As an automation specialist, Festo will be present for the second year running at the Metropolitan Solutions Fair from the 8th to the 12th of April 2013. The event for urban infrastructures is held at the same time as the Hanover Fair. Festo will display efficient solutions and innovative concepts for future communal water supply and wastewater treatment in cities and metropolises on a stand of just under 100 square metres (hall 1, stand D08).
Efficient solutions for water and wastewater treatment are particularly crucial when it comes to dealing sustainably with water as a resource. As a result, more and more attention is being focused on the automation of water and wastewater treatment plants for sustainable urban development.
Urban water solutions
As a supplier of pneumatic and electrical automation technology, Festo takes advantage of this international platform to present holistic solutions for future urban infrastructures. “As a global trend setter, we’re making an important contribution to innovative concepts for future, worldwide water supply and wastewater disposal with our automation solutions”, explains stand supervisor Armin Müller, responsible for Process Application Management at Festo. “Emphasis is placed on increasing efficiency by automating processes”, stresses Müller.
Efficiency, networking, analysis – insights into Festo water technology
Where communication structures and automation solutions are concerned, the focus is more and more on efficient operations. This is also the case in the field of wastewater technology where, for example, rainwater accumulated in decentralised basins is fed to a central water treatment plant. With the help of a GSM link, the entire system can be controlled and monitored from the wastewater treatment plant’s central control station. Condition monitoring at the component and system levels enables efficient operations management, service and maintenance. A current reference project dealing with energy self-sufficient automation of decentralised rainwater basins addresses this concept. It enables Festo to offer insights into innovative, energy-efficient solutions for decentralised applications in process automation. Exhibits involving sand and membrane filtration will also be on display at Festo’s stand.
AquaJellies – bionic showpiece for water technology
With the help of its AquaJellies as bionic showpieces, Festo will demonstrate what efficient systems in the field of water technology might look like in the future, and explore their potential at its stand. The AquaJellies have been developed within the framework of Festo’s Bionic Learning Network. The autonomous jellyfishes, which are equipped with communicative capabilities, embody innovative developments in the areas of system capabilities, energy efficiency, communication and lightweight construction. The current status of each individual jellyfish can be recorded and monitored with the help of a smartphone app, while other functions, such as detecting battery levels, is made possible by real-time diagnostics.
Festo worldwide metro activities
Festo water technology is used around the world in the infrastructures of megacities and metropolises with several million residents. And thus the company is making a valuable contribution to the automation of newly constructed water and wastewater treatment plants, as well as to the modernisation of existing facilities. In addition to drinking water projects already presented at Hanover in 2012 – one in Cairo, a city with a population of roughly 16 million, and another in the city of Nanjing with 6 million residents – emphasis will be placed this year on an application in Saint Petersburg, Russia, partner country to the Hanover Fair 2013.
Drinking water for Russia
Festo is currently working together on site with the team from its national company on the water project in Saint Petersburg. Festo pneumatic automation technology is providing the new systems with enery efficient solutions. In addition to modernising 34 pumping stations, Vodokanal, Saint Petersburg’s water utility, has set itself the goal of reducing power consumption for drinking water supply by more than 33%. This is supported by the pneumatic automation technology supplied by Festo, which results in much lower energy costs than using electric actuators for opening and closing the butterfly valves in sand bed filters and pumping stations. Vodokanal supplies Saint Petersburg and its five million residents with 1.9 million cubic metres of drinking water.
Festo Didactic
Investment in basic and further training for qualified personnel is the basis for globally functioning water supplies. The Didactic division will therefore introduce new, hands-on training for the water sector.
The modular training system EDS Water, consisting of five learning modules, will be presented. The individually combinable units for water transport and distribution, as well as treatment monitoring and energy optimisation, form a comprehensive concept for the issue of water supply. They allow the simulation of operations sequences and impart the necessary process awareness. The goal is to provide practical training for the operation of equipment and systems in the water sector. Furthermore, an extensive range of training programmes has been developed on the basis of this learning system, which can be provided anywhere in the world and adapted to local circumstances.
Metropolitan Solutions Forum
Festo will not only exhibit its products as a solutions supplier, the company will also hold presentations at the Metropolitan Solutions Forum. The focus will be on innovative technologies for tomorrow’s water supply. This encompasses the increasing significance of actions targeted at optimising energy efficiency and life cycle costs in water management.
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