Intelligent chemical dosing system achieves exclusive distribution

An automatically adjustable, portable chemical dosing system, developed for use in pipe commissioning, has secured sole distribution with pipeline equipment specialist AHS Pipeline Innovation, which is based in Leeds, UK. 

The AD1-150 from manufacturing company Aquadose is primarily used in the chlorination and de-chlorination of pipelines. It is regarded as an intelligent dosing system due to its automatic flow-proportional dosing control and process validation. 

Unlike traditional dosing systems, the unit automatically adjusts the volume of chemical solution added to the water during commissioning, in line with changes in flow. South Wales based Aquadose is working in collaboration with AHS to ensure a fleet of 40 AD1-150 skids are available for hire by water utilities in the UK and Ireland from September 2023. 

Contractors and water utilities need to deploy portable chemical dosing systems to inject sodium hypochlorite, sodium thiosulphate or sodium bisulphate solutions during the pipe commissioning process. This includes the precise inspection, checking, cleaning, flushing, verification, pressure and leak testing, and performance evaluation that must be undertaken to bring a new infrastructure online.  

The AD1-150 makes the process much easier for the operator as the water flow does not need to be monitored for consistency. The system can handle a wide range of water flow rates from 5 to 300l/minute, making it compatible with most pipelines, including trunk mains. With Aquadose’s plug-and-play flowline adapters, the AD1-150 can be used to treat flow rates up to an impressive 370l/second or 32,000 m3/day. 

Intelligent operations  

The AD1-150 dosing system weighs less than 20kg and is housed in a single portable unit, which makes transportation and set-up straightforward. It is battery-powered, and one charge can last up to 14 hours, making it practical on sites where a power supply is not easily accessible. 

The system can calculate the required quantity of chemicals needed once the pipe dimensions have been inputted into the touchscreen control panel, further reducing preparation work.  

The control panel is designed to be user-friendly, to ensure setup and management of the dosing regime is straightforward, with easily adjustable parameters monitored via a touchscreen. 

The AD1-150 system records and securely uploads all data to PIPE, AHS’s cloud-hosted customer dashboard, allowing operators to easily monitor and analyse chlorination activity, with greater transparency and pipeline commissioning compliance alongside pressure testing data. For remote working, the system also comes with a mobile app that allows the chlorination and de-chlorination process to be monitored from anywhere on any device. 

Strong partnerships 

AHS Pipeline Innovation is driven by improving the safety, efficiency, and compliance of all pipeline commissioning activities, reflected in the extension of its services from pressure testing to include chlorination, through its partnership with Aquadose. 

Dave Watkins, managing director of Aquadose said, “Since 2018, Aquadose has collaborated closely with AHS to meet client needs on high-profile mains commissioning projects. This collaboration has achieved innovative solutions and breakthrough progress beyond what was considered possible in our industry.”  

“The team looks forward to future collaborations and combining expertise to solve new challenges as clients' needs grow.” 

Tony Kitchen, technical director at AHS said, “The AD1-150 is a brilliant chlorination system and the team at AHS is excited to offer it for hire in collaboration with our partners at Aquadose. The two companies' powerful synergy, built on mutual trust and shared technical expertise, has allowed AHS to become involved in some cutting-edge projects, bringing exciting new innovations to the industry.” 

As with all AHS fleet hired products, remote and onsite assistance will be available on request as part of the partnership. 

Taxonomy

• Water