Mechanical Evaporation Solutions
MECHANICAL EVAPORATORS
There are two major choices for evaporation systems:
1) Land Based
These evaporators are located on land along with the pump system. This system allows for easy maintenance and service but requires more attention if wind direction varies greatly and if the site is sensitive to spray droplet drift. SMI offers the Super PoleCat and 420B Evaporator as land based units.
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SMI 420 Evaporator can operate in a vertical or horizontal position (to minimize water droplet spray drift during winds) and can be used on small ponds or large lakes. In addition, it is best used for dirty water (large undissolved particulates) and in treating acidic water. The drawback to this machine is that it weights 4,500 lbs and is not moved without a backhoe or similar industrial equipment.
Super PoleCat Evaporator is more mobile unit but cannot treat large undissolved particulates. Another key advantage of this unit is the ability to fight winds since it uses a high powered fan to blow the water droplets into the air. A disadvantage to this type of evaporator is that it throws the water droplets quite far (30 – 70 meters, depending upon the model size).
2) Pond Based
A pond-based evaporator floats in the water. The key advantages to this unit are that it is less vulnerable to changing wind conditions and requires less operator attention. Also, the pump comes with the unit.
SMI offers the 420F Evaporator (shown below) which comes with a submersible pump suspended under the unit and is operated from a control panel on shore.
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PUMP STATIONS
SMI evaporators are offered with or without pumping. Our equipment has been designed for industrial durability in harsh conditions and as self contained, ready to install units. We use stainless steel construction to minimize corrosion. We offer both self priming and self feeding pump stations (see examples in pictures below). Self feeding pumps are a better fit with fully automatic systems since drainage is complete when the system is shut down. SMI can also provide central pumping for larger projects.
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AUTOMATION
An automation system will shut down and start up the evaporator and pump based on different weather conditions (wind speed and direction, rainfall, humidity levels, temperature). An automation system is highly desirable if the water being treated is corrosive or contains chemicals detrimental to the environment or people. The automation system ensures that water droplet drift is controlled so that droplets are deposited in a planned containment area without depending upon human operators needing to respond to changing weather conditions.
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SMI Automation for evaporator systems comes in various packages, and can be customized to your needs. The typical packages and features are listed below:
Basic On / Off Weather Automation Package typically includes:
1) Items: master control panel (containing PLC, panel view to input set points; see pictures below), weather station (typically includes wind speed, wind direction, humidity and temperature) with mounting brackets
2) Operation: shuts off and starts evaporator(s) and pumps based on weather conditions (usually wind speed, wind direction; temperature and humidity); speed and direction are set for 8 quadrants of compass, temperature usually triggers at below freezing and humidity triggers at above 80%; system reacts after length of time that new weather condition is experienced.
Premium Weather Automation Package typically includes:
1) Basic SmartH2O™: Software which gives user the ability to control the function of the system and monitor, store and graph system data via a desktop computer as well as manually at the master control panel (via panel view input).
2) Items: full installation and setup at customer’s site, master control panel (containing PLC, panel view to input set points), weather station (typically includes wind speed, wind direction, humidity and temperature), desktop computer at on-site building which includes SmartH2OTM and supporting documentation.
3) Operation: same as Basic plus allows control or set point input via computer or at local master control panel.
Custom features that can be added include:
1) Control system: can control based on water level (in ponds), salinity levels (in ponds), rainfall; can control water flow and pressure to evaporators to increase evaporation during favorable conditions.
2) Monitoring: can monitor data for water levels, salinity levels, rainfall, water flow rate, water pressure, water flow.
3) Communications within system: can upgrade to optic fiber and radio communications.
4) SmartH2O™ many custom features can be added for the software and usually is more dependent upon how much the customer is willing to afford (added features means added programming and hardware and added price). Please reach out to SMI for a free virtual SmartH20 demonstration.
Some typical customer features include:
- External Internet access to SmartH2O™ for downloading of data and system operation
- Camera: can include viewing locations “real time” on site and camera operation
Concluding Thoughts
Deciding which type of evaporator and water supply, automation level and system design is best for you is dependent upon your site conditions and upon your preference in operating the system at your site. For performance, any of the above larger evaporators will remove an average of about 75 – 150 cubic meters per day of water during the warm months of the year (during the hot summer months, the removal rate can be as high as 200 cubic meters per day).