Incidences of pollution will have a significant impact on funding throughout AMP7. It’s, therefore, vital that businesses involved in water and wastewater treatment focus on preventing chemical leakages. Hiring or purchasing bunds, structures that underly and wall-off areas containing hazardous chemicals or liquids, thereby providing containment in the event of leaks, represents a small investment. However, it drastically reduces the risks associated with storing chemicals.
Businesses have an array of choices to make when it comes to selecting a bund suitable for their needs. They can opt for a permanent bund, built directly on the treatment site or manufactured off-site, transported and then installed. Temporary or portable bunds, used for smaller volumes, meanwhile, are made from lighter materials. They include intermediate bulk containers (IBC) bunds, which when constructed for movement by forklift trucks are often referred to as pallet bunds.
The most suitable material for the bund must be considered and selected based on several factors, including the size of the storage containers, the nature of the chemical stored, and the bund’s position and environment. The decision is also strongly affected by whether it will be built on-site or manufactured off-site.
The most traditional permanent bunds are built with concrete, brick or block walls, standing on concrete floors. These materials, and any mortar used in the masonry walls, must be watertight and capable of resisting the chemicals.
In recent years, as off-site bund manufacture has grown in popularity, different materials and construction methods have become more common. One alternative for permanent bunds is prefabricated steel. However, this is susceptible to both atmospheric corrosion and attack by the stored chemical, so a special resistant coating must be applied to it.
Together with the growth in off-site and modular manufacture of chemical dosing systems, there has been a considerable evolution in bund construction methodology and design in recent years. For packaged systems up to around 30,000 litres, fabricated polyethylene (PE) or polypropylene (PP) bunds with a rectangular footprint are now commonplace. However, certain design issues must be addressed if they are to be considered viable alternatives to civil-engineered bunds constructed on-site.
When it comes to choosing the capacity of your bund, the UK WIMES: Water Industry Mechanical and Electrical Specifications stipulate that it should be 110% of the total storage capacity of the largest tank or 25% of the total capacity of all tanks, whichever is the greater. However, requirements for outdoor bunds may differ a little between individual water companies. Thames Water, for example, insists on sizing at 110%, while Yorkshire Water extends this to 130% in its own specifications.
Finally, bunds must be protected from the elements and rigorously maintained if they are to function correctly in the long term.
Taking all of this into account, the safest approach is often to buy or hire complete chemical storage and dosing equipment set-ups from WES. They come with the most appropriate bunds, as well as all necessary filling and safety systems, and all components are pre-assembled and pre-tested. For easy installation and integration with the plant’s existing operation, each delivery is also accompanied by the right pipework, connectors and control features.
Hugh Rose joined WES in April 2021 as an Electrical Design Engineer. Hugh works within the Capital Projects department at WES. We asked Hugh a few questions to find out more about him!
Can you tell us about your role?
The role is to aid the senior electrical engineer both within the confines of the factory and on site. This also includes working with the commissioning engineers and technical staff to ensure any details on the drawings are kept up to date. It also involves ensuring that any designs for site distribution both inside and outside the unit are compliant to the latest wiring and water authority regulations, following with the design specification and cable calculations for final documentation.
What has it been like working for WES so far?
Coming from outside the business it has been a bit of an eye opener, the workload is building as I become more acquainted with procedures and compliance issues. The company has a very pleasant working atmosphere with easy interaction between staff and departments.
Tell us about your career path?
My career has been varied to say the least, starting as a Weapons guidance engineering apprentice in the Royal Navy, then training and qualifying as an approved electrician, moving into Film and TV production, running my own business for 20 years and then finally into electrical management and design culminating in a move to WES early this year, managing IEng. accreditation and membership of the IET along the way.
What are your interests outside of work?
Outside work I collect and restore analogue sound equipment and have a small music studio at home left over from my TV days. I also enjoy travelling and spending time with my grandchildren.