Natural light penetrates the
membrane cover, eliminating the need for artificial
lighting.
Location:
Bartlett, IL
Building Size: (4 each) 62' W x 90' L
Application: Waste Water Treatment Plant - Fabric
Covered Building
The Village of Bartlett in Illinois purchased four
tension fabric structures to cover their aerobic digesters
at their waste water treatment plant. Located just 40
miles from Chicago, the facility handles the waste water for
26,000 people residing in three different counties.
"We have twelve individuals employed with the sewer
department who take care of the treatment plant as well as
nineteen lift stations and the total sewer system within the
Village of Bartlett," says Ron Johnson, Waste Water
Supervisor. "This treatment plant is considered a
medium to large size treatment facility."
The four
fabric buildings are 62' wide x 90' long and cover
two sludge tanks each. "One of the problems we had in
the past was controlling the temperatures during the winter
as well as containing odors. Since we have had the
fabric covered buildings we've been able to hold the heat in
during the winter so the bacteria can do it's job and we no
longer have odor complaints from nearby residential areas,"
says Johnson. "The aerobic digesters take in sludge
from two parts of our facility. One part is the waste
activated sludge from the activated sludge system, and the
other is the primary sludge from the primary
clarifiers. The basic operation of the clarifiers is
to stabilize the organic matters in the sludge. From
here we take it to a sludge press and put onto farm
fields."
"The tension fabric
structure is working very well for us; the building is not going to
deteriorate and it's pretty much maintenance free." -Ron Johnson
The Village of Bartlett chose fabric covered buildings
because of the structure's ability to perform in a corrosive
moist environment. The galvanized steel frame system
is clad with a triple-coated anti-corrosion barrier and a
Gatorshield coating. The polyolefin characteristic of
the cover fabric is inert to ammonia gasses and is not
biodegradable. "We looked at a PVC system that was
designed to completely cover the digesters, but that would
have caused us problems of getting to the sludge for
sampling, temperature readings, etcetera," says Johnson.
"We also looked at aluminum and corrugated steel structures,
but the high moisture levels in this type of environment would quickly
deteriorate metal structures. We designed each of the fabric buildings
to have a side access so we could open it up to lower a hoist down within
the tank, clean the digesters or install equipment."
Another benefit with the fabric
buildings is the translucent qualities of the fabric
membrane. "We don't need any natural lighting in the
tension fabric structures, nor do we require the
installation of explosive proof fixtures or personnel
needing to change light bulbs. The white cover
provides us more than enough natural light inside the
building, even on gray and overcast days. The fabric
building system is working very well for us; the building is
not going to deteriorate and it's pretty much maintenance
free," says Johnson.
The four 62' wide x 90' long
fabric buildings cover two
sludge tanks each.
The buildings were
installed over the existing sludge tanks
and designed with side accesses for installing
equipment and
cleaning the digesters.
The fabric covered buildings
provide odor control and year-round temperature
moderation.
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