There are many types of sewage treatment plant and wastewater treatment plant processes these days. These include SBR (Sequencing Batch Reactor), MBR (Membrane Bioreactors), Conventional Activated Sludge, Extended Aeration, Oxidation Ditch, and many more. Some are designed to remove nitrogen and phosphorus, and others are designed to handle wide ranges of flows effectively. Some require a large footprint and others a compact one.

Most processes require aeration, and the method of choice is fine bubble diffused air in most cases. Designers and operators prefer fine bubble diffusers because they are efficient at transferring oxygen, and because they provide operators with a great deal of process flexibility to adjust both the mass transfer of oxygen and amount of mixing supplied to the aeration tanks.

Manufacturers of fine bubble diffusers and aeration systems are not selling just a diffuser. They are expected to provide a great deal of expertise on the application of their diffusers into any and all of the modern processes in which the diffusers are used. Evidence of this is that in spite of a difference in price between an inexpensive diffuser either imported or produced by a rubber factory or a plastic factory and sold directly and the prices charged by specialist diffuser manufacturers that have this kind of process experience, there has been little to no migration away from the specialist manufacturers and to the commodity suppliers.

SSI (Stamford Scientific International, Inc.) is one of the leading specialists manufacturing fine bubble diffusers and aeration systems for wastewater treatment plants and sewage treatment plants in the US.

In recent years, SSI has invested in process simulation software, in addition to increasing the availability of in-house design tools on its web site www.stamfordscientific.com
Today it is possible to visit the web site and produce CAD drawings of aeration systems for many different types of processes and in round, square, rectangular, or carousel shaped aeration tanks. From there, one can produce headloss calculations, heat transfer calculations, and a scope of supply with materials list. Currently SSI is developing advanced biological calculators for the web site.

Additionally, SSI is able to apply its experience gained from 12 years of cooperation with manufacturers of all types of process. This experience is at times invaluable, since process designers are not able to imagine all of the possible advantages and disadvantages of each aeration system product or layout.

In order to cater to this market, SSI has developed a very wide product range which includes disc diffusers, tube diffusers, stainless steel and plastic piping and support systems, and multiple types of expansion joints. It is possible to design an aeration system for hot salty water in Saudi Arabia just as it is an aeration system to be installed in northern Canada and transported over the ice roads, or a system installed in Libya in the hot sun which will cycle on and off four times daily. The equipment will not be the same in each case, but it is important to have the experience and the breadth of product to know what is required and to be able to supply that.

www.stamfordscientific.com