Tuesday, January 10, 2017

Internship in Nestlé - 9-10th Jan 2017 (8am - 5pm)

Monday, 9th Jan 2017 (8am - 5pm)

At 8.00 a.m., I compiled the experimental raw data which was obtained last Friday, using Microsoft Excel, including the photographs showing the settling of flocs in solution. I had made a simple conclusion before emailing this file to Tee.

At 9.15 a.m., we had a daily review meeting with the operators as usual.

At 10.00 a.m., I walked around in the WWTP and realized that the new DAF with a larger capacity had arrived and been installed a few days ago. The construction of roofing and installation of piping were carried on at the new DAF site. In the DPRS site, there were still several minor installations and checks in progress. At the same time, a concrete bund was built around the filter press (sludge dewatering system). Later, Jaclyn and I observed the newly installed DAF unit with its flocculation system.

Between 1.30 and 3.30 p.m., I generated a final laboratory report for the experiment as required by Tee. In this report (refer to Appendix B), the procedure, tabulation of results and discussion were clearly described, including the conclusion about the recommended dosing of the chemicals based on the experimental outcomes.

Later Fam gave us two documents of the operation manual of the new DAF unit. Tee had told us that the person in charge of the DPRS commissioning would be coming tomorrow morning.


Tuesday, 10th Jan 2017 (8am - 5pm)

At 8.00 a.m., as usual, I walked around WWTP to observe the unit operations in the plant. Later, Tee, Fam and Jaclyn arrived at the site and I was called to meet two persons, Maurice from the Netherlands and Leon from local, who are in charge of MBR commissioning. Fam had guided them to understand the process flow of DPRS. According to Maurice, functional testing and checking of each equipment and instrument would be conducted before the commissioning stage of MBRs.

At 9.15 a.m., we had a meeting with the operators as usual. I was informed the commissioning of the sludge dewatering system would be conducted from this week onwards.

At 11.00 a.m., we met the person in charge of filter press commissioning. They started to check the electrical panel of this system.

At 2.00 p.m., to obtain the input data for generating the material balance of our existing WWTP, I went to the WWTP control room to collect water parameters which have been recorded by the operator daily since the first day of January. The aims of the recording are to monitor the characteristics of water in WWTP and as the reference for the engineering department and DOE.

At 4.00 p.m., I went to the DPRS site and noticed that there were two A1 paper-sized P&IDs pasted on the holding tank. Several parts were highlighted with different colours, indicating certain instruments or equipment had been checked mechanically, electrically and in the aspect of input/output (I/O) software operation.

Friday, January 6, 2017

Internship in Nestlé - 6th Jan 2017 (8am - 5pm)

From 8.00 a.m. to 12.25 p.m., I rearranged the registered FLOCs of DPRS equipment by following the decision made during yesterday's meeting. I had checked and updated the FLOCs before sending the file to Jaclyn.

At 9.15 a.m., we had a daily review meeting with the operators as usual.

At 11.15 a.m., Tee assigned me to experiment with coagulation and flocculation using a water sample taken from the final discharge point. He had demonstrated this experiment to me at the WWTP laboratory. He added 1.0 mL of ferric chloride (FeCl3) coagulant solution into 500 mL of water sample and then stirred the mixture rapidly. Initially, the brown-orange microflocs were formed.

Later, he added 1.0 mL of polymer solution (flocculant), stirred and allowed the settling of larger-sized flocs formed in the solution. However, we observed that the water sample was still in light orange colour (the solution is expected to be more transparent than the freshwater sample), even much polymer solution was added. He suspected that an exceeding amount of FeCl3 solution was added, giving this colour due to the presence of metal ions in excess.

At 2.00 – 5.15 p.m., I began my task by planning a procedure before performing the experiment. I made the observation, recorded down every single detail in my notebook and took photos. During this period, Tee came to the laboratory and asked me about the experimental outcome I had obtained so far. Then he requested me to repeat the experiment using a smaller dosing of 0.05 mL and 0.10 mL of FeCl3 solution to obtain an optimum dosing of FeCl3 solution as possible.

During the experiment, I wore a pair of latex gloves, especially when handling FeCl3 solution, an oxidizing agent. I was assigned to make a laboratory report and submit it to Tee by next Monday morning.

At 5.45 p.m., Tee told me that the commissioning of DPRS would be carried out from next week onwards. I am looking forward to this project.

Thursday, January 5, 2017

Internship in Nestlé - 4-5th Jan 2017 (8am - 5pm)

Wednesday, 4th Jan 2017 (8am - 6pm)                    

At 9.15 a.m., we had a daily review meeting with the operators.

At 10.00 a.m., as usual, I went to the DPRS site to conduct pipeline tracing. The metal fencing was installed and the concrete bund was constructed around the DPRS site. The purposes are to restrict the accessibility into the site by unauthorized personnel and to provide containment for the process liquid in the event of leakage when DPRS is under operation.

At 11.00 a.m., I summarized the information and prepared a note after reading the process description manual of the existing DAF unit, which involves physical-chemical process for particle removal from industrial effluent. 

At 2.30 p.m., Jaclyn and I went to WWTP. At the same time, the waste management company was at WWTP to remove the oil layer from the balance tank. The purpose is to minimize the impact on water quality at downstream processes due to the presence of an oil layer. 

At 4.45 p.m., Tee informed me there would be an important meeting that I must attend. The meeting agenda is regarding the FLOC (functional location) registration of equipment in DPRS. The FLOC contains information of equipment such as location, maintenance data and manufacturer data, which is required for maintenance tasks to be performed.

5.00 – 6.00 p.m., Jaclyn emailed me a file regarding the master record of FLOC of DPRS and asked me to help her check the information. I emailed her with the updated FLOC once I completed this task.


Thursday, 5th Jan 2017 (8am - 6pm)

At 8.00 a.m., I checked the FLOC sent by Jaclyn after she had added some extra equipment data into the FLOC file.

At 9.15 a.m., as usual, we had a meeting with the operators.

At 10.00 a.m., I went to the DPRS site and noticed the chemical dosing systems were installed completely. At the same time, the installation site cleanup was carried out.

At 4.15 p.m., Tee, Jaclyn and I had a meeting with Fam Hon Koon, senior project engineer, who is the person in charge of the DPRS construction project. I was asked to start the meeting by describing the Maintenance Plan I had prepared, from the beginning to the end of the DPRS process flow.

During the meeting, Fam explained and shared with me the information and knowledge based on his years of valuable practical experience. Besides that, we streamlined the FLOC registration work of DPRS equipment by categorizing several instruments into a number of FLOCs.

At 5.20 p.m., the meeting ended. Tee had informed me that tomorrow he would show me the experimental procedure of coagulation and flocculation using a water sample.

Tuesday, January 3, 2017

Internship in Nestlé - 3rd Jan 2017 (8am - 5pm)

At 9.15 a.m., we had a daily review meeting with the operators.

At 11.00 a.m., I met Jaclyn and WWTP operator, Ridzuan at the existing DAF unit while they were monitoring water condition in the flocculator. The flocs were unable to be produced after several sample tests.

At 2.30 p.m., I went to WWTP and observed the unit operations. I noticed that due to the outlet is constructed at a higher point, the final discharge was full of water before entering the pump pit, which is the first section of DPRS. Later I met Christ, my colleague who is in charge of electrical service and he wished to understand the process flow of DPRS. I took this opportunity to revise the DPRS study by explaining the process description and answering his questions about the DPRS. He thanked me for guiding him to understand DPRS within a short period.

At 3.15 p.m., I had a great chat with a safety personnel, Hazi. He is in charge of monitoring the construction safety.

At 3.30 p.m., Jaclyn and I observed the pipeline around the permeate tank, which is the final section of DPRS for clean water distribution. The pipeline arrangement is totally different from that shown in P&ID. We had redrawn the diagram for our own reference. Later, we went up to the top of the permeate tank to trace the source of the pipeline. I managed to observe and recognize several fittings such as air vent pipes, water pressure relief valves, pressure regulators, etc.

A system consisting of pipings and valves (taken on the same day)

At 4.50 p.m., we studied the chlorine dioxide generation and dosing system at the DPRS site. However, we did not really understand how it works, and perhaps guidance may be given by the technician in the future.

Saturday, December 31, 2016

Internship in Nestlé - 30th Dec 2016 (8am - 5pm)

At 9.15 a.m., we had a meeting with the operators. Before the end of the meeting, as today is the last working day of 2016, Tee thanked the operators for their cooperation and contributions to the team throughout this year.

At 10.00 a.m., I conducted pipeline tracing in the DPRS site to be fully familiar with the flow and location of each equipment.

At 11.30 a.m., Tee asked me to do the calculation of the amount of chemicals required for the flocculation and coagulation using a jar tester. I am planning to understand the information of the jar tester in advance.

At 11.45 a.m., I went to WWTP to observe the existing DAF unit. Jaclyn and the operator Desa were monitoring the water condition in the flocculator. They managed to obtain a clear solution with floating flocs when adding the flocculants (polymers) into a bottle of water sample taken from DAF influent, but the same result was not shown for a water sample taken from the flocculator after the chemical dosing. Eventually, they managed to get the same outcome after several trials and errors.

At 3.00 p.m., I met Tee and Jaclyn in the WWTP control room. Tee conducted a simple experiment with a water sample taken from a sludge recirculation pit to observe various types of microorganisms using a microscope. He showed us the bacteria and metazoan such as rotifer. I had an opportunity to observe the rotifer swimming freely, using a microscope.

Figure 1: Rotifer in microscopic view (Source: Wikipedia)

The rotifers are often found in extended aeration-activated sludge (EAAS) systems with older sludge. Their principal role in wastewater is to develop floc stabilization. Their presence indicates a good, stable sludge with plenty of oxygen. Rotifers are good indicators of wastewater toxicity as they are sensitive to toxic loads, however, they should never be dominant in the system.

At 4.00 p.m., Jaclyn and I went to the DPRS site. At the same time, the construction of a new above-ground pipeline is carried on to replace the old, broken underground pipeline.


Reference:

Rotifers. [online] Available at: http://www.environmentalleverage.com/Rotifer.htm

[Last Accessed: 2 January 2017].

Thursday, December 29, 2016

Internship in Nestlé - 29th Dec 2016 (8am - 5pm)

At 9.15 a.m., we had a short meeting with the operators.

At 10.00 a.m., I did observation in the WWTP and installation sites. The mechanical aerator of the second aeration was not running because one of the bolts to support the aerator was broken.

At 11.00 a.m., Tee gave me a new 3M safety helmet (white pin-lock suspension) to replace the expired hard helmet which I used currently. I learnt and followed the manual instructions to assemble the new safety helmet.

New safety helmet

At 2.00 p.m., Tee had signed and returned my weekly log sheets of Week 1 - 5 to me with comments. He told me that in the following weeks (at the beginning of the next year 2017), we would be busy due to the arrival of a new DAF unit and the commissioning procedure of DPRS.

At 2.45 p.m., Jaclyn and I went to the WWTP control room. She showed me the daily recording which contains flowrate and water parameters such as pH, COD, MLSS etc. She explained the purpose of data recording and shared some information.

For example, the colour of the DAF influent (measured in terms of American Dye Manufacturers' Institute or ADMI) has to be recorded, but not the colour of the influent of other balance tanks. This is because the colour of the final discharge (to the environment) is also one of the parameters to be monitored. Since DAF influent mainly consists of wastewater from coffee production and is relatively darker than the others, it is necessary to monitor the colour of DAF influent in the early stage.

At 3.15 p.m., we observed the contractors to replace a new bolt. The mechanical aerator of the second aeration tank was locked by LOTO to prevent any accident. They also greased the joints of the metal support of this aerator to reduce the noise and ensure a prolonged operation of the aerator.

Wednesday, December 28, 2016

Internship in Nestlé - 27-28th Dec 2016 (8am - 5pm)

Tuesday, 27th Dec 2016 (8am - 5pm)

At 8.15 a.m., I received an email from Tee with the attached file of the Maintenance Plan after being checked by him. He wanted me to update and complete the remaining parts. He also attached the Portable Document Format (PDF) of the P&ID of reverse osmosis (RO) and chlorine dioxide generation and dosing system for my own reference.

At 9.15 a.m., we had a daily review meeting with the operators.

At 10.15 a.m., I observed and recorded the information on the remaining equipment at the DPRS site. Currently, three projects are carried on now in WWTP, which are the installation of a new DAF, DPRS and sludge dewatering system.

Online TOC (Total Organic Carbon) Analyser (taken at the same day)

At 1.30 p.m., I read the book CePIETSO (Biological Processes) and studied the working concepts of the performance monitoring of common biological treatment processes. The definitions and formulae of water parameters are clearly explained, such as biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), sludge volume index (SVI), mixed liquor suspended solids (MLSS), etc.

At 3.40 p.m., I went to WWTP again to observe the DPRS process.


Wednesday, 28th Dec 2016 (8am - 5pm)

At 9.15 a.m., we had a meeting with the operators. The WWTP operator had reported that an oil layer was observed at the balance tank recently.

At 10.00 a.m., I went to the DPRS as usual and recorded the information of the remaining equipment which is available. The task of updating the Maintenance Plan file is ongoing once I collected the data from the DPRS site.

At 1.45 p.m., I read the book CePIETSO (Biological Processes) to learn the examples of calculation of water parameters for the performance monitoring of common biological treatment processes, such as BOD, COD, SVI, MLSS, etc.

At 3.00 p.m., I conducted pipeline tracing in the DPRS site with the aid of P&ID on hands and observed the existing WWTP. I have to be familiar with the detail and location of each equipment in DPRS for the preparation of commissioning in the future. 

Friday, December 23, 2016

Internship in Nestlé - 23rd Dec 2016 (8am - 5pm)

At 9.15 a.m., as usual, we had a meeting with the operators.

At 10.00 a.m., Tee asked me about my progress in preparing the Maintenance Plan and said that he would check it this afternoon. Then I read the book CePIETSO (Biological Processes) which contains information about water treatment. This book consists of many modules and formulae for calculating water parameters.

At 2.00 p.m., Jaclyn told me that she had received the P&ID of the sludge dewatering system. This system is under installation now. She shared this P&ID and briefly explained the process of sludge dewatering to me. I took this opportunity to study sludge management in the industrial sector.

At 2.30 p.m., Jaclyn and I went to the DPRS site to observe and study the process flow again with the aid of P&ID while looking around the existing WWTP. We realized several alterations during the installation of instruments and differences with the arrangement as shown in P&ID.

At 3.30 p.m., we noticed that water was turbid at the second final discharge point. We also realized that there was a sludge overflow at the second clarifier. We quickly opened the valve fully to allow the sediment sludge to flow out from the clarifier for a certain time. Eventually water flow at all final discharge points were clear.

At 4.45 p.m., I emailed the Maintenance Plan to Tee and Jaclyn for checking.

Thursday, December 22, 2016

Internship in Nestlé - 21st & 22nd Dec 2016 (8am - 5pm)

Wednesday, 21st Dec 2016 (8am - 5pm)

At 9.15 a.m., as usual, we had a meeting with the operators. During the safety section, the WWTP operator Desa brought up an issue that it is dangerous when taking the data from the flowmeter installed along the pipeline of the wastewater source as there is a metal bar nearby for the DPRS installation. This issue was recorded down and to be solved.

At 10.00 a.m., I went to the DPRS site to observe and do the pipeline tracing for the upstream (MBRs) again while checking the information I had gathered previously. I updated the Excel file of the Maintenance Plan in the office.

At 11.00 a.m., I began to study and summarize the process description of DPRS and made my own notes for my understanding of the knowledge of DPRS.

At 3.00 p.m., I continued the information checking while observing the remaining part of DPRS, which is the RO system. The installation was ongoing and the chemical dosing systems had not been installed yet.

At 4.00 p.m., I went back to the office while updating the Excel file. Jaclyn had told me that our country, Malaysia is the third country to install the DPRS in water treatment in Nestlé, which is under construction now. DPRS is an advanced technology that reuses and recycles clean water for other purposes as an effort for water sustainable development.

Thursday, 22nd Dec 2016 (8am - 5pm)

At 8.30 a.m., my colleagues Shanji and Jaclyn asked me about my progress on the current task. I had reported to them that certain information was unavailable. We decided to visit the DPRS installation site together this afternoon.

At 9.15 a.m., as usual, we had a meeting with the operators. They had informed us of any issues in their working sites.

At 10.00 a.m., I studied the DPRS process and the function of each equipment, including the purpose of chemical dosing systems using the P&IDs and site layout. This aids me in further understanding the process for my following tasks in the future.

At 2.30 p.m., it was cloudy but three of us still visited the DPRS site to study and trace the pipelines together. I shared my understanding of DPRS with them. We discussed among each other about the existing WWTP and DPRS. Shanji also shared his industrial experience when he observed something at the site.

At the end of the visit, I was glad as they thanked me that I had done a great job of guiding them to understand the process more easily. Throughout the task, I found it very interesting to study P&ID and conduct pipeline tracing of process systems in the actual site at the same time. 

Installation was undergoing (taken at the same day)

Tuesday, December 20, 2016

Internship in Nestlé - 19-20th Dec 2016 (8am - 5pm)

Monday, 19th Dec 2016 (8am - 5pm)

At 9.15 a.m., we had a meeting in the absence of Tee as he was attending a training course for a few days.

At 9.45 a.m., I went to the direct potable reuse system (DPRS) installation site to observe the equipment and instruments after wearing personal protective equipment (PPE), such as a safety helmet, earplug and reflective vest. Around this time the workers were having a short break, so it was convenient for me to trace the pipelines and record the information of equipment and instruments, such as serial numbers and dimensions. This time I only managed to study the upstream of DPRS, which mainly consists of post-treatment aeration basin and membrane bioreactors (MBRs).

Example photo of equipment with serial number

Pressure gauge

At 11.15 am, I analyzed and typed the information recorded just now into the Excel file that was created last week.

At 2.30 p.m., it was after raining. I continued to collect the information on the DPRS site. This time I managed to observe the downstream, which consists of the reverse osmosis (RO) system.

At 4.00 p.m., I analyzed the information before typing it into the Excel file. There was much information to be processed as there were many equipment and instruments.


Tuesday, 20th Dec 2016 (8am - 5pm)

At 8.30 a.m., Bhajan distributed the form of Behavioral Observation (Pemerhatian Perilaku) to all colleagues. He told me that I could fill in the form as feedback to him when noticing any issues relating to safety within the factory site.

At 9.15 a.m., as usual, we had a meeting with the operators.

At 10.00 a.m., I was planning to observe the DPRS, however it was raining heavily. I stayed in the office to update the Maintenance Plan using an Excel file. Besides that, I read the technical description manual prepared by the manufacturer. This manual listed the information and explained the function of each equipment installed in DPRS.

Low range turbidimeter (taken on the same day)

At 2.00 p.m., I began to study the operation manual of DPRS prepared by the manufacturer.

At 3.00 p.m., I went to the DPRS site and traced the pipelines from the beginning to double-check whether the information I obtained was correct since there were several parallel piping equipped with the same instruments.

At 4.00 p.m., I updated and checked the Maintenance Plan using an Excel file in the office.

Friday, December 16, 2016

Internship in Nestlé - 15-16th Dec 2016 (8am - 5pm)

Thursday, 15th Dec 2016 (8am - 5pm)  

At 9.15 a.m., we had a meeting with the operators. We have been informed that recently many production plants have performed shut-down procedures during the end of the year.

At 9.45 a.m., I went to the DPRS installation site to observe the equipment and piping after wearing a safety helmet and reflective vest.  The installation was ongoing and the workers were pouring cement for the construction of the foundation. It was inconvenient for me to walk around safely to study the DPRS system.

At 10.00 a.m., I noticed a piece of metal mesh grate was located at the walkway around the existing DAF unit in WWTP. It was suspected that the metal grate was left after the construction, making a protruding floor surface that was not obvious to be seen. I sent an email to Tee regarding this safety issue.

Protruding floor surface (view 1)

Protruding floor surface (view 2)

At 11.15 a.m., Tee gave me the task of preparing a maintenance plan for DPRS. I have to identify which equipment and instruments are required for maintenance and to list their serial numbers by next Thursday, with the aid of the technical description manual received from him. In addition, he also gave me an instrument list and the P&ID of chlorine dioxide generation and dosing system for my reference.

At 2.00 p.m., as usual, I continued to observe the existing fitting and piping of equipment in WWTP and took notes for updating the P&ID drawn using Microsoft Visio.

Then I began to study the information and manual given before preparing the maintenance plan.

Friday, 16th Dec 2016 (8am - 5pm)

At 9.15 a.m., as usual, we had a routine meeting with the operators.

At 10.00 a.m., it was a short break time for the contractors. I entered the installation site of DPRS to begin my first observation of the DPRS built so far. It is to avoid the site being crowded by people when the installation is continued later. Using the P&ID as a guideline, generally, I managed to trace the flow of DPRS with the fittings along the pipelines. However, some equipment and instruments were pending to be installed.

At 2.00 p.m., I continued the data collecting of DPRS. While observing the flow and piping, I learned the appearance of various types of valves that are commonly used in industrial sites. Then I walked around the existing WWTP to observe the check valves I had missed out so far.

At 3.45 p.m., I started to create a draft of the maintenance plan and typed in the information using Microsoft Excel. Tee had told me to finish the task and there would be further details to be included as well.

Wednesday, December 14, 2016

Internship in Nestlé - 12-14th Dec 2016 (8am - 5pm)

Monday, 12th & Tuesday, 13th Dec 2016 (8am - 5pm)

PUBLIC HOLIDAY


Wednesday, 14th Dec 2016 (8am - 5pm)

At 9.15 a.m., we had a meeting with the operators as usual. Tee informed us that one operator was cut by the sharp protruded edge of a metal insulation pipe during cleaning. He wanted us to learn from this lesson and advised the operators always to identify and report any hazards in their working areas as soon as possible to prevent any accidents.

At 9.30 a.m., Satiya asked me to bring personnel to collect the water sample from the final discharge point. This is a weekly task conducted by the agent to collect the final discharge sample for monitoring the parameters of discharged water and to be reported to DOE.

At 10.00 a.m., Vasu explained to me the structure and piping of the sludge silo which is located near the WWTP control room. However, there was a leakage of sludge from one of the outlets of the silo. He suspected that one of the gate valves had been accidentally opened. He was water spraying on the floor to remove the overflow sludge.

Later Tee had told me that I am allowed to enter the installation site of DPRS from today onwards to trace the piping and flows. However, a safety helmet and reflective vest must be worn at all times when entering the site. He then gave me a reflective vest.

At 11.30 a.m., I went back to the office and updated the P&ID of WWTP based on the data obtained just now.

At 2.45 p.m. onwards, a mechanic was repairing the surface skimmer of the second clarifier as the blade was bent and hit with a scum baffle. The rotating skimmer was stopped and locked using a lockout & tag-out (LOTO) device to avoid any accident in case of unintentionally switching on the machine. 

Friday, December 9, 2016

Internship in Nestlé - 8-9th Dec 2016 (8am - 5pm)

Thursday, 8th Dec 2016 (8am - 5pm)

At 9.15 a.m., we had a short meeting with the operators. The meeting agenda is the safety aspect, followed by any highlights.

At 10.00 a.m., Jaclyn shared the operation manual of the existing RO plant for producing treated water for the boiler. I read it to understand the operation of the RO process.

At 1.45 p.m., I continued to complete the WWTP flow diagram using Microsoft Visio.

At 2.45 p.m., the administrative assistant, Ms. Yvonne informed me that my own company account was ready to use finally. From now onwards I can access the company computer using my account and communicate with others using the given company email address.

At 4.45 p.m., Tee listened to my presentation about my understanding of WWTP on the site. Tee gave me feedback that there are several additional details I should explore and understand by myself. Then he lent me a book titled Self Regulation Approach – Certified Environmental Professionals in IETS Operation (CePIETSO) – Biological Processes.


Friday, 9th Dec 2016 (8am - 5pm)

At 8.30 a.m., I started to read the book CePIETSO (Biological Processes). This book is published by the Environmental Institute of Malaysia (EiMAS). It contains plenty of information and regulations relating to industrial effluent treatment systems (IETS).

At 9.15 a.m., we had a short meeting with the operators. Before the end of the meeting, Tee introduced a new colleague, Shanji to us. He will mainly be in charge of environmental aspects, including WWTP.

At 3.00 p.m., I walked around WWTP with Vasu to observe the flow and piping in WWTP. Vasu was using water to spray on the floor in the DAP area because there was acid leakage from the chemical dosing system.

At 3.45 p.m., I also studied the details of the main influent and effluent from this DAF unit. The influent is from the DAF balance tank and the effluent of DAF is pumped to the aeration tank for further processes. 

Wednesday, December 7, 2016

Internship in Nestlé - 7th Dec 2016 (8am - 5pm)

At 9.15 a.m., we had a routine meeting with the operators. Tee had told us there was a minor accident in the cereal production plant last Saturday. He reminded us to always ensure safety when working in the plant.

Then Tee asked me to help him generate the details of the chiller cooling towers in softcopy. I keyed in the information using Microsoft Excel and submitted the file to him via e-mail.

At 11 a.m., I began to summarize all information and drawings of WWTP for tomorrow's presentation to Tee. Jaclyn had given me several additional information and Power Point slides relating to WWTP.

At 12 a.m., I noticed that the DAF unit was not in operation. This is due to the low level of the DAF balance tank, leading to low incoming flow into the DAF unit. Therefore the DAF unit was temporarily shut down by the operator.

At 3 p.m., I went to the WWTP control room and was informed that the low-level (LL) sensor in the raw pit was not functioning and caused the submersible pump to shut off. The operators replaced a new LL sensor and switched on the pump to return to normal operation.

At 4.15 p.m., Vasu had given a brief explanation to me while observing the equipment in WWTP. The information was about the sludge silo, recirculation pit, clarifiers, outlet from the aeration tank to clarifiers and final discharge point. 

Tuesday, December 6, 2016

Internship in Nestlé - 6th Dec 2016 (8am - 5pm)

At 9.15 a.m., as usual, we had a meeting with the operators. The operators were highlighting any updates of each service section.

At 9.40 a.m., Vasu was with someone at the final discharge sampling point, which is near to the WWTP control room. He told me that every early of month an officer from an agency will come to collect the water samples from several sampling points such as final discharge, aeration tank, balance (equalization) tank, DAF influent and effluent. The officer will analyse the water parameter and report to the Department of Environment (DOE) Malaysia to monitor the quality of discharged water from the industry.

Final discharge point

At 10.30 a.m., I followed Vasu to DAF. I observed the pipelines around the existing DAF unit. He monitored the water condition and adjusted the chemical dosing. Later he explained to me the air saturation unit of DAF. The purpose of air saturation is to produce the raising of suspended solids onto water surfaces in the form of scum by aeration and chemicals, followed by removal of scum by skimming.

While observing the air tubing, suddenly there was a water droplet dropped into my eye. Vasu brought me to wash my eyes using clean water at the washing station. It is suspected there is a leakage around the old DAF unit.

At 1.45 p.m., I continued data gathering and this time observing the chemical dosing systems of the DAF unit. Vasu told me that three types of chemicals are used in dosing systems, which are FeCl3, sulfuric acid and polymers for coagulation and flocculation processes. He also guided me to observe the pipelines, connections and fittings of chemical dosing systems.

At 3.30 p.m., I drew the P&ID for the existing DAF unit using Microsoft Visio based on the information I collected today.

At 4.30 p.m., Jaclyn showed me the operational manual of DPRS consisting of a membrane bioreactor (MBR) and reverse osmosis (RO) system. She told me that recently we have been focusing on this project since the installation of DPRS is ongoing. 

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