Efficient water treatment in Antarctica
It is a continent of extremes.
Ice that can be up to 5000 metres thick, an average annual temperature of -55 degrees Celsius, darkness that lasts almost six months: Antarctica is undoubtedly the most inhospitable place for humans to settle permanently. And yet researchers regularly set off for the South Pole in order to gradually understand more about the world through various fields of research such as glaciology, climate research, microbiology and geology.
Higher recycling rates, lower energy requirements
At one of the research stations on the seventh continent, the water that researchers and technicians need is obtained from snow and ice – and, as of recently, with the help of ifm automation technology. In order to accommodate the increased number of employees, a new water treatment plant was put into operation in the Antarctic summer of 2023/2024.
- The advantage of this is that not only is the increased demand for water now being met, but recycling is also more effective, which has doubled the amount of reusable water. This makes an enormous contribution towards reducing the research station’s energy requirements.
Although the energy is generated from wind and solar power, melting the snow requires 50 times more energy than recycling water.
SM flow meters: compact but powerful
The new plant, which consists of two redundant systems, has been fitted with equipment that includes SM flow meters from automation specialists ifm. These sensors not only record the current flow rate, but also the total flow rate and the temperature of the medium. All values are clearly displayed on the screen. If desired, a red/green colour change indicates whether the values are inside or outside the target range. The optimised measuring pipe ensures a lower pressure loss so that the pump output can be reduced. Furthermore, no inlet/outlet aisles are required. This is a huge advantage, especially in confined spaces. Other sensors, such as valve detectors and level sensors, provide further important information on the current status of water treatment.
IO-Link simplifies cabling and maintenance
The data transmission uses IO-Link technology, a digital point-to-point communication system in which the sensors send their data to a master, which in turn forwards it to field level. Instead of laying cables from each sensor to the control cabinet, as is the case with conventional analogue cabling, the sensor data can be collected decentrally by field-ready IO-Link masters and bundled for transmission to a higher field level. This massively reduces cabling.
- Another advantage: The parameters of the various sensors can be saved on the respective master. When replacing a defective sensor with an identical model, the parameters are automatically transferred to the new device. This means that on-site replacement can be carried out quickly and easily.
Predictive plant maintenance via remote access
The information is not only important for the controller, but also facilitates continuous preventive maintenance: all measured values are sent to the IT level together with other diagnostic information that information about the current status of each IO-Link sensor. This means that the plant can be maintained remotely during the Antarctic winter, when the research stations are unmanned, and also prepared for the next summer period.
