Multi-Phase Extraction System — Valparaiso Thermal Remediation

A thermal remediation specialist needed a purpose-built MPE treatment system for an in-situ thermal remediation project in Valparaiso, Indiana. Thermal projects produce a high-temperature, high-concentration mixed-phase effluent — soil vapor, condensed water, and entrained sludge — all of which have to be separated, cooled, and treated before discharge. The equipment had to handle 1,000 SCFM of soil vapor at 12 inches of mercury vacuum together with 25 GPM of extracted water, and had to tolerate the Class 1, Division 2 electrical classification typical of thermal vapor streams.

The treatment train needed to coordinate knockout and influent tanks, progressive cavity and diaphragm transfer pumps, a shell-and-tube heat exchanger integrated with an external cooling tower, a phase separator, air stripping, both vapor-phase and liquid-phase GAC polishing, sludge settling and dewatering, secondary containment, and a single PLC / HMI control system — all delivered as a purchase package rather than a rental. The client's specification was detailed down to specific pump, instrument, and VFD models, and the scope required both factory acceptance testing and two weeks of onsite setup plus two weeks of onsite start-up.

Fliteway fabricated the MPE treatment train around a Red Dragon 12-yard epoxy-lined vacuum box (KO-100) as the primary influent and sludge-knockout tank. KO-100 was outfitted with one (1) Moyno progressive cavity pump (P-100) on an Allen-Bradley VFD for transfer to the phase separator, one (1) Wilden Pro Flow pneumatic diaphragm pump (P-101) for transfer to the sludge settling tank, and one (1) Grundfos chemical metering pump (P-002) fed from a 55-gallon poly drum. Instrumentation included an IFM vacuum transmitter, an IFM temperature transmitter, five (5) GEMS level switches, a sight glass, and an optional LEL sensor and transmitter. All motors were 480-VAC three-phase TEFC, Class 1 Division 2.

A secondary 317-gallon Fliteway KO Tank (KO-140) with its own Moyno progressive cavity pump (P-140), five (5) GEMS level switches, and a Dwyer flow totalizer handled additional influent streams, discharging to the same phase separator. The 1,000-SCFM SVE package (B-230A/B) was built around dual blowers on Allen-Bradley VFDs discharging through an X-Changer heat exchanger (HE-240) to the downstream vapor carbon. A dilution intake line with butterfly valve and Dwyer pitot tube, inlet silencers, and a knockout pot (KO-180) with its own progressive cavity pump (P-180) completed the SVE skid. Instrumentation included IFM vacuum, pressure, and temperature transmitters plus a Dwyer pitot tube flow transmitter.

Downstream water treatment progressed through a sludge settling tank (T-400), a sludge filter (SD-420), a phase separator system (PS-440), an air stripper (AS-500), a 5,000-lb vapor-phase GAC system, and four (4) 1,000-lb liquid-phase GAC vessels with a discharge tank. An air compressor skid supplied instrument and diaphragm-pump air. Four (4) 10-ft by 50-ft secondary containments were provided for the skids. A shell-and-tube heat exchanger was integrated with the customer-supplied cooling tower, with Fliteway running conduit and wire to four (4) flow totalizers, a temperature transmitter, a flow control valve, a seal failure alarm, and the cooling-tower make-up water control valve.

A central PLC / HMI control system tied the whole train together. Pump controls included both virtual Hand/Off/Auto switches on the HMI and physical HOA switches local to each pump motor. Transfer pumps P-100, P-140, and P-180 were programmed to run automatically on tank-level feedback; metering and diaphragm pumps P-002 and P-101 ran manually with automatic shutdown on critical alarms. All instrumentation data was logged and displayed on the HMI, and every SVE and KO skid carried its own remote control panel that relayed data back to the main control system.

Prior to shipment, Fliteway performed factory acceptance testing, followed by two (2) weeks of onsite system set-up and two (2) weeks of onsite start-up once the equipment was placed at the Valparaiso site. Mobilization, offloading, and demobilization were included, along with reactivated vapor-phase and liquid-phase GAC media, bag filters, a hose and piping budget, temporary electrical connections, and 160 hours of remote O&M support.

The completed MPE treatment system left Fliteway's Cudahy, Wisconsin facility as a single coordinated package — vacuum box, secondary KO tank, 1,000-SCFM SVE skid, phase separator, air stripper, vapor and liquid GAC, sludge settling and dewatering, air compressor, secondary containment, and PLC / HMI controls — all pre-tested and delivered on the 8-to-10-week schedule supporting the client's thermal remediation program in Valparaiso.

Standardizing instrumentation on IFM transmitters, GEMS level switches, Dwyer flow totalizers, Allen-Bradley VFDs, and Moyno and Wilden pumps gave the site a consistent spare-parts footprint and let a single HMI monitor and alarm the entire MPE train. Two (2) weeks of onsite set-up and two (2) weeks of onsite start-up, backed by remote O&M support, brought the system online and supported the client's thermal operations without a long field commissioning tail.