Gippsland Water bubbling with innovation

Gippsland Water has been awarded $50,000 from the Victorian Water Minister’s Climate Innovation Challenge prize pool to trial new energy efficient aeration technology at the Neerim South wastewater treatment plant.

The technology, called Nanobubble Oxygenation, aims to reduce the amount of electricity used during the wastewater treatment process.

Managing director Sarah Cumming said the trial could help lower energy consumption and costs, if successful.

“Nanobubble oxygenation works by making the aeration process more efficient by producing smaller bubbles and reducing the operational time of other, more energy-intensive, equipment like pumps and motors.

“If the trial is successful, we’d look to permanently install the nanobubble oxygenation unit at Neerim South and investigate opportunities at other sites.

“We’ll also share our findings with the rest of the water industry.”

The six-month trial is scheduled to begin in January next year and will be completed in partnership with Custom Fluids.

To find out more about the Water Minister’s Climate Innovation Challenge visit, www.climateinnovationchallenge.org.au