent from the Cann ing Vale wastewater treatment plant is being applied to the ground through six soakage basins. Extensive monitoring arrangements will establish possible re-charge rates , the most suitab le application cycles to max1m1se nutri ent removal and th e removal of bacteria and viru ses du rin g th e passage of water through th e ground.

SOCIAL TOURS Excursions were arranged for the mornings of Monday and Tuesday and a whole-day tour on the Wednesday. Primarily intended for the lad ies, these social tours are frequent ly popu lar with delegates as a slight change to the cont inu ous technical sess ions. The Monday tour was a comprehens ive bus excursion which familiari sed some fift y visito rs with Perth 's lovely environs and outlook. It traversed part of the Swan fores hore, King's Park - always a must , various vantage points and the best known city buildings and the business centre. The Tuesday trip had a more maritime flavour, tak in g in City Beach , Cottesloe and Fremantle with visits to look-outs and the Maritime Museum and with ca ll s at the

â&#x20AC;˘

1981

hi storic Roundhouse and Fisherman's and Success Harbours . Return was by a luncheon cruise on the 'Foxy Lady' which was adeq uate for provisions but short on seating accommodation . Wednesday's tour was quite relaxing with a crui se up the Swan and a visit to one of the many W .A. finer achievements, the Houghton Vineyards. A wine tasting session and smorgasbord luncheon estab lished a pleasant fra me of mind for the river return to the City. For those remaining in Perth after Friday's closure and feeling in a gambling mood , an evening was arranged at the Gloucester Park Trots. Ninety six hopefuls dined at the Bea u Rivage Restaurant (in between races) and tried their lu ck. No fort unes were mad e or lost but it is understood that one or two distinguished visitors managed a lucrative sta rt to their Sin gapore tour.

FRIDAY CLOSURE The finale to the Convention, the Friday luncheon, provided the opportun ity for farewe lls, 'see you at the next Convention ' and all those other things savourin g a little of nostalgia. It also provided an opportunity to acknow ledge the contributions of some of those who gave so generously of their services - too many to detai l completely here. Federa l President Doug Lane, Branch President Charl es T ucak and Committee Chairman and Vice-C hairm an , Don Montgomery and Barry Sanders were in good form on the microphone with enthusiastic support from the floor . Charles Tucak expressed heartfelt appreciat ion from himse lf and the Branch to the Organ ising Committee members and their wives and the man y volunt eers for th eir contribution to the 4i uccess of W.A.'s first Biennial. The retirement of Peter Hughes from the demandin g job of Secretary and appreciation of his services was co upled by Frank Bishop with a welcome to his successor, John Carter. Amongst other ack nowledgements, warm thanks were expressed to J. T. Sullivan and Jennifer Herrera of the LE.A us. for the great support and assistance rendered. So , the Ninth Convention concluded with a nice warm fee lin g, a glow of ach ievement and with anticipation of the renewal of friendships and contacts at the next Biennial SYDNEY , APRIL, 1983.

POST-CONVENTION TOUR SINGAPORE We are indebted to Charles Tucak, W.A. Branch President for the foll ow in g run -down on the Singapore visit. After a successful Friday Clos ure and an apparently eq ually successful evening at the Trots, 46 members and wives boarded the QF97 at 1.30 pm . on Saturday for Singapore. The week was taken up by technical tours WATER

including visits to Humes' factory, to a sewage treatment works, a water treatment works and a water storage. At each point we were met by our Singapore hosts guided through the plants and then refreshed on Seven Up . etc. High lights were the rather run down access track to the sewage works potholed by massive pot a nd drive excavations for a new sewer main, the run through a live army exercise to get to the water treatment works, the raising of a fish net full of massive carp at the reservoir and the din at Humes. In addition to the tours the early morning swim and breakfast set us right to de-Fraserise our money into 'bargains' approximately 0.05 to 0.10 per cent cheaper than Australia. The evening junk tour around the islands was only marred by the continuity of flashing lights from overhead aircraft and the non stop work of the reclamation projects. The classic was the trishaw ride to China Town following which on the return trip some Eastern Stators, possibly includin g a Fed. Councillor, egged on the trishaw men to prodigious efforts in an attempt to leave the West Australians behind . This unfortunately Âˇ delivered the unfortun ate pedalmen into the

arms of a patrolman who castigated them for numerou s infringements including no lights , wrong lan es, gesticulating passengers and crashing red lights. The West Australians reached Raffles unscratched and had the gin slings waiting. The following night saw the contingent converge on the reception room in readiness to receive as guests the Singapore friends made during our visit. Speeches were carefully prepared, gifts arranged and all in high spirits. BUT - no guests. What went wrong is not clear however , the hospitality and assistance received went unrepaid but justice was done to the fare and refreshment provided. Following a quiet day of endless buying on Good Friday, signs were evident that the week was almost over with awareness, at least on the part of the West Aussies, of a sched ul ed early d eparture next morning. Easte r Saturday saw the Group disband and depart. The tour was a great success and a cred it to th e organise rs , Hugh Rule a nd Ia n Thornton. It is hoped the same people supported by at least another 44 will make the next tour a ft er our nex t conven tion.

IN APPRECIATION At the co nvention clo sure on the Friday of the Conference it was my pleasure to be able to acknowledge the effort and success in organi sation of the Convention by the Organi sing Committee under Don Montgomery and to make a small prese nt at ion to each member of that Committee and the assistin g In stitution of Engi neers State Office Secretariat. I now wish to add acknowledgement of the equall y hard work of th e large team of he lper s seconded by the Committee Members . These willing volunteers, including wives were involved in typing, computerisation, ushering, organising sess ion s, gu iding tours, lighting, availability of publi c address systems and projectors , ransport office back up, ex hibitions and public relations. To them and for the Branch Committee, a belated but sincere a nd grateful thank you for your excellen t effort in makin g the Perth Conference the most exciting and success ful one in th e hi story of A.W .W.A. C HARL ES TUCAK

THECONVENTIONONTHESWAN (With deference to Banjo Patterson) There were murmurs on the Council for the word had gone the rounds That the next biennial meet was drawing near So the many State protagonists were building up the gro und s To make th e claims for t heir State crystal clear The talk ranged North a nd South a nd East in sea rch of somewhere new And then with, some misgiving, to the West 'Perth's fine' some sa id 'but far away and th e travel's cos tl y too! The flying tim e and jet lag's quite a test! 'Now Queensland ', Chalky Allan sa id 'is the finest meeting place So give the golden North a noth er go We've sunshine by the gallon a nd we've lot s and lots of spa ce To clinch the deal we'll throw in Flo and Jo' Long Doug from South Australia was not impressed atall ' Our Adelaide' he said, 'can offer peace Don D ' will read a poem and we ca n rea ll y have a ball With art and chamber music without cease' Trev Judell raised the banner then for good old New South Wales He said 'Nifty Nev will come to li ght I know' He talked Opera Hou se, the gay Kings Cross, the Harbour and whit e sa il s With eloqu ent support from Mike Dureaux McFie for little Tassie said 'just you wait a littl e whi le The Apple Isle is not quite ready yet But when we flood the Gordon there'll be crui ses by the mile And then a splurge on black jack and roulette' Grave doubt s and reservations were expressed by A .C.T. 'Life's not easy here' they said 'for one and all' These sentiment s were echoed by the Northern Territory ' But for '83, we'll be right on the ball ' Frank Bis hop preached the virtu es of Victoria, Garden State, Said 'Hamer will mak e it happen, jus t you see' But members said, 'w ith great regret, the Meeting cannot wa it While you build a brand new Centre - no siree!'

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Then Stubby Chubby Monty's vo ice rang clearly o 'er the rest 'For this hassle and thi s wrastle th ere's no need Unless the Ninth Convention is located in the West The Branch will then just - - we ll secede!' Some members paled and then exha led and some cr ied out in pain His ge ntle hint however won the day And so another Monty won another E l Alamein And plan s were made to meet in W .A. There was action in the Branch then and it 's now grand hi story They held th e Ninth Co nvention o n the Swan And what a mighty ga th ering, what a firs1 class jamboree! A tribute for a ll time to Stubby Don With his many willin g helpers, who just laboured ni ght and day To Sanders, Tucak, Wi shaw, a ll so cool To Robbin s and to J ennifer who charmed a ll strife away To Mackie, Paton, Fimmel a nd to Rule There 's a moral to thi s story and to make th e poem compl ete We'll paraphrase o ld Rudyard' s verse of yore 'For East is East and West is Wes t and ever the twa in should meet' And those disputing this are just a bore For people are just people pal and you mate are just lik e me And I'm just like yo u, surprisingly you' ll find The Nullabor's a stepp ing stone, not a vast uncharted sea And distances are mo stly in th e mind. G.G.

Similarily 10 Councillors, pas/ ad present is en1irely coincidenlal. The sen1imen1s expressed are not necessarily !hose of 1he Council nor of the Journal Commit lee - Edilor.

NINTH FEDERAL CONVENTION

Fluid Equipment Co. Ply. Ltd.

TOTAL CAPABILITY

SEWAGE WATER TREATMENT INCINERATION

METJ1AN GENERAf,o';t'ER

William Boby & Co. (Aust.) Ply. Ltd. James Hardie & Coy. Ply. Limited Hawker Siddeley Engineering Ply. Limited Lightnin Mixers Ply Ltd. Kent Instruments (Australia) Ply. Limited Anpress Ply. Ltd. CIG Limited Liquid Air W.A. Ply. Ltd. Foxboro Proprietary Limited Watson Victor Ltd. Mono Pumps (Australia) Ply. Ltd. Varian Ply. Ltd. Electrica4 Equipment Limited Humes Limited Selbys Scientific Ltd. (not pictured here) Polymains Ply. Ltd. John Va lves Ply. Ltd., Ke ll y & Lewis Pumps Galic (Australia) Ply. Ltd. Dyna Marine Industries Wallace & Tiernan Ply. Ltd.

MONO P UMPS

MANUFACTURER'S EXHIBITION PERTH '81 LIQUID AIR

Federal President, Doug Lane cuts the ribbon and opens the Exhibition .

POLYMER MEMBRANE DAM LINING PERFORMANCE TESTING R. P. Burford ABSTRACT Thin po lymer films or "membranes" (generally less than one mi llimetre thick) have been developed since the 1960's for use in water storage ponds and reservoirs. Although there has recently been a substanti a l increase in their use in Australia there is little formal consensus concerning eva luation of these materials. The translation of results from previous experience overseas is quite difficu lt because of the service conditions peculiar to Australia, where wide extremes in climate are encountered. In addition, there is no su itable Australian standard and many conventionally trained engineers are unfamiliar with the performance characteristics of modern po lymers. There is no established body of information to remove the uncertainties encountered when these materials are being appraised . The purpose of this article is to provide information gained whilst physicall y testing dam lining materials in the laboratory. An attempt is i:nade to indicate those physical criteria which are thought to be most relevant, and also to describe the difficulties which are encountered in employing established experimental procedures. It is hoped that the practising engineer may thus be assisted in selecting suitable materials more wise ly than is now perhaps the case, and also become aware of areas where further work is req uired. INTRODUCTION

Dam linings have two main function s: to contain valuable liquids (including potable water) by preventing seeping from shallow ponds of large area, and to prevent contamination of the surro unding environment from toxic penetrants. Examples include the effluent water treatment area at Fuen Island, Denmark (Elastomers Notebook, 1979), and the 2000 m 3 fire protection storage tank insta lled at the Consumers Power Co . Nuclear Power Plant at Midland, Mich. (Rubber Age, 1975). In each case, the membrane is used instead of concrete lining or metal water towers. The advantages of the polymer are that the impermeable barrier can be installed rapid ly (usuall y in a few days) whilst offering attractive environmental and chemical performance at relatively low cost.

tion must be directed to selecting appropriate embankment gradients, the fixing of edges of the liner about the dam boundary, and the installation of inlets and outlets . At Crescent Head, 1.45 metre wide rolls of membrane prepared from nylon-reinforced HypalonR, were opened out from the embankment. The edges of the panels once aligned were then cleaned with to luene before brushing the adhesive on each face (Fig. 3) and hot rolling then completed the seam (Fig. 4). Installation of the lining ca n be expeditiously carried out by local contractors under the supervisio n of the membrane suppliers. It is vital that co-operation exist between the client, the membrane manufacturer and the installer . The observatio~ made by Kumbhani is pertinent today and warrants quotation:

Figure I. Crescent Head Dam -

lining installation complete.

In Australia, dam liners are being installed in reservoirs primarily intended for the storage and supply of domestic water. A recently completed dam at Crescent Head in Northern N.S.W. (Figs. 1 and 2) is typical. Site preparation is relatively simpl e and earthworks can generall y be completed with conventional equipment. However, atten-

Dr. Robert Burford is Lecturer in Polymer Science in the School of Chemical Engineering and Industrial Chemistry at the University of New South Wales. 26

Figure 2. View showing arrangement of lining panels.

Figure 3. Brushing liquid hypalon on both sides of seam prior to rolling.

"Although many rubber compan ies were interested in exploiting this developing (reservoir lining) market, the technical requirements in terms of quality to meet fabrication, application and long

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term performance needs were little known. Moreover, this was aggravated as the product ion of membran e a nd its application were frequent ly regarded as se pa rate operations pursued by different industries eac h lacking a basic understand ing of the other's respect ive technolog ies". The on ly reference manual which provides a guide to dam li ning selection , a nd in addition, empha sizes the interaction between lining properties and dam design a nd operation, is that by Kays (1977). Standard rubber technology textbooks by Morton (1973), Crow (1971) a nd Eirich (1978) are curiou sly deficient in this area.

Many of the mechanical a nd thermal propert ies to be meas ured will depend no t o nly o n the raw material type, but a lso upon the manufacturing process emplo yed. For exam ple, a film \Wlich is blow -molded will have markedly different prop erties from one extruded through a slit die: simi larly homopolymer (i.e. a material with unifor m chemical composition) wi ll d isp lay isotropic mechanica l behaviour in contrast to a gra de reinforced with a high ly or iented t he rm oplastic fibre . For these reasons it is important for the engineer to be aware of both the polymer fabr ication method a nd associated consequences in properties . For example, a polymer sheet extruded with a high draw ratio and positiv e take-o"rf will ha ve properties which when measured along the sheet are significa ntly d ifferent from those measured across th e sheet. The basic polymer types used for lining mate rials have been confined to those meeting a small numb er of critica l performance indices. They mu st be chemically inert (which makes most familiar unsaturated elastomers unsuita ble) and provide toughness and extensibility. Further improveme nts in ultrav iolet resistance and stiffness can be gained by incorporating carbon black and nylon scrims respectively . Because of these res tra in ts, polymer ..classes are restricted to those shown in Table 2. TABLE 2. RESERVOIR LI NING MEMBRANE MATERIALS COMMO N NAME OR ABBREV IATION

C H EM ICAL NAME

Butyl

polyisobutylene polychloroprene (Du Pont Generic Name)

Figure 4 . Hot rolling seam to effect joint.

eoprene PVC EPDM PE

ethylene-propylene terpol ymer po lyet hylene

GENERAL PROPERTIES OF LINEAR MATERIALS

Hypa lonR

ch lorosulphonated polyethylene (Du Pont Code)

31IQR

"elasticized" po lyo lell n sheet in g (Du Po nt)

A prospective dam lining material must perform satisfactori ly in three main areas - m echanical strength , chemica l resistance a nd ease of installation . Some of the more important properties of lining materials are listed in Table I. TABLE l. PERFORMANCE TESTS FOR POLYMER SPECIFICATION MECH AN ICAL &P HYSICAL PROPERTIES

CHEMC IAL PROPERTIES

FABR ICATIO N PROPERTIES

Tensile Strengt h

Resistance to oxidation

Elongation at break

Resistance to ult raviolet light

Integrity - Freedom fro m pinholes a nd thin areas Ageing characte rist ics

Tear st rength t.mbntt lement temperature

Seam properties

Resistance to ozone

Abi lity to be patched

Dimensional stabil it y

Low water permeabilit y

Warpage behaviour

Maximum se rvice

Antifungal be haviour Resista nce to c hemicals

temperature Hard ness Abrasion resistance

(as required) Chemical in e rtness

In addition, comm e rcial and pra ctical factors are of significance, includ ing cost and availability of the raw po lymer and faci lities for production fabri ca tion and insta lla ti o n . Dam li nings are fabr icated from elastomers or "Plastimers" i.e. polymer having good flexural and elongation properties at room temperature, with va rying degrees of elastic recovery . In general, suitable materials will stretch 200% or more, a lthough unlik e th e more fam il iar vulcanized rubber or unvulca nized natural rubber materials, resumptio n of original shape after substantia l elongatio n is timedependent. Suitab le materia ls are prepared from polymers which are resistant 'to chemi ca l and environmental degradation: if the raw polymer is not inherently stable, ad diti ves including carbon black are normally incorporated. The film mu st have low water absorption or permeab ility and must not encourage micro-organ isms or funga l growth. In addition to these somewhat obv iou s service requirements for which mat er ials can generally be selected on the basis of chemica l composit ion , more subt le but eq uall y important phys ica l criteria mu st also be met.

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polyvinyl chloride

VistalonR

eth ylene-propylene co-polym er (Esso Code)

Nordel

ethylene-propylene diene elastomer which has superceded 3110 overseas (also Du Pont)

The two main form s of li ning membrane encountered are unreinforced fi lm consisting of a single thickness of die-extruded or blown film and scrim reinforced polymer. The latter is generally prepared by sandwi ching a coarse (2-4 mm square) nylon fil a ment scrim between two sheets or thin layers of elastomer. The ad vantage of the second material is that the initial tensile modulus is significantly hi gher and seepage which might arise from small defects in a .single sheet is eliminated by the comb ination of two sheets. An unreinforced membrane , mad e foi example from 3 110R, may have quite different ph ysical prop erties from a reinforced liner membrane ma de from H ypa lon R and so me test methods appropriate to the former may not be applicable to the latter. Accordingly, difficulties can arise when a " uni versal" specifi cation is so ught fonh e eva luation of all pro spective materials. SELECTION OF TEST METHODS AND INTERPRETATION OF RESU LTS

A co nvenient guide to test met hod s are the sta ndards in the United States (Am erican Society for Testing and Materials, ASTM) a nd the Uni ted Kingdom (British Standards, BS). Indeed , not only do most raw mater ial suppli ers routi nely employ such standards, but general ly they form (together wit h the International Standards Organisation, ISO) the base from which Australian Standard s are developed. Many of th ese standard test procedures are rather unsuccess ful attempts a t simulating and quantifying in-service conditions; comment on these methods and recommend a tions for their improv ement are given in comprehensive handbook s such as Brown (1979) for rubbers and T urn er (1973) fo r plastics. Remarks by the aut hor (Burford , 1980) conce rning the val idit y of test procedures in gener al also high light the deficien cies in many established procedures. To illustrate th e a bove points a number of examples will now be di scussed. TESTING OF REINFORCED LINERS

In composition these ma teria ls fall somew here between an elasto meric homopo lmer and a coated fabric but their beh aviour

z "'O

50 30

.....J

-0

a 0

....J

4 6 Elongation

(cm)

Fig ure 5. Bimodal load elongation curve. Reinforced Hypalon.

makes test methods which have been devised for each of these two categories unsati sfactory. For example, when tensile test dumb-bells are prepared (according to ASTM D412), a bimodal stress-s train trace is obtained (Fig. 5). The first part reflects the modulu s increase imparted by the nylon scrim; care mu st be taken to ensure that the test direction is perpendicular to the fibre orientation. The maximum load in this region will be affected by the number of filaments present in the test-piece as well as the draw ratio of the nylon it self. Furthermore, care mu st be taken to minimise " pulling out" of the nylon fibres from between the elastome r laminates. The difficulties arisin g from the composite nature of the material together wit h the presence of anisotropy, add to the primary problem as to which sect ion of the load-elongation curve to employ as a specification. These problems can be reduced to so me degree by using the te st procedure for coated fabrics (ASTM D751-B, Cut Strip Method). TEAR TESTING

Fai lure of dam liners by tearing may originate in two ways: accidental puncturing by personnel during installation and growth of manufacturing defects including pinholes and streaks . The evaluation of resistance to tear is difficult for two main reasons. Firstly, most standard test methods do not simulate in-service conditions adequately and secondly, m ethods which indicate the stress required to propagate a tear are errat ic as they inh erently provide results with much scatter and they are not designed for dam linin g material s - particularly those with reinforcing sc rim. To illustrate the difficulties which can arise, a load-elongation trace for a nylon rein forced HypalonR membran e tested according to ASTM D751 is shown in Fig. 6. The long tear method employed may well be suitable for fabrics where either the mesh size is small , or where the fabric is weak, but with lining materials a number of problems a ri se. Apart from the results which are inherently difficult to mea sure, the tesi-strips can fail in a variety of ways. For example, the nylon fibres can snap in sequence, producing a "saw-tooth" trace with relatively little change in load. Alternatively, nylon fibre s can bunc h together and a mi sleadingly hi gh load wi ll be registered . Other phenomena include the nylon pulling through the Hy pal on R sa ndwich and tearing of one of the "legs" of the specimen. Nonetheless and despite all the above weaknesses, it has been found that there is good correlation between tear strength and lining thickness, and that the method is valuable as a screening test. Periodic changes which can be ascribed to adj ustment of scrim tension and other manufacturing modifications can be idenitified , and with some experience distincti on between superior and infer ior samples can readily be made.

Elongation (cm) Figure 6. Complex tear curve .

There are two other tear test methods which could be applied to dam linin gs. The first, described in ASTM D624 , in ~olves elongat ing curved specimens. in which a stress-intensifyin g notch or ri ght angle has been incorporated (Graves tear test), and is useful for nonreinforced rubbers and thermopla stics. However, both thi s technique and the ASTM D751 are unsuccessful att!mpts to predict rupture strength in these mat er ia ls. It is the author's opinion that no entirely satisfacto ry tear tes t method is provided for reinforced dam lining materials and that so me experience is required to utilise ex isti ng method s. INHERENT RAW MATERIAL PROPERTIES COMPARED WITH "AS FABRICATED" PERFORMANCE

Confusion often arises when spec ifications are to be drawn up for manufactured items, because th e distinction is not properly drawn between inherent polymer properties a nd those shown in se rvi ce after fabr ication. For example, when appraising polymers from wh ich a lin ing is to be manufactured, the releva nt parameters may yield , ultimate breaking stress, and breaking strain, but it is more useful to use yield strengt h, break ing strength and tear strength (stated in Newtons for a particular specimen geometry), as th ese will take account of variations in sample thickness. To illustrate, a film may be prepared from a polymer which is known to have suitab le properties but will be too weak as a liner because the thickness is at the bottom of the specification. Therefore, it is simpler to provide a single specification (strength for a specimen conformin g to ASTM D751 , say) than to specify two dependent variables . To ensure control, it is best to define both raw materi al properties, and then to list in-service performance specifications for the fabricated article. It will be appreciated that for dam lining materials with an essentiall y two-phase, an iso tropic texture , the latter can be comp li cated.

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SEAM TESTING Many of the chem ica l properties which make po lymeric membranes suitable for dam linin g (e.g. chemical in ertness, weathering resistance) paradoxi ca lly present difficulti es when . conve ntional met hods are employed to connect adjoining panels. The main reason is that the pol yme r structure is devoid of un saturated or pola r sub-units, and so the more fa miliar adhesives are in effective (in much the sam e way as polythe ne is also ha rd to glue). To overcome this prob lem, so me companies have developed a " hotwelding" technique wh ich can be used on-s ite, whi lst others have developed a compl ex series of over lays and fo lded structures with copious adhesive (mad e from th e sa me base polymer) app lied. The seam jointing illu str a ted in Figs. 3 and 4, for example, necessitates carefu l preparation of the membra ne a nd a hi gh level of quality control support ed by rigorous tensile testing. Eve n where hot-welding techniques are genera lly employed , a lterna ti ve methods mu st be used for patching holes and makin g joints in corners a nd other irregular areas.

SUMMARY Polymer membra ne materia ls are proving to be an econ omic a nd satisfacto r y means for lining dams. The practising engi nee r must be aware of th eir unu sual and at times comp lex properties and ensure that an adeq uate program of ev aluation and on-site performance testing is undertak en . W ith the increasing adopt ion of these materials

NEWS EXECUTIVE MEETING A meet in g of the Executive of th e Australia n National Committee was held in Perth during th e Federal Conventi o n of the AWWA, 6th-10th April. The Executive accepted with regret the res ignation of the Secretary, Mr. Peter Hu ghes whose duties as Engineer-in-Chief of th e M.W.S.&D. Boa rd, Syd ney now preve nt him from continuing to occupy t he Secreta rial po sition. The Executive expressed the grea t app rec iat ion of th e Co mmittee for the service a nd ass ista nce rendered by Mr. H ughes.

it is co nsidered essential that suitable stand a rd s be formulat ed for these mate rials and their use in Australia.

REFERENCES A ON ( 1979). Danish Disposal Design. 'Ela tomers Handbook'. Du Pont, 210, 690. A O ( 1975) . Fabritan k Solves Water Storage Problem During Construction of Nuclear Plant. Rubber Age. December, p. 35. AMER ICAN SOCIETY OF T ESTI NG AND MATER IALS (1979) 'Annual Book o f ASTM Stand ards'. Parts 37 and 38. BLOW, C. M. ed. ( 197 1). ' Rubber T echno logy a nd Manufacture'. Published fo r the Plastics and Ru bber Institute . (Newnes- Butterwort hs, Lo nd on). BROWN , R. P . ( 1979). ' Ph ysical Test ing o f Rubbers '. (Applied Science Publishers, London). BURFORD, R. P. (1980). Polymer Characteristics by Mecha n ical Testing Techniq ues. Paper given a t "Po lyme r Characte risat ion" Symposium, U. .S. W ., I !- 14th February 1980 . EIRI CH, F. R. ( 1978). 'Science a nd T ec hnology of Rubber ' . (Academic Press , New York). KAYS, W. B. (1977). Contruction of Linings for Reservbirs, Tank s , and Pollution Control Facilities . (Wiley- lnt erscience, New York) . KUMB H AN I, K., ST RO NG, A.G. a nd PATTERSON, D. A. , Development of Revised Specificatio ns for Reservoir Lining Membranes. An internal Report from Polymer Corporation Ltd. , Sarnia, Ontario, Canada . MORTON, M. (1973). ' Rubber Techn o logy, 2nd Ed.' (Wiley, New York). TURNER , S. (1973). 'Mechanical Testin g of Plastics '. Published for T he Plastics Institute, Iliffe, London.

Th e Executive also agreed to write to London to seek clarification a nd fin a li sa tion of the ma tter of a regional conference invol ving the Australian Nationa l Committee a nd with th e objective of obtaining spon so rship for a suggested A WWA Conference in Darwin. For the 1982 Conference in Capetown and the 1984 Conference, t he call s for papers wi ll be publicised thro ugh ' Wa ter ' . It is desired to give every encou ragement to Austra li an au th ors to contribute to t hese confere nces a nd wit h th is object ive, the Natio nal Co mm ittee will co nsider fin a ncial ass istance for attendance at th e Conference by th e a uthor of a n accepted paper. Notices re papers will co nvey this advice. Co ntributi o ns by A ustrali an Reporters to the State of the Art Sessions for Capetown were also ct iscussed .

DISPOSAL OF SLUDGE TO SEA A speciali sed confere nce will be held Sept. 29th to O ct. 1st. at the University of London . Details, Dr. M. Dart, T ha mes Water Autho r it y, 177 Rose berry Ave., London EC IR 4TP.

W.P.C.F. NEWS AND PUBLICATIONS

Doug Lane, Fed . President of A WW A and Leon Henry, Chairman of the National Committee in session. Mr . John Carter, a lso of the Sydney Board has now becom e Secretary of the A WW A and has agreed to act in that ca pacit y for IA WPR until th e expiry of Peter Hu ghes' term . Th is will ensure continuance of th e close contact betwee n the two orga ni sations. W ATE R

With the increased membership of WPCF in Au stralia , there wi ll be considerable interest in the improved availability of WPCF pub lications in Austra lia . Secretary, A WW A ho lds a stock and these are now ava il able at a reasonab le pri ce with in a week of orderi ng, withi n Aus tra li a. Also, proposals now in hand wi ll de!Iver in Australia Journals from U.S.A. within ten days of issue a t a sma ll extra cha rge for air service a nd subj ect to twent y or more members indi cat ing int erest write to th e Secreta ry. The ' 15th Edition of Standard Methods for Examination of Water and Wastewater' is at

last to become available. A bulk order has been placed and copies should reach A WW A Secretaries' offices in July . WPCF here hopes to issue soon a month ly newsletter on matters of import to members , either from the U.S . or from WPCF members in Australia.

MANPOWER AND EDUCATION FOR THE WATER INDUSTRY B. E. Lloyd and C. J. Nevill This Re port is th e result of Australian Water Reso urces Co uncil Researc h Proj ect 78 / 113 co nducted within the M.M .B.W. An abstract of the ~port fo llows. A detailed review a ppeared in 'Engineers Australia' of May 29t h . The report forecasts manpower supply and demand for the indu stry over the decade 1980-1990 in five ma npower categories; professional, m iddle level, technicia n , trade and operati ve. Education provisions relating to the indu str y are examined; civi l engineering courses are discussed in greatest detail , although other undergraduate co urses are treated in general term s . Postgraduate and continuing education as well as operator trammg receive separate attention . The report attempts to identify emerging problems in the water ind ustry, and relates these to future needs for ski lled personnel. The central concl usion of the report is that the Australian water industry is entering a noÂˇ growth phase in whic h the historic emphasis on capita l works will be replaced by an emphasis on system operation and maintenance, accompanied by the adoption of new methods of providing and financing services. Changing activities and objectives imply changing educational needs which must be met large ly by an increasing emphasis on recurrent education. A numb er of reco mmendation s ?. re made.

WATER INTO THE HUNTER VALLEY THE OVERVIEW The Hunter Region covers 31,000 square kilometres, and currently has a population of about 390,000. It is a major centre for agriculture, dairying, horticulture and wine, but its main economic resource is the black coal which lies so abundantly beneath the valley. Inferred resources of both coking and steaming coal are 490,000 megatonnes (Mt) of wh ich 230,000 Mt are recoverable. In 1978 the production rate was 18 Mt / a, and the predictions are 65 Mt/ a in 1985 and 74 Mt/a in I 990. This is to serve three new power stations (Bayswater, Eraring and Mt. Piper), t he proposed aluminium smelters, and the steel wo rk s and export. This vast growth in coal production and industry, with commensurate increase in urban population is allied to proposed increases in irrigation, particularly of horticulture . The question is, can the water resources of the region be managed to cope with these demands? The scene was set by Professor Carm ichael, C hairman of the Hunter District Water Board. He out lin ed the th inki ng of the Water Resources Commission in their "Preliminary Plan for the Development of Water Resources in the Hunter River Basin, January 1979." T his report estimated water requirements up to the year 2002, and proposed immediate development of a major dam on Glennies Creek, w_hich is now due for completio n in I 983-4. Revised figures have been published more recently by Clarke, and are summarised in the table for the year 2005, tota l some 460,000 ML/ a. The long-term average flow for the Hunter River at Maitland is estimated to be 912,000 ML / a, but it is very variable, and considerable regulation of the flow will be necessa ry to reliably deliver the required amount. Groundwater is availab le, to the extent of about 280,000 ML/ a, but because of its location t he Commission suggests that it be ignored in the fir st insta nce. Other catchment systems already yield 120,000 ML/ a and proposals for dams on either the Williams River or the Karuah River could contribute a further 110,000 ML/ a. Also, the Electricity Commission proposes to divert the Barnard River into the Hunter to supply their own needs.

ESTIMATED WATER REQUIREMENTS THE HUNTER RIVER REGION - YEAR 2005 Year 2005 ML/ year Requirement Riparian and Losses F low Maintenance Urban Power Generation Coal Conversion Coal Mining and Washing Irrigation

70 000 18 500 3 1 500 129 000 80 000 2 1 000 111 500

TOTAL

461 500

Consequently th e ready answer to the question is that the Hunter Rfgion h as suffici ent water but there are problems arising from the osts of regulation, the geographica l matching of future populations a nd supply and protection against pollution.

DEMANDS - MINING AND URBAN Mr . John Moorhouse of the Water Supply Branch of the Public Work s Department analysed in more detail the water demands arising from the development of coa l mining. An estimated total of 6500 ML/a in 1979 could ri se to 23 000 M Lia in 1985 and 27 000 ML/a in 1990. The urban demand has a lso been analysed. The present population of Muswellbrook, Scone, Singleto n , Mudgee and Lith gow is 64,000. The estimates for 1985 is 85,000 ri sing to I 16,000 in 200 1. The demand for urban water will therefore rise from 10,000 ML / a to 26,000 ML / a, comparab le with the WRC estimate of 32,000 ML/a in 2005 .

This is an abstract of papers presented at the N.S. W. Branch Regional Conference held at Hungerford Hill, March 7th and 8th, as reported in Branch News.

Plans to attai n both these targets were outlined. So far a s the mines are concerned, the WRC plans for the Hunter River storages take into account the ant icipated demands of the Upper Hunter mines. The proposed mine at Ulan is upstream of t hese proposals, and if groundwater cannot be utilised, then an addi tional dam on the Goulburn River above Kirrabee will be necessary. The Western coalfi elds use their own minewater or storages, or purchase from Lithgow City or the Fish River Scheme. Most of the townships will rely on the Hunter River, as regulated by the Glenbawn storage, but various works will have to be instituted for augmentatio n of storage, treatment and reticulation, costing about $! Sm. For the Greater Lithgow area the problem is more pressing. The present annual demand (4300 ML/ a) already exceeds the sa fe yield from Middle River (600), Farmers Creek (1200) together with the a llocation from the Fish River (2100). The Electricity Comm issio n however is bringing in two new dams on the Coxs River, before they need t he water for t he Mt. Piper station, so they cou ld possibly reduce their call on the Fi sh River, allow ing a diversion of supp ly to Lithgow, from I 982 to I 986. A further short-term proposal is to use water from the disused mines beneath the area. They have a capaci ty of about 45,000 ML and a recharge of about 600 ML/a. The water wo uld be accep table after treatment to remove iron and manganese. The lon g term answers wi ll be difficult, becau se a lthough Lithgow sta nds at the headwaters of the Cox's, Fish-Macquarie system and the Colo, their waters are committed.

IRRIGATION REQUIREMENTS Dr. Denni s Krantzow, of the Department of Agronomy, University of Sydney, discussed the position of irrigation in the water eco nomy of the valley. In I 978, the Hunter River was used to irrigate about 11,000 ha, of which about 800 ha was used for vegetab les and vines, the remainder being primarily pasture and fodder for the dairying industry. When other sources of water are included suc h as bores, wells a nd small streams, these figures rise to 19,000 ha total, with 2300 ha of vegetables, fruit and vines . This is sti ll only a very small proportion of the total 3 million hectares. The dairy industry relies on irrigated fodder, the vegetable growers are totally dependent on reliable water supplies and vineyard irrigation is increasing. The WRC Preliminary Plan shows irrigation as requiring 70,000 ML/a in 1980, rising to 111,000 ML/a in 2005, whereas the total consu mption rises from 134 ,000 ML/a to 460,000 ML/ a . Thus the percentage allocated for irrigation fa lls from 52% to 24%, but more significantly, the "irrigator's buffer" drops fro~ 50% of annua l use to a mere 10%. The conclusion is that the industrial developments planned for the valley will have their greatest and most permanent effect on the Âˇ agriculture of the region, through their competing demand for water.

POWER ST A TIO NS & WATER MANAGEMENT Mr. Garth Coulter of the Electricity Commission described the water management systems to be emp loyed for the power stations. Liddell draw s 25,000 ML/a from the Hunter River. Abstractions from the river are controlled to maintain a specified minimum flow downst ream. The supply to Bayswater will come from the Glenbawn Reservoir, but will be made up by releases from Glennies Creek Reservoir. A tota l of 36,000 ML /2 will be req uired. It is proposed to transfe r water from the Manning River system to the Hunter, above Glenbawn, to ensure reliability of supply. The coo ling system at Liddell is a lake, and since in 1970 there has been a significant increase in its sa linit y due to the use of su lphuri c acid dosing to contro l temporary hardness. A lim e-soften ing plant is proposed for t he future. T he Bayswa te r Station wi ll have four towers, I 32 m high, and wi ll draw water from Lake Liddell thus providing a "blowdown" for the lake , and will incorporate a Reverse Osmosis plant to sca lp dissolved sa lt s from th e system. The saline waste wi ll be used in the ash-disposa l system. The water circuits of these station s have been planned to minimise demands on the water resources, and to approach a co nditi on of zero di sc harge back to the river.

WATER

OVERBURDEN & SPOIL LEACHATE Mr. Stuart Miller of the State Pollution Control Commission discussed the problems of overbu rden and spoil leachates. On weatherin g, the Greta Measures produce acidity by oxidation of pyrites, whereas the Singleton Measures produce high sa linity and sodicit y. The latter is the most important single issue , particularly for rehab ili tation of spoi l heaps. T he opportunity ex ists to great ly improve soil resources by selective handling of potentially good planting material instead of burying it at the base of the spoil. IMPACT ON THE HUNTER DISTRICT BOARD Returning to th e problems of the Hunter District Water Board, Mr. Peter M ichael presented a paper jointly with Mr. Hemmings, in which the impact of th e indust rial development was analysed in more detai l. Population trends were assessed in order to forecast the demand on th e essenti al se rvices of water supply and sewerage for both towns and indu stries. Newcastle itself will pro bab ly decline slow ly in favour of areas such as Lake Macquarie and Port Stephens, but the main recipients of urban growth wi ll be Mait land and Cessnock. Hou seho ld size will shrink even furth er to about 2.8 by the end of the century, and they forecast the need to provide an ext ra 32,000 connections, as

well as the supplies to the major industrial consumers. For example , an aluminium smelter will demand about 3 ML/ day and a power stat ion about 7 .5 ML/ day of Board 's water. T h~strategy of supply wi ll concent rate on the existing infrastructure and road network rather than the development of new free-s tanding urban areas. In the capital works programme of the Board for the next ten years, water supply works will cost $ 105m , of which 320Jo is direct to industry, sewerage works will cost $9 1m, of which 200Jo is due to industry. In view of these la rge ex penditures and the complexity of the st rategy, the Board must relinquish its purely reactive ro le, and take a n active a nd positive part in the planning, a nd its ow n st ructure is being modified to suit thi s object ive. SUMMARY As Professor Carmichael summarised, the combination of needs places an unprecedented demand on the water resources of the Hunter Region. We will need more precise eva lu ation of usable water yields, more effect ive use of th ese yields by co nsideratio n of all factors, a nd the development of an effective planni ng sys tem so as to produce balanced development, which wo uld in turn lead to a greater variety of job opportunities, and hence an improved "quali ty of life".

PORTABLE pH AND CONDUCTIVITY METER

SELBYS - DISTRIBUTORS FOR IONICS INC. USA

A com bination portab le pH and co nductivity meter re leased by ProMinent and Fluid Contro ls enables th e testing of both pH and conductivity by taki ng only one samp le. This is id eal in situations where both parameters are being continually monitored, for examp le: cooling towers, boilers , circulating water systems, RO systems etc.

From January last, Selbys Scientific has provided distribution and servicing throughout Australia for the products of Ionics Incorporated . The products include Process Analysers for the measurement of total organic carbon , tota l carbon, total oxyge n demand, on line organic and inorganic compounds, selective ion concentration and dissolved oxygen con.centration . In addition , are the Ionic Laboratory Analysers for meas urement of total organic carbon , total carbon and total oxygen demand. Instruments available include : 500 Series TC and TOC Process Analysers: Designed for low maintenance operation , the modular con struction allows a choice of either low temperature U.V. oxidation or advanced high temperature combustion technique . 1236A TOD Analyser: This instrument has a corrosion resistant sampling system and is compatib le with a programmable stream selector for operation on up to 5 samp le streams . Dig iChem 3000 Series Programmable Chemical Analysers: These analysers may be programmed to perform a broad rang e of org anic and inorganic analyses utilizing titrametric , colorimetric or select ive ion techniqu es.

This hand held instrument is mounted' in a heavy duty anodised alloy case with cal ibrat ion facilities for pH and conductivity. The unit features a multirange selector for conduct ivity, in te rnal electrodes which eliminates th e possibility of breakage, automatic in -built temperature compensation for both pH and conductivity. Another lower cost version has conductivity monitoring only. For further details contact: ProMinent and Fluid Contro ls Pty. Ltd ., 54-56 French's Road, Willoughby 2068 . WATER

1200 Series TC, TOC and TOD Laboratory Analaysers: This series of instru ments is designed to provide accurate TC , TOG and TOD data from natural , process and waste water samples with a minimum amount of operator attention . 4000 Series Programmable Laboratory Chemical Analysers: Th ese completely automated laboratory analysers utilize titrametric , colo rimetric and se lective ion tech niques and may be programmed to perform one or a series of analyses .

Information can be obtained from Se lbys nationwide tec hnical sa les and service centres in all capita l cities.

KENT CLEARSPAN RECORDER The Clearspan P600 gives 3 or 6 dotted records in different co lours on either roll or fan fold charts and has been developed for use in all types of industries.

The instrumoot has up to 3 input ranges , provides a single or double alarm, com m.on to all points and used LED indicators for scale, point and alarm identificat ion. The P600 offers a cho ice of 6 fi xe d chart speeds or an electronic chart drive enabling se lection of six different chart speeds. This recorder joins five other 100 mm recorders in the Kent Clearspan rang e.

NEWAPMA HANDBOOK The Australian Pump Manufacturers ' Assoc iation has released a handbook designed to improve th e techn ical expe rtise of pump designers and manufacturers. The five chapters cover such top ics as Pump Se lection , System Design, Economics of Pumping , Preferred Materi als and Pipe Friction , and General Information and Tab les. Vi scos ity, affinity laws, friction losses and the general "do's and dent's" . The handbook at $5.00 is available from the Australian Pump Manufactur ers' Assoc iation , P.O. Bo x 817, Canberra City, A.C.T., 2601.

WATER REUSE SYMPOSIUM 11 Washington D.C. Aug. 23-28 1981 Sponsors include: Am.W.W.A., W.P.C.F., Am.Soc.C.E., Am. Inst. Chem. Eng. Thi~ is the seco nd week-long symposium. The theme 'Water Reuse in the Fut ure' defines the technical programme new recycling approa?hes! planning strategies, case histories and practical community applications. Detai ls : AWWA Research Foundation, 6666 West Quincy Ave ., Denver, Colorado. 80235

CALENDAR 1981-82 1981

Sept. 15-18, Amsterdam, Netherlands

July 6-10, Perth, W.A.

Groundwater Hydrology, (Murdoch University.)

Short

Nationa l Conference Engi neering.

Environmental

Annual Congress of the Limnological Society of Southern Africa . 2nd Int. Conf. on Numerical Methods in Lamina r and Turbulent Flow. July 27-30, Kentucky, U.S.A.

Urban Hydrology, H ydraulics and Sediment Control.

Control and Management Plants. (Q' ld . University)

Abstracts required by July 1, 1981. Final M.S. by Dec. 31, 1981. Australian Contact: Prof. J. Lawson Dep. Civil Engineering, University of Melbourne, Parkville, 3052.

Course, Principles Wastewater Treatment Design and Operation. (Q'ld. University) July 29-31, Brisbane

Act.

Sludge

N.S.W. -

DUBBO -

1981 AUG. 10,11

Theme: Desert ification a nd Marginal Land Farming VICTORIA -

MELB. -

SEPT. 11

Theme: Water Conservation through Research O'LD -

BRIS. - -OCT. 2

Theme: ManagemenÂˇt of Water Resources Details from State Offices of W.R.F.

AUSTRALIAN SOCIETY OF LIMNOLOGY Narooma - N.S.W. May 23-24, 1981 Will be reported next issue. 32

Water

Supply.

Oct. 4-9, Detroit, Michigan Water Pollution Cont rol Federation Co nference . Oct. 18-23, California, U .S.A.

Water C hlorination Environmenta l Impact and Health Effects. Oct. 25-28, Baghdad, Iraq

1st lraqui Conference on Hyd. Sciences in Arid and Semi-arid Regions. Int. Scientific Conference on Ecology in Practice .

Aug. 19-21, Melbourne, Australia

Oct. 28-Nov. 1, Milan, Italy

Conference on Comp uters in Eng ineering. (I.E. Aust.)

Nov. [no dates], Adelaide, S.Aust.

Anti-pollution '8 1.

Aug. 23-28, Washington D.C. Water Re-use in the Future (AWW A).

Hydrology posium.

Aug. 23-28, Canberra, Australia

Nov. 16-17, Miami Beach, Florida

Royal A ust. Chem. In st. Symposium on Analytical Chemistry.

1981 Int. Pollut ion.

and

Water

Resources

Sym-

Symposium on E nvironmental

Nov. 23-27, Brussels, Belgium

Aug. 24-27, Adelaide

1st National Local Gov. Eng. Conference.

2nd Aqua-Expo Exh ibition and IA WPR / ANSEAU Conference on Micro-pollutants in the Environment. Nov. 29-Dec. 3, Manama, Bahrein

Int. Congress on Desa lina tion and Re-Use .

Aug. 26-Sept. 7, Grenoble, France

11th Int . Congress on Drainage (CHD-!CID).

Irrigation

and

1982

Aug. 31-Sept. 4, Canberra, Australia

Jan. 19-22, Basie, Swi tzerland

Landsa t 81 - 2nd Australian Landsat Confere nce.

Europea n Exhibition and Confere nce for the Construction of Maintenance of Pipelines Europipe 1982.

Sept. [no dates), Melbourne, Aust.

Hydro logy Symposium.

Aug. 16-18, Copenhagen, Denmark

Sept. [no dates), Jonkoping, Swede n

Int. Conference on Coa l Fired Power Plants and the Aquatic Environment.

Int. Trade Fair & Conference on Water Conservancy and Pollution Control. Sept. [no dates), Berne, Switzerland

Int. Symposium on Tracing.

Underground Water

Sept. 3-4 , Sydney, N.S.W.

Conference on Hydraulics in Civi l Engineering (I.E. Aust.).

ANNUAL CONFERENCE

and

(IWSA/ WHO)

Water Forum '81.

Post-grad. Training Co urse - Groundwater Tracing Techniques.

SYMPOSIA -

Oct. 4-9, Rabat, Morocco

Oct. 27-Nov. 3, Paris, France

Aug. 10-14, San Francisco

Aug. 24-Sept. 28, Graz, Austria

WATER RESEARCH FOUNDATION

Specialised Confere nce on the Disposa l of Sludge to Sea. (I.A.W.P.R .) Eutrophication

July 12-15, Swansea, U.K.

3RD CONGRESS OF ASIAN AND PACIFIC DIVISION

Theme: Hydraulics for a Better Environment.

Int. Trad e Fair & Conference on Water Conservency & Pollution Control. Sept. 29-Oct. 1, London, U.K.

July (no dates), Pretoria, Sth. Africa

INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR HYDRAULIC RESEARCH

CALL FOR PAPERS

Int. Conference on Heavy Meta ls in the Environment. Sept. 21-25, Jonkoping, Sweden

July 6-10, Georgia, U.S.A.

July 27-29, Brisbane

Aug. 24-26, 1982

Course

Sept. 6-11, Mainz, German F.R.

8th Int. Congress on Corrosion and 7t h European Congress on Corrosion. Sept. 6-12, Travemunde, German F.R.

2nd Int. Symposium on Aerobic Digestion. Sept. 7-11, Lisbon, Portugal

Int. Symposi um on Water Resource Management in Industrial Areas.

Sept. 13-17, Philadelphia, U.S .A.

3rd Int. Filtration Co ngress . Feb. 22-26, Hobart, Tasmania

Annua l E ngineering Conference. (l.E.A.) Mar. 29-Apr. 2, Capetown I l th. Conference of IA WPR . May 10-14, Hobart, Tasmania

Australian Society for Microbiology Annua l Meeting. May 10-14, Sydney, Australia

52nd ANZAAS Conference . May 10-14, Melbourne, Australia

Hydrology Symposium. May 11-13 , Melbourne, Victoria

Hydrology Symposium. WATER

ROBt.RT

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D I ETER STUEMPFL Calls on 12 yea,s ol expcnen<..P. ,n Chem i cal Dos i ng and capital CQu1r>mcnt sales. H is mvolvement 111 a w,dc v<H 1ety of industries adds t o the deptl1 ol ex per ience that PF-C can offe r 1n 11,c selection and applicat,on of chemical dosing a net co ntr o l eQutoment.

PROMINENT & FLUID CONTROLS , while we have only been operating in Australia for five years, we can boast a group of people whose experience is second to none. Plus we can back it with overseas experience going back many years. We offer the very latest in equipment, technology and development , coupled with experience of some of the oldest hands in the business. With this combination we can ensure the best solution to your particular chemical dosing or control requirements . We're BIG enough to give you the best solution to your problem , yet SMALL enough to give you personal service and attention. We're also HONEST enough to say when we can't help and are happy to point you in the right direction if we can .

ER I C VAN DER ZWAN Sales E1191neer, Victo n a - Enc's background o f instrumentat,on. sale::. and se rvi ce adds to ou , depth of expe n encc enabltng us to o il er you the oght control system for you r r eQui r ernents. E o c's knowledge and contmuing studies m elect r onics ,s a g , ea t asset to PFC .

BOB S H REEVE -- 11 years rnvolvemt:nt 1n the Chem i cal Dos i ng industry 91v1ng Bob a b r oad unde rstand i ng o t the 1ndustry·s r eQUHC· me n ts. Bob's expe,1ence with a D1P l oma ,n Engmee rm g and h,s role of cc{o , d ,n ator w ,1 1, PF- C ens ur es produ ... ts leave ou , p r em i ses ri ght f o r YOU! :ob.

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FRANK KOSIC Ou , se r v ,ce a nd 1n sta11a11on tcchn 1c1an who has been 111 tt, ,s ac1 1v1ty 1n th is indust r y tor 10 yea r s. Tt11s 1ong eYpe r1 encc a n d· 1n1101vemen t with cllem i c,1 t dosing enables him to d,aw on a wide vd 11ety uf expe , 1ences with lw; 1nstallat,on and sc , v ,ce o l eQu1pment. A tool• make,'s trade, gives Frank a deg,ce ol p 1ec1s ,on wh 1(.h 1s necessary 1n this 1n du<.:t 1y_

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"To think, this simple oxygen process can help eliminate problems of odour and corrosion in sewerage systeffl!;:sor Julius Sum~er Miller

The problem of foul odours and corrosion in sewer mains is nothing new . But it has been only recently that man has come to grips with these two related problems . Until now, various chemicals have been used to help eliminate the odour . Unfortunately, these are costly, and produce a more difficult-to -treat sewage. However, now there has been a major breakthrough. It comes in the form of an exciting revolutionary process called CIG Sewer Sweetening . It's simple, effective and extremely economical. Basically it involves the injection of pure oxygen into the sewer mains. This allows the oxygen breathing (aerobic) sewage bacteria, which is normally starved of oxygen in enclosed conditions, to actively continue to break down the organic content

without the excess presence of hydrogen sulphide . And oxygen dosing is not.expensive. Costs per kilolitre are generally around half the cost of chemical oxidising or sterilising agents . Developed in Australia for Australian conditions, SEWER SWEETENING is a natural solution to a natural problem. Already there are many successful installations throughout Australia and many councils who will readily confirm its effectiveness. For more information write to CIG Limited, 138 Bourke Road, Alexandria NSW 2015 .

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ABSOLUTELY RELIABLE NEYRTEC - A DIVISION OF ALSTHOM ATLANTIQUE Australian Representative: ALSTHOM-ATLANTIQUE (AUST.) PTY. LTD. P.O. Box 2569 GPO, Sydney 2001. Telephone (02) 29-5122

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IMM ERS IBLE NO NOISE NO FLOC SMEAR MINIMAL SUPERVISION EASE OF MAINTENANCE EFFIC IENT MIXING OF TANK WAT ER NO SPLASH OR SPRAY (AS OPPOSED TO OTHER TYPES) COST EFFECTIV ENESS EASE OF INSTALLATION ½ TO 75 HP (9 SIZES) OXYGENATION BETWEEN 3-150 KG/HR EFF ICI ENCY INCREASE WITH DEPTH

A proven problem solver for sewage, waterworks , wet well aeration , river aeration , act ivated slu dge basins, sludge conditioning , neutral izat ion , flotat ion , ozonatio n. • Industrially in high 8 .O. D. or P.H. waste water in chemical plants, pape r mi ll s, sugar ref ineries , abbatoir and food pl an ts.

f I

WATER & WASTEWATER CONS ULTANTS ANALYT ICA L INVESTIGATIONS Water Sewerage & Industrial Wastewater POLLUTION PREVENTION Process & Pilot Plant Investigations Treat ment Plant Operations & Control WATER BACTERIOLOGY Algal Identifi cat ions Environmental Surveys CORROS ION Assessment & Prevention 30 Shottery St., Yeronga - Phone: (07) 48 7699 If no answer 202 6534

Di stri but ed in Au st r'\li a, New Guinea, New Zea land by

1 FRINGS

[

SIMMONDS & BRISTOW

:.J

BIG IN COST SAVING BIG IN BENEFITS

• ====-

AUSTRALIA

8 Sutherland Cresce nt, Ed gec liff, NSW 2027 ~ Telephone: (02) 323770 OR (02) 322089

-= Telex: 21466 --=== Talk to us about you r individual problems.

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For advertising in this Journal please contact: Phone (03) 347 2377 Mrs L. A. Gea l - Advertising Manager C/· Appita, Clunies Ross House 191 Royal Parade, Parkville, Vic. 3052 WATER

UNIVERSITY OF QUEENSLAND DEPARTMENT OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING PRINCIPLES OF WASTEWATER TREATMENT

DESIGN and OPERATION July 27th, 28th, 29th OPERATION, CONTROL and MANAGEMENT OF ACTIVATED SLUDGE PLANTS July 29th, 30th, 31st (Two intensive courses)

3-day continuing

education

DATES: July 27th -29th (Principles of Wastewat er Treatment). July 29th-31st (Activated Sludge Plants). VENUE: Chevron Hotel, Surfers Paradise. LECTURERS: Professor Wes Eckenfelder, USA, Mr. Merv Goronzy, NSW, Dr David Barnes , NSW, Dr Paul Greenfield, Old . DETAILS: Dr P. F. Greenfield , Course Organiser, Department of Chemical Engineering , University of Queensland, St Lucia, Qld. 4067. Telephone: (07) 377-3328, (07) 377 -3889.

METCARBON Pty Limited ANTHRACITE filter media

ACTIVATED CARBON powered and granulated

ACTIVATED ALUMINA DESALINATION EQUIPMENT vapour compression and multi-effect distillation reverse osmosis

ZEOLITES iron and manganese removal

GARNET 3 EDEN ST., CROWS NEST 2065 PHONE: (02) 9290393

PO BOX785 NORTH SYDNEY 2060 TELEX: 24076

Australian Process Technology leads the way in

WATER TREATMENT PROCESSES D Sirofloc Water Clarification Process ~-~ D Sirotherm Desalination Process D Magnetic Dealkalisation for removal of temporary hardness Australian and International Enquiries Solicited

AUSTEP A Clough-Davy joint venture * Australia 's first full scale application of the SIROFLO C process

is now being commissioned at Mirrabooka, W.A .

Australasian Technology & Processes 480 St. Kilda Road , Melbourne , 3004 P.O. Box 4709, G.P.O. , Melbourne, 3001 Telephone: 26 2559 Telex: AA30094

- ~,-.-,~ ~00underwater for 7 years and tougher than the day it was laid

In 1973 Hyperliner flexible membranes were installed to contain treated water effluent at Aluminium Anodisers Pty. Ltd., Clayton, Victoria.

Hyperliner is an impermeable, synthetic rubber lining for pits and dams. Made from a special composition of materials in which Du Pont "Hypalon " is the sole elastomer, it continues curing after it is laid. Actually getting tougher with age. Leggett Hyperliner resists ozone, ultra-violet light, normal physical abuse and a wide range of organic and inorganic materials. And when you specify Hyperliner, you are getting the benefit of Leggett 's 10 years of experience in the manufacture, fabrication and installation of impermeable membranes. Other lining materials are also available for medium and short term applications. Made with Du Pont

HYPALONÂŽ

Synthetic Rubber

LEGGETT RUBBER PTY. LTD. 21 Browns Road , Clayton . 3168. Telephone: 544 4888 Telex: AA33029.

MEMBER OF THE BTR GROUP OF COMPANIES.

don't spend money on something I don't test first. t

"Maybe some people will buy sight unseen, but not me. I want proven performance before I buy. That's the way Sharples sells POLYMIZER centrifuges, too. They prove performance, in on-site tests against major competition, and win contracts. Notable examples are wastewater treatment plants in Chicago, IL, Columbus, OH, and Ft. Worth, TX. "In Chicago, they won out over several filters and five competitive centrifuges while handling anaerobically digested sludge. "In Columbus, Sharples centrifuges outperformed and replaced vacuum filters in dewatering heat-treated sludge. "In Ft. Worth, only the special design Model BD centrifuges performed satisfactorily on a cost-effective basis while thickening WAS."

~ (iJE~'MLT 51-tARf:JLES-STDKES f:JTY. LTD. PO Box 2344 Nth Parramatta, NSW, 2 151 Tel: (02) 683-35 1I Telex: AA20677 Cables: Pennwalt Sydney