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28 March 2024

Smart vacuum sewage system saves energy and cost

Engineer Khalid Mohammed Sharaf and Dr Rashid Ahmad bin Fahad (SUPPLIED)

Published
By Eman Al Baik

An environment friendly system that depends on vacuuming sewerage water saves up to 60 per cent of efforts, cost, and energy needed to sewer waste water from residential and commercial premises to plants, said Engineer Khalid Mohammed Sharaf, CEO of Al Khaleej Sources General Trading LLC.

The currently implemented system depends on gravity and it needs digging manholes into about 10 meters depth in some areas. Whereas, the system introduced by the Dutch Flovac, vacuums sewerage water from any type of premises including residential, commercial, and ports and airports directly into a vacuum main chamber.

Being within his specialty domain, Sharaf had studied the system carefully and was highly impressed with its efficiency and effectiveness.

“I was highly impressed of the environment friendly and effort and cost efficient system and so contacted the Dutch Flovac and became the first national company in the UAE awarded the system’s agency. Thanks to Mohammed bin Rashid Establishment for SME Development that supported me in setting up Al Khaleej Sources General Trading in partnership with my brother Hamad and the hard work of UAE national employees.”

Apart from its technical efficiency, the system is aimed at reducing people's impact on the environment by creating a smaller carbon footprint for sewerage networks and a smaller impact on our environment.

It also ensures healthier living conditions in premises, he pointed out.

Explaining how the system works, Sharaf said, sewage flows by gravity from homes into a collection chamber. When 40 litres accumulates in the sump, the vacuum interface valve located above the sump automatically opens and differential air pressure propels the sewage through the valve and into the vacuum main.

“Differential air pressure is the driving force in vacuum sewer system. The vacuum sewer lines are under a vacuum of -50kPa to -70kPa created by the vacuum pumps located at the vacuum pump station. The pressure differential between the atmospheric pressure and the vacuum in the sewer lines of 50kPa - 70kPa provides the energy required to open the valves and to transport the sewage,” explained Sharaf

Sewage flows through the vacuum lines and into the collection tank at the vacuum station. Sewage pumps transfer the sewage from the collection tank to the wastewater treatment facility or nearby gravity manhole, he said.

There are no electrical connections required at the home. Power is necessary only at the vacuum station, he added.

Importantly rain and storm water does not enter the system and so this reduces the capital costs of both the reticulation network and treatment facilities as well as the energy use and maintenance costs.

As no sewage is sitting anywhere in the network for any length of time it is obvious that no septicity can occur and therefore no odours, he said.

The smart green system saves from 60 to 100 percent of water needed to sewer waste in buildings as air provides movement rather than wasting valuable water resources, he said.

The system helps ensuring complete safety and better energy use as it links a central command centre or mobile operations network to a wealth of important information that also helps effective, quick and cost efficient maintenance.

“An operator can remotely know amount of flow entering the system, infiltration occurring and where, line breaks or blockages with the system and location, energy use, air to liquit ration, and mechanical or electrical problems at the vacuum pump station. Having such information are important for quick reaction,” he said,

Vacuum systems are widely accepted in over 40 countries and Sharaf who introduced the system to the UAE minister of Environment and Water, Dr Rashid Ahmad bin Fahad, and other concerned officials and departments in a recent exhibition, is looking for the deployment of the system on a wide scale in the country due to its technical efficiency and its obvious benefits to the environment from no overflows or deep trenching disturbing the water table.