Centrifuge Upgrade – Hydraulic or VFD?

The dewatering and thickening centrifuges located at the South Cross Bayou Water Reclamation Facility (SCBWRF) have been inefficient for many years. The critical source of problems is the DC drive associated with the units. During any type of incoming power problem such as a “power blink” the machines require an entire shut down and restart. This not only costs production time but it is also difficult to adequately clean the machine during the shut down. The focus of this paper is to describe the steps taken by Pinellas County to review its options in the pursuit of having machines that are more efficient to maintain and operate.