A lake of wastewater is generated in Hungary in two to three weeks

At first glance, the worlds of space technology and wastewater treatment seem far apart, but the engineering challenges are surprisingly similar. Both areas require continuous, uninterrupted operation, with minimal maintenance, while a single failure can jeopardize the operation of the entire system. In space, this could mean the end of a mission, and in wastewater treatment, it could mean the cessation of biological processes, serious malfunctions, and energy waste.

Why? Because the bacteria that do the “work” during wastewater treatment die without oxygen. If aeration is interrupted, the treatment does not deteriorate slowly and gradually, but collapses quickly. It is no coincidence that aeration can account for up to half of the total energy consumption in an average plant.

“In Budapest alone, 250-300 thousand cubic meters of wastewater are generated every day, meaning that there are days when the systems have to clean the amount of 150 fifty-meter pools. The key to the process is aeration – that is why it is important how much energy and with what operational reliability we can solve this. Few people would think, but some of the most modern solutions used for more efficient aeration were originally born in space exploration”

– explains Tamás Gampel, sales manager of Xylem Water Solutions Hungary, which cooperates with numerous waterworks.

A component used on spacecraft was installed in the wastewater treatment plant

The so-called air bearing technology – which was previously used in extreme conditions, such as in rocket fuel pumps – now also enables serious energy and cost savings in wastewater treatment. The essence of the solution is that the elements that move the structures use bearings that do not contain lubricant, which are replaced with air.

“In the fuel pumps of spacecraft, liquid hydrogen and oxygen must be moved at extremely low temperatures. Life and death depend on these structures, and you cannot rely on a solution that depends on lubricant. The system must operate frictionlessly. We have also adopted this solution for the so-called blowers used in waterworks. In traditional blowers, continuous operation is accompanied by mechanical friction, lubricant use and wear. All of these cause energy loss, while increasing the need for maintenance and the risk of failure. What increases the chances of successful missions in space helps us to carry out our most everyday needs here on Earth, such as wastewater treatment, in a more sustainable way”

– summarized Tamás Gampel.

Although many waterworks still operate older types of equipment, they are expensive and inefficient in the long run. They may be cheaper to purchase in the short run, but they consume significantly more energy and are less efficient than modern solutions. “According to experience, switching to a modern, air-bearing blower typically brings energy savings of around 30 percent, but in properly designed, complex systems – for example, when combined with other aeration technologies – this can be up to 50 percent,” says Tamás Gampel.