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CASE STUDIES


Steaming Ahead in Operational Excellence


With a competent team comes an efficient process and a good health and safety record, so achieving maximum benefit from safe and efficient plant operation is high on the agenda at Severn Trent’s Minworth site. As part of the site’s ongoing commitment to refine the use of renewable resources and technology, Severn Trent looked to introduce a management system and training requirements for the team of onsite engineers operating a newly installed steam system.


It’s all in the anaerobic digestion In order to harvest energy from sewage, sludge is treated in the Thermal Hydrolysis Plant (THP) before being loaded into airtight tanks called anaerobic digesters. Steam plays a crucial role in the THP, heating and treating the sludge to the required temperature of around 110°C before being cooled and transferred to the anaerobic digesters where the bacteria breaks the sludge down. This process produces the natural gas; methane as well as a fertiliser by-product. The methane is then either exported into the National Grid as bio-gas or piped into large engines producing heat and electricity which can be used on site or exported to the National Grid. The heat produced is used to keep the digesters at the right temperature. Re-using this heat makes this a very efficient process.


As Project Lead for Thermal Hydrolysis Plants (THP) and steam systems implementation, Chris Kind at Severn Trent is responsible for putting in place the right support structure for the frontline team operating and maintaining the plant.


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“Prior to my involvement at Minworth I had never worked with steam systems so it’s fair to say it’s been a steep learning curve” says Chris.


Entering new waters Ensuring that they would be putting in place best practice for managing a steam system, Severn Trent engaged with several other utility companies to find out how they managed similar equipment.


“The results highlighted that there is no “one way” to manage a steam system when it comes to the people side of things. We needed a structure and management system for steam, and the training of our team members would not be a simple task. Spirax Sarco and their training facility at the Steam Technology Centre in Cheltenham were put forward to us as the organisation we needed to speak to” comments Chris.


A highly recommended training programme Requiring specialist support in operating their newly installed steam system safely and efficiently, Severn Trent turned


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