How Robots Are Making an Impact on Water Treatment in Imaginative Ways

Utilities Tech Outlook | Wednesday, March 08, 2023

Robotic welding equipment is the best option for achieving this level of consistency.

Fremont, CA: Industrial robots are progressing to new levels. While most people think of these machines as being used in manufacturing, they are helpful in many sectors and applications. Water treatment is one of the most exciting of them. Here are a few ways that robots are now helping to improve water treatment procedures.

Detecting Leaks 

Water treatment systems must prevent leaks, but manually checking for them is inefficient and possibly costly. As a result, many institutions rely on industrial robots to help automate the process. The Pipeguard robot from MIT is one such solution.

Pipeguard, regardless of material, travels through a pipe to scan for present and future leaks. In addition, because the system travels down the line, it gives a more detailed view of its state.

Workers can then spot leaks and potential future rupture locations, allowing them to get repaired before they become bigger problems.

Monitoring Pollution

Polluted water kills more people yearly than all forms of violence and conflict combined. As a result, early detection of pollution is crucial for illness prevention and environmental protection. Some companies utilize mobile robots to assess pipe conditions, and others use similar technologies to monitor water pollution.

Small, eel-like robots collect data on the contents of natural bodies of water and treatment facilities by swimming through them. They warn personnel if they see something unusual, allowing for quick and effective replies. These devices may also be customized by including multiple sensors to check for various pollutants.

Infrastructure for Water Treatment Manufacturing

In the manufacturing side of a water treatment business, industrial robots are also vital. Treatment facilities require rust-resistant boilers, pipelines, and other infrastructure that can survive for years without deterioration. Robotic welding equipment is the best option for achieving this level of consistency.

Robots are more accurate than people, and as long as they're in excellent working order, they can replicate that perfection for every weld. As a result, they can create water systems with fewer, if any, structural flaws, assuring long-term endurance.

Cleaning Industrial Boilers

Water treatment systems such as boilers must be kept as clean as possible to perform properly. Buildup might impact water quality or sample testing accuracy, but manual cleaning is time-consuming and inconvenient. Robotic cleaning systems, such as Waygate Technologies' Boiler Robotic Inspection and Cleaning (BRIC), can clean boilers faster, more efficiently, and even without emptying them.

A ten to thirty percent skew in quality testing can be caused by a small sample size inaccuracy, making robots the best cleaning option. In addition, their sensors' accuracy allows them to verify that boilers get cleaned efficiently; if they aren't, employees will notice.