T IC 3600 Bio-Scru Dryer Canby Oregon herma- Fli te At Wo rk
American Made and Operator Friendly, IC Bio-Scru Dryer Solves a F.O.G. Problem for a Growing City in Search of a Class A Future Located in Oregon’s scenic Willamette Valley, the city of Canby had been moving towards its goal of producing Class A bio-solids for nearly a decade. Canby had last upgraded its waste water facility in 2003, adding a press for Class B product at that juncture. Clearly, the next step was to add a drying system. In 2008, the city council contracted with Curran-McLeod Consulting Engineers to make recommendations for the new equipment. The next waste water plant upgrade--a $2.2 million expenditure in total--would take the city all the way to its goal, and not a moment too soon. In 2009 alone, the city lost 360 acres of property normally used for the application of Class B bio-solids. Superintendent since 1998, Darvin Tramel explains the motivation to move to a Class A product has three main drivers. First, the Department of Environmental Quality would no longer authorize permits for the application of Class B bio-solids during the winter months. In winter soil in the largely agricultural Willamette Valley is saturated and aquifers could be adversely impacted. The city would therefore face significant storage problems for the four Winter months plus the higher costs associated with it. Although sludge is processed initially when it arrives at the plant, if stored for over 6 weeks, the DEQ would require that it be reprocessed before application, thus doubling costs. Second, there was the regional pressure of the reduction of farmland. So called “urban pockets” were getting closer and closer and more prevalent. Consequently, transporting the Class B product was about to get more expensive as sites moved farther afield. Third, regulatory oversight for the application of Class B was becoming increasingly stringent and time consuming. Paperwork--and staff time-- could be reduced by as much as 80% by converting to Class A. Finding the right System. Canby’s consulting engineers in conjunction with city staff evaluated dryers in the $750,000 to $2million range. On-site demonstrations were arranged to test the equipment in terms of its ability to produce a uniform Class A product and deal with F.O.G. (fats, oils and greases) which was a factor in Canby’s raw sludge feed. Characteristically, their undigested sludge tends to be high in both nitrogen and F.O.G. “We wanted our maintenance staff and operators on hand for all the demos. “ Superintendent Tramel explains, “Including their input in the decision-making is key to our goal of finding a dryer that was both efficient and user friendly.” Routinely, Therma-Flite equipment gets high marks from the operators and Canby was no exception. Its simple, effective design scores points with operators and Therma-Flite engineers are very sensitive and accommodating to the safety issues of the staff.
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From B to A... Consistently. Throughout the demonstrations, other dryers ran into problems with scaling on the surfaces of the rotors, however on the Therma-Flite dryer, the scraping blades located on the back surfaces of the auger flights solved the issue. Clumping was also a problem for many of the dryers. Indicative of uneven heat transfer in the throughput, clumping means not only a non-uniform end product but also increased energy demand to drive the system. Therma-Flite dryers feature a proprietary shredding blade to break up clumps for more even heat transfer and a more homogenized product. Safety, Engineered In From the Start. Anytime you put fuel, heat and oxygen together, danger from combustion is your uninvited guest. Canby’s raw primary and waste-activated sludge was super-ignitable. This was both an area of concern for the Therma-Flite engineers and the city’s staff. “Therma-Flite’s engineers addressed our safety issues head on,” according to the Superintendent. “Proactively, they recommended a CO2 purging system.” This is a system that fills the chamber with CO2 gas at a preset temperature to squelch combustion. The staff loved it. They appreciated the resourcefulness of Therma-Flite’s engineers and the fact that they were treated as individuals with unique needs that experience and design improvements could easily address.
American Parts and People. Another critical part in the selection process in finding a bio-solids dryer for Canby was the issue of parts quality and availability for future maintenance. To address this head-on, the Canby team travelled to Therma Flite’s Northern California machine shop facility to investigate. What they saw raised their comfort level with Therma-Flite immeasurably. Tramel recalls, “Seals, bearing, motors and heating units are all American-made in their two large machine shops, using American steel and American labor. Therma-Flite personnel levels were adequate to ensure a fast response.” Philosophically, the company was in sync with the ideals of the Canby management. “They were passionate about employing American skilled labor and American technology to build new infrastructure for American municipalities,” recalls Preston Whitney of Therma Flite. “Our company agrees heartily.” Soon after their manufacturing tour at Therma-Flite’s Benicia facility, Canby awarded the dryer contract to them. The new dryer will arrive pre-wired and pre-piped for quick installation in the Fall of 2010. As it turned out, 2009 would be the last Winter that Canby ever had the problems of Class B product to contend with! From Class A to the Next Frontier. In the future, Canby will consider adding an energy recovery system from ThermaFlite which actually uses the Class A product to fuel cogeneration for electricity. Gases, once scrubbed, could be used as a heat source for electricity to run the dryer. Therma-Flite’s closed loop system would give Canby the ability to be “energy neutral” with its bio-solids dryer. “No doubt, Federal grants will be available for this purpose in the future and Canby will be poised to take advantage of them. ” Tramel says. All in all, Canby’s management team and Therma-Flite were on the same wavelength when it came to custom engineering, effective design, safety issues, American-made parts and homegrown knowhow. It was a perfect fit and a promising alliance for a greener future.
PROJECT CANBY: Solving One City’s Problems of Moving to Class A The City: Canby, Oregon: Population 16,000 Located just south of the Portland metro area. Canby has a pro-business attitude and the largest supply of land for industrial use in the county. Canby’s Urban Renewal district has funded the infrastructure for a 300-acre Industrial Park and operates its own electric and water service, enabling lower utility rates than neighboring cities. The Challenge: Shrinking opportunity in Winter for Class B bio-solids application prompts the city to move towards Class A product. Canby’s raw sludge is high in fats, oils and greases making conversion to Class A bio-solids difficult. The Solution: Canby selected a IC-3600 Bio-Solids Drying System from Therma-Flite.
For additional information regarding this project please contact: Therma-Flite Contact: Therma-Flite 877-DRY-SLDS Michael Stone (707) 747-5949 www.Therma-Flite.com
Publication TF-CNBYSLK 092810