Reference
Grundfos reduces water consumption by 20% at their factory
At the Grundfos pump factory in Bjerringbro, Denmark, they have chosen a water treatment solution from EUROWATER that saves both water and energy in the production of process water.
Producing water of the right quality is associated with a greater or lesser amount of water waste and energy consumption. And as in any other industrial productions, Grundfos uses large amounts of water in their factories where the pumps are produced.
Grundfos was therefore introduced to an untapped potential in improving water utilisation and reducing energy consumption, by reusing the wastewater in their water treatment process. In addition, the new solution will also benefit the working environment.
Water treatment solution at the Grundfos pump factory. The solution includes softening, water saving unit and reverse osmosis unit type RO-PLUS with water saving technology.
Time for replacement
The CR pump factory gets its water without chlorine from the local waterworks. However, drinking water quality is not sufficient in the various phases of production. The requirement is demineralised process water with low conductivity supplied by a reverse osmosis (RO) unit with a water softener as pre-treatment and a subsequent water saving unit for recycling the wastewater onsite.
The original installation is with a softening unit from 1995, which was extended in 2011 with another softening unit and subsequent RO unit. The existing solution was due for replacement in 2023, and Grundfos found the solution in collaboration with EUROWATER.
Salt for regeneration of the softening unit is storaged in a silo outside the facility, which has replaced manual handling of salt bags.
Water treatment solution
EUROWATER supplied a complete water treatment solution consisting of:
- Water softener with counter-current regeneration for optimised water and salt consumption
- RO-PLUS reverse osmosis system with high water recovery
- Water saving unit with tank, filter, pump, measurement and control system to collect and recycle good quality wastewater
- Salt silo for salt storage to reduce handling of salt bags for regeneration of water softener
- Online quality monitoring of residual hardness after water softener
The RO-PLUS reverse osmosis unit is designed with water saving technology to increase water utilisation in the production of demineralized water. RO-PLUS ensures a minimisation of resource consumption without compromising operational reliability or water quality. Furthermore, the CRE pumps used in the industrial processes were also updated with IE5-rated MGE motors, which both ensured even greater energy efficiency and reduced energy consumption.
Softening unit
SPC 1202-F
Reverse osmosis unit
RO-PLUS B2-20+4
Water saving unit
Collects and recycles water
“It is a pleasure managing the daily operation, when the new water treatment system from EUROWATER provides us with such great improvements in our water utilisation without any compromise to operational reliability or water quality. And not only is our water and energy consumption reduced, the same applies to our chemical consumption."
Jacob Krogsgaard Nilsson
Senior Facility Coordinator, Grundfos
The Outcome
The water treatment solution has delivered significant improvements in several key areas:
- Water utilisation
- Energy consumption
- Chemical usage
- Working environment
The enhanced water utilisation has been achieved without compromising operational reliability or water quality. The solution provides efficient control over the water treatment process, allowing for optimisation. This results in lower chemical usage, increased capacity, and reduced water consumption.
Additionally, the handling of salt for regeneration has greatly improved the working environment. The salt is now stored in an external silo that is refilled by a truck, eliminating the need for manual handling of approximately 30 tonnes of salt each year. This has significantly enhanced safety and health conditions at the factory by removing the requirement to lift heavy salt bags.
The payback period for the entire plant is estimated to be less than three years, based on known water consumption and costs per cubic metre, along with electricity consumption and costs per kWh. In addition to the payback time, Grundfos saves important water resources year after year.
4,500 m3
freshwater is now saved yearly at the factory
1.8 tons
of salt used for the regeneration plant is saved
3 years
or even less in payback time
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