The largest and most advanced wastewater treatment, water reuse and sludge treatment plant in the Middle East will benefit from Rotork IQPro intelligent electric valve actuation technology. The Doha North Sewage Treatment Works in Qatar is described as a landmark project and has a peak wastewater treatment design capacity of 439,000 cu m per day, serving a projected population of 900,000 by the year 2020. A feature of the project is that advanced membrane and ultra-violet treatment technologies are being utilised to reclaim high-quality water for non-potable purposes, thereby freeing-up precious drinking water supplies for the community. The site’s sludge treatment plant will also receive and treat sludge from wastewater plants throughout Qatar, the treated sludge being used as an organic fertiliser or a source of green energy. Defined as a model project of sustainable development for communities worldwide, Doha North STW is being constructed as a partnership between Keppel Seghers, the environmental engineering arm of Keppel integrated Engineering, and the Public Works Authority of Qatar. Rotork IQPro actuators feature an IP68 watertight enclosure with non-intrusive setting, commissioning and interrogation technologies. An illuminated window displays setting prompts and confirmation of setting data, local and remote control status and additional data including valve torque/position profiles. The hand-held setting tool, featuring bidirectional non-intrusive infra-red communication, facilitates on-site actuator configuration with or without mains power connected. Bidirectional communication enables data to be retrieved and retransmitted to other actuators, saving immense amounts of time when many valves require near-identical commissioning. In addition, actuator data logger files can be downloaded and transported from plant to office for storage and analysis on a PC running Rotork IQ-Insight software. Effective asset management programmes can then be planned and implemented, maximising plant utilisation and minimising the risk of unexpected plant interruptions.
