Flovac vacuum sanitation in COVID-19 field hospitals remains fully operational
Flovac’s deployable sewerage installations in COVID-19 field hospitals is still fully operational one year later. The vacuum sewerage system, which was originally planned to provide service for a period of 2 months, keeps working perfectly after 12 months of activity.
Flovac was commissioned the installation of the sewage system in three COVID-19 field hospitals last year. The provisional hospitals, located in the cities of Valencia, Castellón and Alicante, needed a safe and easy-to-install sewerage system to treat wastewater. One of the main points was to guarantee an optimal treatment without any risk of leaks or COVID-19 contamination.
The Flovac system was the best option for this situation, as we provide for safe and easy deployable sewerage solutions with limited power requirements and is low maintenance. One year later, the vacuum sewerage system -originally installed for only 2 months- keeps working in perfect condition in all three hospitals.
Flovac installation in COVID-19 field hospital, in Castellón
Resistance of the Flovac system: the best guarantee of success
The field hospitals in Valencia, Castellón and Alicante were originally planned for a period of 2 months. These temporary facilities were intended to relieve pressure on hospitals and provide medical care to the large volume of patients affected by COVID-19. However, these field hospitals are still active to this day. The durability and resistance of the Flovac system are the best guarantee of success.
COVID-19 field hospital in Castellón
Components of a deployable sewerage system
In deployable vacuum sewerage systems, wastewater flows by gravity from bathroom and toilet areas to a collection pit. Typically, these facilities are built on surface structures, so there will be room for gravity to flow properly. However, if the facilities are flat and built on surface, the pits can be lightly buried without any complications.
The collection pits house the vacuum valve, which connects the gravity line on one side and the vacuum network on the other. Once enough amount of batch enters the pit, the valve opens and all the wastewater enters the pipe network.
Surface pipe network in COVID-19 field hospital, in Castellón
The pipe network goes from the collection pits to the vacuum pump station. It can be supplied in PVC, polyethylene, steel or other materials depending on the climatic conditions of the place. Flovac provides containerized pipes and fittings like the rest of the equipment, which can be easily unloaded and assembled. For really temporary installations, the pipe network can be installed on the surface. Alternatively, for installations without a clear period of operation time, the pipework can be buried underground.
Safety of Flovac’s deployable sewerage solutions
The installation of the vacuum pipes is very flexible. They can be easily adapted to the terrain and they can have two or three branches to make it easier to maintain. Also, as the whole system is hermetic, there are no odors and no risk of exfiltration in the terrain. This is very important in situations like field hospitals for COVID-19, where there cannot be any risk of contamination.
The last component of the system is the vacuum pump station, which houses a collection tank (to collect the sewage), discharge pumps (to send the sewage to the treatment plant), vacuum pumps (which create a negative pressure in the vacuum mains), and the control panel. The control panel, which is part of the smart monitoring of the system, and can inform the operator or any problems within the network. From blockages to any failure in the vacuum network, the software is able to detect any problem and send an alarm in less than 10 minutes. This guarantees the safety of the system and makes it completely reliable.
