SSI Introduces Patented Channel-Pipe Tube Diffuser Feature – for low flux, SBR, and intermittent aeration
By: Tom Frankel
Post Date: February 14th 2017
By placing a membrane over a scalloped pipe, rather than a plain round pipe, we create air channels, through which air can pass even at low flow rates. This helps us utilize the entire tube diffuser length under all operating conditions. With plain pipe, often the back pressure is too high to open the whole tube, so it was possible to see a 1m long tube with only 20-30cm of bubbling activity. Of no less importance, the channels offer significant benefits in intermittent applications like the SBR process, where air is cycled on and off frequently throughout the day. When this occurs with SSI’s channel pipe, the membrane takes the shape of the support pipe with all of its contours, and there are no hard folds. However, with plain pipe, it is common to see a tight fold at the crown of the diffuser when the air is cycled off. Repeated thousands of time under deep water, this becomes a frequent point of flexure failure of a tube membrane. The incidence of this problem has been greatly reduced with channel pipe.
SSI has received US patent protection on the use of channeled support pipe with a plain round fitting on which to clamp a membrane at the end.
Mr. Frankel co-founded SSI in 1995 with experience in design and distribution of engineered systems. He is in charge of sales, marketing and operations in the company. Mr. Frankel holds multiple US patents related to diffusers. He is a graduate of Washington University in St. Louis.