[...]Waging am See, Germany HUBER Sludge Thickener excels for its operating reliability and energy efficiency with thickening primary and surplus sludge in automatic mode! In summer 2015, Gemeindewerke Waging (municipal utilities) in the Bavarian Chiemgau district were desperately looking for an energy-efficient, high-performance sludge thickening plant. They wanted a new energy-efficient and well-proven technical solution to replace their old centrifuge which consumed too much energy. Before they decided to buy a new system they tested a HUBER Disc Thickener S-DISC installed in a tank on their sewage treatment plant at Waging. Surplus sludge and separately also primary sludge was thickened in the trials with the aim to optimize digester capacity, gas yield and sludge handling in the overall process on site. After evaluation of all test results it turned out that the excess sludge with 0.6% DS was thickened to > 6% and the primary sludge with 1.8% DS to > 8% by automatic time-lagged operation. To ensure automated operation the initial DS contents of the different sludges is determined so that the plant parameters of the automatic operation system can adjust themselves to varying sludge qualities. The decisive factors in favour of the HUBER Disc Thickener were that our system is robust, reliable and insensitive and demonstrated convincingly its operation efficiency during the test phase. The HUBER Disc Thickener S-DISC is a slowly rotating disc construction that is installed at an angle inside a closed stainless steel tank. The filter disc divides the tank into three areas: solids feeding area, thickening area (supported by chicanes), and sludge discharge area. The pre-flocculated sludge flows from the flocculation reactor onto the filter disc surface and the filtrate set free flows through a mesh and runs off. The remaining sludge is thickened to the requested solids concentration and in the upper section of the disc thickener transported into the thick sludge tank by a scraper system. The major advantage of the HUBER Disc Thickener is that a very high efficiency of sludge thickening can be achieved with low investment and operating costs (see operating results). On WWTP Waging the HUBER Disc Thickener S-DISC is installed in the basement of the operational building. This location has the advantage that the primary sludge and surplus sludge can be taken centrally and the generated thick sludge directly fed to the digester. We would like to take this opportunity to thank Gemeindewerke Waging and the operating staff on WWTP Waging for the problem-free execution of the project and wish them also for the future a failure-free plant operation with the HUBER Disc Thickener. Operating results at the time of plant start-up achieved with thickening surplus and primary sludge: Type of sludge | Surplus sludge | Primary sludge Sludge index|120| oDS|| 78 % initial DS %| 1.0| 1.8 Throughput capacity m³/h| 30| 20 Throughput capacity kg/h| 250| 360 Final DS %| 6 – 8| 6 – 10 Polymer consumption g/kg DS| 3| 3 Separation degree %| > 99| > 99 Rotary disc speed rpm| 1.5 – 3| 3[...]
[...]St Davids, Wales Project Profile HUBER Technology recently completed a project for Dwr Cymru Welsh Water at St Davids STW. HUBER Technology engaged with the client early 2019, the unit was delivered to site late 2022 and commissioned in March 2023. This project was part of the upgrade to the site at St Davids to improve the sludge thickening on site and follows on from the successful project at Fishguard STW. HUBER Technology Supplied 1 x HUBER Containerised S-DISC Sludge Thickener Objective & Solution The primary objective was to reduce the number of tanker movements from this site. This was due to the narrow access in and out of the area and a recent hotel development. There was a need to provide a building or enclosure as none existed on this isolated site. Red line below shows new location of container, with green and blue lines showing feed and return to above ground sludge tanks. SAS and the requirement for the throughput was 16 3 /hr at a thickness of 0.5% D.S. A dry solids of >5% was required for the outlet. The solution also included the provision of a containerised sludge thickener with ancillaries. The containerised unit was supplied with the following: S-DISC 1 sludge thickener c/w flocculation reactor. Thin and thickened sludge pumps. Liquid polymer make-up system. Polymer dosing pump – either diaphragm dosing pump or progressive cavity pump. WIMES 3.04 compliant wardrobe control panel with water company specific choice of automation platform. 20’ High Cube ISO container designed to allow in situ maintenance of all key components. Heating, lighting, and ventilation. Distribution board for connection to site power supply, 400VAC 3ph N+E 100Amp. Galvanised steel floor with under floor cable ducts to provide uncluttered access. Personnel access door. Opening side doors for maintenance and removal of components when necessary. A pair of bi-folding doors the full length of the side of the container for maintenance and removal of components when necessary. HUBER S-DISC Product Profile: Compact, enclosed design Efficient, reliable and simple to operate Low operation and maintenance costs High throughput capacity > 40 m³/hour DfMA Solutions available “Early involvement with Dwr Cymru Welsh Water allowed us to develop a fantastic solution for this site and others in the area. Working directly with the end user meant we could respond quickly to their needs and provide a unit to suit the thickening requirements. Feedback from operations has been very positive to date and Dwr Cymru are seeing the huge benefits of this technology on this site.” Adrian Heneghan – Business Development Manager[...]
[...]Chippenham, UK HUBER Technology recently completed a project for Wessex Water at our local treatment works Chippenham STW in Wiltshire. HUBER Technology were engaged in the design phase of this project prior to order in 2019 and were awarded the project in 2021 and finally commissioned in early 2022. Project Profile Chippenham STW serves the town of Chippenham and its surrounding areas with a PE of approximately 40,000 people. HUBER had been involved on and off in the site since the late 1990’s. The site had 3 2M wide elevated inlet channels, 1 bypass channel and 2 Screen channels with 6mm INKA Step Screens that discharged into a launder; screenings were treated by a single screenings handling unit. Pumped Flow to the inlet works was pumped via 3 Inlet pipes. The INKA Step screens struggled with the increased flow to the site over the 20+ years since installation. They also struggled during storm conditions to deal with the large slugs of rag flushed down the pipes after a dry spell. This resulted in the inlet channels over topping onto the top level and the ground below the inlet works. Since this project HUBER had been regularly engaged to look at improving the effectiveness of the inlet works and screenings handling plant to improve the screenings removal to lessen the impact on the downstream equipment, there were challenges surrounding this due to the site hydraulics and existing screens and screenings handling setup. Due to hydraulic constraints, the inlet works needed to be raised by 900mm, this improved the velocity of the flow through the works. HUBER Technology Supplied: 2 x HUBER Belt Screens EscaMax® V escalator screens 5000x1652/6 60 o 6mm perforated plate screens . 2 x HUBER Screenings Wash Press WAP® L 6 screenings handling plant 1 x HUBER Launder Trough Objective The primary objective was to provide new 6mm inlet Duty/Asist screening to protect the downstream process from screenings and other debris and also provide similar Duty/Assist screenings handling plant to wash and compact the removed screenings. Solution Being our local treatment works, we had been involved in various aspects of the site since the late 1990’s we had plenty of knowledge of the existing inlet works and the problems it suffered with. By early engagement with Wessex Water meant we were able to be involved with the project from the outset. Each screen supplied was required to handle a flow rate of 900 l/sec working on duty/assist basis with the subsequent screenings handling plant being able to handle 6m 3 /hr of screenings also working in Duty/Assist mode. A further challenge was the location of the screenings handling plant, to avoid blocking the access road around the site, this required in the region of 25 metres of launder trough to transport the screenings. The new inlet screenings solution has been found to be very effective. “It was great to re-engage with Wessex Water to get our local treatment works upgraded. We were delighted to engage early to deal with the complex challenges of building this inlet works and to keep the works running during the installation period. We are confident that our design and the equipment supplied would provide the end user with a vast improved performance of the inlet works and downstream processes.” Adrian Heneghan – Area Manager[...]
[...]Stubai Alps, Austria HUBER Global Service recently successfully completed a very special service assignment in Austria. In cooperation with the German Alpine Association (DAV), the wastewater treatment facilities at the Bremer Hütte mountain hut were serviced and optimised. Unique professional experience and challenge The Bremer Hütte, situated at an altitude of 2,413 metres in the Stubai Alps, is a picturesque but also challenging location for HUBER Service. As a base for the German Alpine Club, the hut offers hikers and mountaineers a welcome rest stop. For our HUBER service technicians, the remote location posed a particular logistical and technical challenge, which was mastered with technical expertise, fitness and team spirit – and at the same time provided a unique professional experience. A service call of a special kind HUBER service technician Herbert Schlirf experienced a very special kind of service assignment when he travelled to Austria at the beginning of June. The journey through picturesque landscapes and winding mountain roads to the Gschnitztal, a remote and beautiful valley in the Tyrolean Alps, began early on Saturday morning. Once on site, the first challenge had to be overcome: transporting the necessary tools, machinery and safety equipment up the mountain. A material cable car was chosen as the solution for this, with which all materials and equipment could be transported safely to the hut. HUBER service technician by helicopter to the hut After successfully transporting the materials, our service technician then had to get to the hut himself – by helicopter. The flight offered breathtaking views of the surrounding mountain peaks and was an extremely varied way of getting to the site. Meeting high environmental standards After a safe landing and an initial assessment of the site and the wastewater treatment plant, the service work on the HUBER Micro Strainer ROTAMAT® Ro9 could begin. The service job at the Bremer Hütte included the maintenance and optimisation of the wastewater treatment plant in order to meet the high environmental standards of the German Alpine Club. The repair went without any problems and was successfully completed on the same day. At the end of the day, after the work was done, there was a joint dinner and a relaxing get-together. Our service technician then spent the night in the comfortable accommodation of the Bremer Hütte, surrounded by the idyllic mountain landscape. The next morning, our service technician Herbert Schlirf began his descent on foot. In this way, he was able to enjoy the impressive mountain world of the Alps once again. Once back at the bottom, Herbert then travelled back home to Berching. Wide range of possible applications The service assignment at the Bremer Hütte for the German Alpine Club is an impressive example of the exciting and diverse range of possible assignments at HUBER. Our service technicians experience new challenges every day and work in some of the most beautiful places in the world. One thing is for sure: our service technician Herbert will not forget this assignment in a hurry. And once again it shows that we are at your side at all times and in all places.[...]
[...]Markham, Canada Official groundbreaking ceremony: Markham District Energy (MDE) has announced the start of the world's largest wastewater-to-energy transfer project at its Low Carbon Energy Centre in downtown Markham. MDE will use the HUBER ThermWin system to recover and utilise energy from wastewater. This will significantly reduce the carbon footprint and provide energy for the residents and infrastructure of Markham. 18 MW of low carbon thermal energy The HUBER ThermWin system in this project consists of five HUBER Pumping Stations Screen ROTAMAT® RoK4 700XL and 16 HUBER Heat Exchanger RoWin size 14 units. They will generate 18 MW of low carbon thermal energy which will be used to heat and cool homes and businesses in Markham. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 30,000 tonnes per year The system is expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 30,000 tonnes per year. This will contribute to the climate targets of Ontario and Canada. Henk-Jan van Ettekoven (President, HUBER Technology Inc.): ‘HUBER is very pleased to make an important contribution to MDE's transformative Low Carbon Energy Centre. Our HUBER ThermWin system allows us to tap into the previously unused energy wealth in our existing wastewater infrastructure and utilise it as a renewable energy source. By integrating our ThermWin solution into this project, HUBER and MDE are taking a significant step towards a cleaner, greener future. We look forward to the positive impact this initiative will have on our communities and the environment.’[...]
[...]Manfouha, Saudi Arabia HUBER SE has won the first of three major projects in the field of solar sewage sludge drying in the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh. The long-standing customer Alkhorayef Water&Power Technologies has placed an order with HUBER SE for the supply of 50 lines of HUBER Sludge Turner SOLSTICE®. This also includes the automatic sludge feeding with HUBER Screw Conveyors of a total length of approx. 900 metres. The contractor Alkhorayef Water&Power will operate the Manfouha wastewater treatment plant for a period of 15 years and expand it with various process steps such as solar sewage sludge drying. After the Bahr El-Baqar plant (Egypt), Manfouha will probably be the world's second largest plant for solar sewage sludge drying. The plant will probably not make it into the Guinness Book of Records, but it emphasises HUBER SE's leading market position in the drying sector all the more. We hope to be able to report on further sales successes in the field of solar drying soon. Thanks again to all our colleagues who have supported us in this very ambitious project.[...]
[...]Huddersfield, UK A Wastewater Case Study Through Yorkshire Water’s new £72 million treatment facility at Knostrop, Leeds, where HUBER Technology UK supplied three HUBER Sludge Acceptance Plants ROTAMAT® Ro3 to screen imported sludge, their new facility at Huddersfield, will convert all its waste into renewable energy through a process known as anaerobic digestion and by 2020, 100% of their sludge will be digested. Project Profile Yorkshire Water will have 14 sludge treatment centres in 2020 and currently treats around 150,000 tonnes of sewage sludge each year. These are sludge treatment plants located across the region treating sludge, converting it into a fertiliser, and creating a biogas that is turned into green electricity. This electricity is used to provide power to operate their sewage treatment works. The renewable energy benefits of sludge treatment are helping them keep costs down for customers. They have continued to invest in anaerobic digestion in a move, which will deliver significantly lower operating costs by 2020. HUBER Technology Supplied 2 No. (duty/standby) 1200 mm diameter HUBER Sludge Acceptance Plant ROTAMAT® Ro3 with 6 mm bar spacings to screen imported sludge. 2 No. (duty/standby) 1200 mm diameter HUBER Sludge Acceptance Plant ROTAMAT® Ro3 with 6 mm bar spacings to screen re-wetted cake. The above screens were supplied c/w local control stations pre-wired in the workshop prior to delivery of the plant to site. Solution HUBER Technology’s ROTAMAT® Ro3 Sludge Acceptance Plants were again chosen to provide solutions for the screening of imported sludge and re-wetted cake at the new Huddersfield treatment centre. In addition, HUBER Technology have supplied sludge screening solutions at other Yorkshire Water sludge treatment centres, such as Hull, Blackburn Meadows, Esholt, Dewsbury and many other sites. In total, HUBER Technology have installed over 70 HUBER ROTAMAT® Ro3 Sludge Acceptance Plants in the Yorkshire Water area, helping them achieve their output for renewable energy generation. Product Profile The HUBER Sludge Acceptance Plant ROTAMAT® Ro3 is designed and built as a packaged item of plant and like all HUBER products, is manufactured completely from stainless steel. It provides high removal efficiency, low head loss as well as longevity of service. The entire screening process takes place in a closed system avoiding odour annoyance, but the machines can be connected to odour control systems when required. The efficiency and rugged construction is able to cope with throughputs up to 230 m³/h. Compact construction, together with intelligent technology ensure reliable and continuous operation. Dale Foster, HUBER’s Area Manager for Yorkshire Water commented: “It is always pleasing to be considered the number one supplier of a particular solution by any client, but we have worked hard with the client to comply with their stringent asset standards and specifications. Like any reputable company, we are always keen to take on board observations and ideas from those who operate the equipment and a number of improvements to the HUBER ROTAMAT® Ro3 Sludge Acceptance Plant have come as direct result of feedback from Yorkshire Water personnel. Having these screens installed at many of Yorkshire Water’s sludge treatment facilities has given us a better insight into what they are trying to achieve and we are pleased to be a part of their ongoing success in providing green electricity both now and in the future. This excellent relationship has also provided us with the opportunity to promote some of our other exciting sludge treatment solutions, such as our HUBER Disc Thickener S-DISC and HUBER Rotary Screw Thickener S-DRUM sludge thickeners and our HUBER Screw Press Q-PRESS® sludge dewaterer. They are creating significant interest from Yorkshire Water and we can only assume that some of this is related to the reliability and performance of the HUBER sludge acceptance plant ROTAMAT® Ro3 they have had many years of experience with. I am confident Yorkshire Water will benefit from the reliability and robustness of this equipment and it will be expertly and professionally supported by our team of Service Engineers based at our Rotherham depot.”[...]
[...]Utzenaich, Austria HUBER air filter plants are able to achieve separation efficiencies in excess of 99.95% In some water chambers condensation drops occur on the ceiling and walls. This should generally be prevented through sufficient insulation of the ceiling, sloping ceilings or through special coatings. Frequently, however, the problem cannot be solved with static methods. In 2011 already, we published a report about our experience with retrofitting forced ventilation systems in the elevated reservoir Utzenaich in Austria. When the reservoir with two rectangular chambers with 250 m³ capacity each was built in 2007 it had to meet high hygiene standards. The equipment components included stainless steel lining, sloping ceiling and air supply line with integrated air filter and underground loop with a slope to the air cooling and condensate discharge. HUBER air filter plants type L251 to L662 filter the air with a class H13 HEPA filter (HEPA = High Efficiency Particulate Filter or filter for suspended matter). According to DIN 1822:2011 filter class H13 means a separation degree (integrated measurand) of > 99.95 %. This is standard for operating rooms. The types L361 to L662 have a class M5 fine filter as pre-filter in addition to the H13 HEPA filter (according to EN 779:2012). Note: A water chamber with air supply via a HUBER air filter plant 'breathes' air as pure as in operating rooms of hospitals. But: There are people working in an operating room who breathe in and out producing used air. Therefore, routing of supply air and exhaust air flows is provided for in these rooms. We followed the example of such rooms and adapted this solution as far as necessary. Similar to the people working in operating rooms the water surface gives off humidity to the air. What is needed in the water chamber if it comes to condensation, in addition to the air filter plant, is forced ventilation (via ventilators) and exhaust air routing. The water reservoir at Utzenaich was the first successful test to eliminate condensation through forced ventilation. In the course of the following years a number of other reservoirs were equipped with forced ventilation in addition to the existing air filters. In all these reservoirs condensation could be minimised. Another advantage of this measure is that the whole system, starting from the ventilator, is in a status of slight overpressure so that the entry of unfiltered air into the water chamber is reliably prevented. What we do not know in detail is the behaviour of the relative air humidity in the area between the water surface and water chamber ceiling. Anyway, it does not make much sense to measure this profile because the frame conditions differ from case to case so that it is impossible to draw conclusions from one to the next case. Now as air filter plants have been used for 15 years, the installation of an air filter plant should meanwhile have become state-of-the-art, although binding regulations do not yet exist. If a new plant has been built of which all constructions are state-of-the-art or an old plant has been refurbished with taking all measures of condensate prevention that have been realisable with a justifiable budget but the condensate problem still exists, it is sufficient to know that condensation can most certainly be stopped completely by retrofitting forced ventilation (ventilator with approx. 150 – 250 Pa pressure increase in the operating range) and an air filter plant (unless there is one installed already) plus an outlet air line with an easy-to-open pipe plug (Δp approx. 80 – 120 Pa) or defined outlet air routing (which must not necessarily be a line).[...]
[...]Roeselare + Beringen, Belgium HUBER SE will supply a total of five HUBER Belt Dryer BT units to the Belgian company Aquafin for the two sites in Roeselare and Beringen. The plants for drying and thermal utilisation of sewage sludge will treat a minimum capacity of 32,500 tonnes of dry substance or 120,446 tonnes of original substance with a dry residue (DR) content of 27% per year. In addition to the HUBER belt dryers, the scope of supply includes the entire wet sludge logistics, cooling water supply, exhaust air treatment for the dryer and bunker exhaust air as well as the treatment and storage of the dry sludge. The total order for HUBER SE for approx. 40 million euros was placed in mid-2023. Project constellation The project is carried out by a team of three companies: Contractor: Stadsbader Group Technology partner for sludge drying: HUBER SE Engineering and study: Sweco For the end customer Aquafin, this combines the strengths of a healthy construction company, a specialised technology partner in drying technology and an experienced engineering company with specific experience in the fields of hydraulic engineering, civil engineering, hydrology and (geo)stability. The collaboration between the Stadsbader Group, HUBER and Sweco guarantees high-quality project execution thanks to local roots on the one hand and process and technical expertise on the other. After submitting the approval documents at the end of 2023, the environmental permit for the Beringen site was granted after just over six months. The permit for the plant in Roeselare is also expected this year. This means that the engineering phase for this major project is as good as complete and the first work can start on site this year. 20 years, 82 plants and 1.8 million tonnes of sludge per year In the last 20 years, HUBER Belt Dryers have processed 1.8 million tonnes of sludge per year in 82 plants worldwide. With the appointment of HUBER as technology partner, the project partners can draw on decades of practical experience in the supply, installation and commissioning of sludge drying plants. HUBER has already gained regional experience with its drying technology in the Benelux region: one of the largest belt drying plants, probably the largest in the world, is currently being built at the customer HVC in Alkmaar. Aquafin – current sludge chain Aquafin is a Belgian company that was founded in 1990 by the Flemish government and is responsible for the inter-municipal infrastructure and treatment of domestic wastewater. Every year, it produces around 350,000 tonnes of dewatered sludge with an average dry residue of 27%. The disposal of this sludge is currently organised via three disposal routes: One third of the sludge is dried using residual heat and fossil fuels and then utilised externally in the cement industry (co-incineration). One third is dewatered and processed under autothermal conditions in the sewage sludge recycling plant in Bruges. The remaining third is also dewatered and thermally recycled together with industrial waste by an external company. Aquafin – new sludge chain From 2026, Aquafin will initially dry up to a third of the dewatered sludge using HUBER Belt Dryer technology as part of its climate and energy targets. This will be done using residual heat that would otherwise be lost. For this purpose, two largely analogue drying plants will be built in Roeselare and Beringen. The sewage sludge delivered by lorry from around 40 different sewage treatment plants is fed directly into the HUBER Belt Dryers by a crane system from the bunker via a downstream moving floor and thick sludge pumps. In the Beringen plant, a total of 84,446 tonnes of dewatered sewage sludge per year are dried from 27 % to 90 % DR at an inlet temperature of 110 °C. Three HUBER Belt Dryers BT 28 are used for this purpose. In the Roeselare plant, two HUBER Belt Dryers BT 22 are used to dry 36,000 t/a of dewatered sewage sludge from 27 % to 90 % DR at an inlet temperature of 90 °C. The bunker and dryer exhaust air are treated separately, with the dryer exhaust air undergoing a 4-stage cleaning process – with scrubbers, biofilters and downstream activated carbon filters. After drying, the sewage sludge is fed into a pellet press by screw conveyors and a bucket conveyor. The cooled pellets are then stored in dry material silos before being transported to Ghent. Construction of a mono-incineration plant in Ghent Aquafin will build a mono-incineration plant on the site of the steel company ArcelorMittal in the port of Ghent by 2026, in which the sewage sludge dried in Beringen and Roeselare will be utilised. ArcelorMittal will purchase 100% of the steam generated by the sludge treatment plant. For the steel company, this is an additional source of energy for its internal steam network, further reducing the use of fossil fuels. The direct purchasing of the entire steam production in combination with the focus on raw material recovery (phosphorus) gives the overall project considerable ecological added value. This new plant will be designed, built, financed and maintained until 2046 by the BESIX Indaver consortium. A prime example of sustainable resource management With its belt drying technology, HUBER is making a significant contribution to Aquafin's goal of no longer using fossil fuels by 2030 and becoming a climate-neutral company in the long term. In addition, waste heat is utilised directly at the point of origin and the dried sewage sludge is transported to the utilisation site as an energy source. The large-scale Aquafin project is therefore a transferable example of sustainable resource management.[...]
[...]Machines and plants for wastewater treatment are usually installed as permanent installations in structures and buildings due to process engineering necessities. This usually requires extensive preliminary investigations, studies, concepts, planning, authorisations, tenders and construction phases involving and coordinating a wide range of different trades. This is usually a lengthy, costly and capital-intensive process. Systems that are not permanently installed but temporarily rented are the alternative. Their short-term availability is also particularly advantageous, which is why rental systems can also be selected for short-term breakdowns, construction work or to bridge a gap. With fixed monthly payments, this model offers many industries an interesting option to the large amount of capital tied up in permanent installations. Such rental systems have been and continue to be in demand, particularly from the industrial sector, but also from municipal plant operators, and we are already supplying them with machines from the HUBER pilot plant and used machine stock. Due to the steady increase in enquiries, HUBER is now starting the targeted expansion of the business for rental plants, including the necessary services. The following plant types are currently available (each fully equipped in containerised and skid-mounted design, with control system and necessary accessories): HUBER Dissolved Air Flotation HDF plants up to 80 m³/h throughput, for pre- and secondary treatment of municipal wastewater (reduction of filterable solids, grease and COD) HUBER Screw Press Q-PRESS ® units for dewatering industrial and municipal sludge and residues Ultra-fine screens with up to 80 µm separation efficiency In the medium term, the existing machinery will be expanded to include further technologies and plants, each in mobile design. Get in touch with us, either via your known contact person or by e-mail to rent@huber.de ![...]