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[...]Freystadt, Germany Due to the new regulations and legislation for sewage sludge, disposal costs have doubled for many sewage treatment plants or increased to far more than 100 € per ton original substance. The reason for the cost increase is that the standard solution for meeting the requirements of the new legislation is sludge incineration. Incineration capacities are however unequally distributed and exploited to a large extent, and transport ways have become longer on many sites. Disposal costs can be reduced if the sludge volume is reduced through drying. The Bavarian municipality Freystadt decided to build its own decentralized solution: a complete sludge treatment plant that processes wet thin sludge into dry granulate installed at the beginning of last year has since been operated fully automatically there. “Of course, we had to get familiar with the new technology in the beginning, but after a while we knew how everything works. Now, it takes us not more than one and a half hour per day to handle the complete sludge treatment on site”, said plant manager Johann Weihrich. The sludge treatment plant consists of a screw press and a solar sewage sludge drying system. Since years, solar sewage sludge drying has been a recognized technology for producing dry grains from a partly sticky sludge cake, reducing the sludge volume to approximately a quarter at the same time. Solar sludge drying represents an economically efficient method if the disposal price is approx. 80 € per ton or higher – and there are hardly any operating costs. The low operating costs include low energy consumption and a very good climate balance. On STP Freystadt, the installation of the solar sewage sludge drying plant resulted in a number of advantages: before the plant was built, contract dewatering companies emptied the sludge storage ponds at regular intervals. Emptying the ponds meant considerable efforts and operating expense: stirring the 8,000 m³ large sludge ponds for homogenisation, the load on the treatment stages due to the filtrate water, the effort necessary to regularly set up the mobile machines, and sludge removal and transport. Stationary dewatering eliminates peak loads caused by the filtrate water, ensures that the dry granulate is pourable and not sticky so that sludge transport is clean and easy. Moreover, sludge volumes are significantly reduced: only 180 t/a have to be removed from the plant. The example of STP Freystadt shows that a completely automated sludge treatment plant can be an economical solution even for smaller sites. HUBER SE could win the tender worked out by the engineering office Miller, Nuremberg. HUBER built the complete mechanical systems, had the structures erected and put the plant into operation – the complete plant from a single source, with all units perfectly attuned to each other. The thin sludge is homogenised in a supply tank of the ponds and pumped 350 m up to the sludge dewatering building where it is conditioned with the HUBER Inline Polymer Mixer IPM, a newly developed HUBER product. The mixer not only increases the dry residue at the outlet of the sludge dewatering system, it ensures also that outgassing in the sludge line is no problem for operation. The sludge is dewatered by the well-proven HUBER Screw Press Q-PRESS ® . The dewatered sludge cake is discharged into the HUBER Screw Conveyor Ro8 T that transports the sludge into the greenhouse. There, the HUBER Sludge Turner SOLSTICE ® takes over, breaking up and continuously turning over the sludge while transporting it through the greenhouse. A climate control system in the greenhouse ensures that optimal drying results are achieved. The system relates the electrical energy consumption of the ventilators to the drying efficiency to decide whether it is economical to activate the ventilators. The nearby sports field, playing ground and a club house for motorbike friends do not have to fear odour annoyance. The continuous process avoids odour peaks. Due to the intensive turn-over of the sludge bed by the sludge turner and backmixing of dry granulate into the wet sewage sludge, odour-producing processes are prevented. To backmix the sludge, the sludge turner with its tools takes in the granulate at the end of the drying way and transports it back to drop it at a defined point. The space on STP Freystadt is limited. The traffic areas required around the sludge treatment plant had to be kept as small as possible. As the SOLSTICE ® returns the material, feeding of wet sludge and removal of dry granulate can take place on the same side so that only one access to the drying hall needs to be built. After the plant operators’ decision to build the plant, they did not commission a contract dewaterer anymore. Due to the very good dewatering results and excellent performance of the solar dryer, it was however no problem to process within one year all the sludge that had accumulated over the year plus the freshly generated sludge. Plant manager Johann Weihrich is very satisfied with his new plant: ”It was the right decision. We have now a plant that works really well. Maintenance, process control, operation – the plant is designed to ensure that everything is smooth, easy and clean.”[...]

[...]United Utilities, Warrington, England Background In 2017, United Utilities started work on a four-year improvement project at Blackburn and Darwen WwTW. This work included: Extending the current works at Blackburn WwTW to construct new tanks, buildings and improve the treatment process. Taking existing wastewater flows from Darwen WwTW through to Blackburn WwTW by installing a new connecting pipe and upgrading the existing tanks. Constructing new storm tanks and new pipeline to transfer wastewater to Blackburn WwTW from Nabs Head WwTW. Blackburn WwTW treats principally domestic crude sewage from the Blackburn catchment, with two major additional contributions; a high strength trade effluent from a brewery and an ammonia rich return liquor flow from the sludge treatment plant. It was identified at an early stage the benefits of maintaining a gravity solution through the treatment process, taking advantage of the natural topography of the site and avoiding the need for the ongoing costs of interstage pumping. Scope of the project A new inlet channel to feed a 72,000m³ in situ concrete structure was built to house the innovative Nereda® aerobic granular biomass technology. The Nereda® system treats crude sewage that has only received preliminary treatment and has been developed to treat the full flow and peak load at the works; i.e. a complete replacement and expansion of the existing wastewater treatment plant with a flow to full treatment (FTFT) of 3,000 l/s. The Main Contractor awarded the sub-contract to HUBER Technology in 2019 for 3x HUBER Rotary Screw Thickener S-DRUM sludge thickeners designed to process sludge arising from the Nereda® process. This contract followed on from a similar project United Utilities completed at Kendal WwTW where again, the S-DRUM sludge thickeners process sludge arising from the Nereda® process. Sludge thickening process requirements: Sludge type: From the Nereda® process Maximum dry solids content of incoming sludge: 0.80 % Maximum outlet sludge concentration: 5.0 – 8.0 % Maximum throughput required: 153 m³/hour Operating periods: Up to 24 hours per day 7 days per week Mode of thickener operation: Duty/assist/standby Solids recovery minimum: 95% HUBER Technology scope The design, manufacture, supply, delivery, mechanical installation, of: 3 x (duty/assist/standby) HUBER S-DRUM 4L sludge thickeners c/w flocculation reactors. 3 x sets of polymer mixing valves and injection rings. 3 x thickened sludge pumps. Commissioning and the training of O&M staff. The majority of S-DRUM sales have been used for thickening SAS, co-settled and mixed sludge from conventional processes. The experience gained dealing with sludge arising from the Nereda process will showcase the S-DRUM for the increased take up of this process in the future. Unlike other drum thickeners that are predominantly installed horizontally, the S-DRUM is installed at an angle i.e. inclined. This has several advantages, with the main one being there is no requirement to elevate them on support platforms to enable thickened sludge pumps to be located under the sludge discharge point. This can significantly reduce the cost and the time taken to complete the installation of the overall solution as well as reducing the overall carbon footprint. Other advantages include: 20% reduction in operating costs versus GBT’s. 50% reduction in maintenance costs. Low energy requirements. Lower volume and pressure washwater demand. Less susceptible to ragging. Slow rotation/operation results in significantly less wear. Robust stainless steel wedge wire ‘screen’ built to last the asset life of the equipment. Dale Foster, HUBER Technology’s Area Manager commented, “ It was great to secure the first contract to supply our S-DRUM sludge thickeners within the United Utilities area for the Kendal WwTW Project and even better to receive a second contract to supply them on this high profile Blackburn WwTW project. I have tracked the performance of the S-DRUM’s since I started with HUBER technology over 25 years ago and I am confident they will prove as popular and reliable as they are in many other areas of the UK and Ireland. ”[...]

[...]Plymouth, England Background Site operators at Plymouth Central STW wanted a more reliable and less labour intensive option to de-watering than a centrifuge. South West Waters requirements were lowest WLC, low operator attendance and simple operation South West Water had been looking at alternative dewatering technologies with lower TOTEX to potentially replace existing veteran centrifuge assets and tasked preferred contractor Kier to offer solutions for the Plymouth Central and Maer Lane WwTWs. Plymouth Central serves a Population Equivalent of around 320,000 and, being on a coastal port receives higher proportions of saline and fat than other in-land works typically do. Maer Lane serves a small population on the outskirts of Exmouth On site previously was a 2002 centrifuge unit with 45 kW main drive and 7.5 kW back drive which operates from around 6:30 AM to 9 PM as required, running at around 30 m³/h. Kier undertook the process evaluation which compared Whole Life Costs, operational requirements and product support. Solution HUBER worked with Kier, undertaking trials to demonstrate the machine to SWW operations who wanted to touch and feel the machine and satisfy them that the machine was simple, robust and easy to operate. The trial data not only satisfied SWW that this - first of its kind in their region - was what they needed but provided hard data to confirm WLC in terms of power and chemical consumption as well as enabling accurate sizing. HUBER Screw Press sludge dewaterers are designed to provide efficient, fully-automatic, mechanical dewatering of sludge once the diluted polymer dose into the feed sludge has been adjusted correctly to provide a suitable flocc. The enclosed design serves to reduce the odours, noise and the potential requirement for operator attendance due to spills that can be associated with other dewatering technologies on some sites. The low operating speed of the screw presses reduces wear and energy demand. For the trial to take place, a HUBER Screw Press 280 was tested on indigenous co-settled chemically-assisted lamella-settled DensaDeg Primary and humus-like BAFF secondary sludges from the Plymouth Central site as well as imported similar sludges from the site at Maer Lane WwTW. The feed sludge during the trial varied from 4.6 to 5.15% DS with an average active polymer usage of 4.7-4.8 kg/tDS with an average cake dryness of 33% and minimum of 28.6%. As a comparison the existing centrifuge was using around 8-10 kg/tDS of polymer based on a throughput of 25-30 m³/day to produce cake at around 23%. A sample of the trial results from a single day are shown in the adjacent table. Following the successful trial Huber Technology were asked to tender for the supply of the permanent units for both of the sites at Maer Lane and Plymouth Central. The sludge feed at both sites was specified as 4.5% DS with a feed rate at Maer Lane of 10.22m³/hr and at Plymouth Central a feed rate of 35.55 m³/hr. The HUBER Screw Press 800.2 model was selected for both sites with a single unit required at Maer Lane and three units required at Plymouth Central. Following a successful tender submission Huber Technology were awarded both projects in January 2019 with installation and commissioning due to take place in July 2019. Client Benefits SWW now have an alternative to centrifuges with a demonstrable WLC benefit together with Operators who have bought into the equipment and are supportive of the change. 50% polymer saving 80% power savings (typical) 6 fold maintenance savings are achieved[...]

[...]The efficient flocculant mixer achieves a significant reduction of operating costs Conditioning of the sludge to be processed with polymeric flocculants is a precondition for the mechanical dewatering of sewage sludge. The focus is typically on the optimal flocculant dose as this is the factor that influences directly the dewatering results and flocculant consumption, and thus the largest portion of the operation costs. Turning the attention to sludge conditioning as the determining process step for dewatering, it becomes apparent however that also the mixing intensity and flocculant solution concentration have a significant impact on dewatering results and flocculant consumption. Dynamic inline mixers are a suitable solution to increase the mixing intensity compared to frequently used static mixers or slowly running stirrers in big-volume tanks. This compact type of mixer operates at a rotary speed of up to 3000 rpm directly in the sludge feed line of the dewatering unit. Advantages of dynamic mixers: The comparably high mixer speed achieves a turbulent and thus ideal admixture of the flocculant. All solid particles have contact with the flocculant and the flocks all have virtually the same size. The formation of very small flocks or big instable agglomerates is minimized with the result of an increased water loss of the flocks in the dewatering machine. Due to the faster loss of water, it is possible to increase the throughput of the dewatering unit or optimize the dewatering degree. With a specific energy input of up to 20 kWh/t DR , even highly viscous liquids can be mixed under turbulent conditions. The concentration of the flocculant solution can therefore be increased from typically 0.2% to 0.4% effective substance, i.e. the volume of dilution water for preparing the flocculant can be halved. This reduces the hydraulic load on the dewatering system, which in turn has a positive impact on the dewatering degree. If the flocculant is prepared with drinking water, also the current costs for the dilution water can be halved. Furthermore, a smaller size of the flocculant preparation plant is sufficient for the same maturation time. The smaller design makes the plant cheaper and the storage stability of the highly concentrated flocculant increases significantly. Practical experience The sewage treatment plant of the Hessian spa town Bad Orb has operated a screw press for digester sludge dewatering since 2016. The screw press is fed three times a day for 4-5 hours with a sludge volume of 5 to 6 m³/h. The dewatering properties of the digested sludge were increasingly influenced negatively by the processed grease separator material from restaurants and co-substrates from food industries. With a flocculant volume of 15 kg/t DR , the dewatering degree reached was frequently only 21% DR. Since the integration of the dynamic HUBER Inline Polymer Mixer IPM upstream of the screw press, the dewatering degree has increased by 3% and the specific flocculant demand has been reduced by approximately 15%. The dynamic mixer is operated with a rotary speed of 2200 rpm and has a power consumption of 2.2 kW. The effective substance in the flocculant solution is 0.3%. The new HUBER Inline Polymer Mixer has also considerably improved the operational reliability of the sludge press. The previous mixing unit became frequently clogged with contaminants contained in the external sludges. Now, such problems belong to the past.[...]

[...]Redesign reduces the hazard potential Whether we develop new products or redesign existing machines, we always do this considering also the safety aspects that are important to minimise the hazard potentials when handling our products as required by the Machinery Directive. How important it is to pay special attention to product safety could be seen only last year on a competitor’s solar sewage sludge dryer installation in Bavaria where a tragic accident happened. This was even more reason for us to once again look very thoroughly at our safety systems and further improve them. When we recently redesigned the HUBER Sludge Turner SOLSTICE®, we completely revised the safety system of the entire sewage sludge drying plant. The innovative heart of the solar sewage sludge dryer The HUBER Sludge Turner SOLSTICE® is the innovative heart of the solar sewage sludge dryer and operates in a greenhouse both as a sludge turning and sludge transporting system for the sludge to be dried. Depending on the different specific conditions on site (throughput, air moisture, inside and outside temperature, ...), the especially developed control unit controls the travel and rotation of the HUBER Sludge Turner SOLSTICE®. New feature of the safety concept The new feature of the safety concept is that the access to the operating area of the automatically operating machine is consistently monitored electronically. Whenever somebody walks into this area, the machine will be shut down by the emergency circuit. This prevents severe injury. It was further of great importance for us to ensure that the safety devices cannot be bypassed and will not be perceived as uncomfortable or disturbing. Their new design is therefore still very functional and user-friendly. The entrance area where the wet sludge is fed is equipped with a 3-beam light grid that allows the operator to directly inspect the machine any time without interrupting the operation cycle of the HUBER Sludge Turner SOLSTICE®. Feeding the sludge with a wheel loader is safe and easy. The interface between the man-operated machine (wheel loader) and the automated movement of the sludge turner is controlled by the light grid. The wheel loader can drive directly into the operating area and bring in sludge without having to remove fences or similar installations before. It is at the same time ensured that the HUBER Sludge Turner SOLSTICE ® does not start to move. The rear gates and the maintenance doors are equipped with monitoring sensors. When the doors or gates are opened, the emergency circuit will be interrupted. Signs are additionally mounted at all mechanical entrances to warn of potential hazards. The new safety system will be applied for the first time in the project Denizli in Turkey, the biggest solar sewage sludge drying project by now that will be equipped with HUBER machines. An annual amount of 25,000 t press sludge will be dried on the Denizli site in the future by 8 HUBER Sludge Turner SOLSTICE® units, size 11. The second project where the new safety system will be used is not 2,000 km away like Denizli but only 10 km from the HUBER headquarters, on STP Freystadt. A solar sewage sludge drying plant will be built there, for which HUBER will supply a complete solution.[...]

[...]The advanced treatment of sewage sludge or industrial residual sludge is increasingly gaining in importance also for industrial customers. Whereas, until recently, the common strategy was to pass the sludge on to disposal companies at low costs, this has now become more and more complicated, difficult and especially more expensive due to the modified and now more stringent German Fertilizer Regulation and Waste Sewage Sludge Ordinance and because of the generally increasing costs in the disposal industry. Therefore, industrial customers increasingly concern themselves with strategies how to additionally treat their sludges on site using the residual heat from the process or wastewater. In addition to the significant sludge volume reduction and the utilisation of exhaust heat energy, the dry sludge, due to its high heat value, often represents also a valuable fuel for use in the own incineration plant on site. HUBER customers from disposal industries chose the opposite approach. They are service providers for municipalities and industries, establishing centralized sludge treatment centres with utilisation of residual heat from other treatment technology units. On the other hand, customers from the power plant and energy supply sector are interested in refuse derived fuel, not least because coal combustion will be abandoned in the future, secure for themselves sewage sludge contingents and invest into the appropriate drying technology. HUBER SE provides comprehensive customer advice, depending on the specific requirements up to the thermal utilisation of the sewage sludge. Contact us! Project: paper industry in Brazil A paper industry in Brazil generates with its own wastewater treatment plant up to 45 m³/h (1 – 5 % DS) surplus sludge. Up to now, the surplus sludge has been dewatered and transported to a landfill. For cost reasons, the sludge will in the future be dewatered to > 21% with five HUBER Screw Press Q-PRESS® 800.2 units and then dried to approx. 90% solids content with a HUBER Belt Dryer BT 30. The dryer is designed for a throughput of 45,000 t dewatered sewage sludge. The dried sludge is fed to the company’s own biomass incineration plant and the energy produced there is used for sewage sludge drying – a cycle with optimal exploitation of otherwise unutilized heat sources. Delivery and installation of the plant components starts in the middle of 2019, commissioning is planned for the beginning of 2020. Project: disposal industry in Germany A disposal company in Southern Germany provides the service of disposing residual materials from municipal sewage treatment plants (grit trap material, screenings, sewage sludge) and diverse types of sludge and residues, mainly form the food industry, industrial kitchens and other industrial companies. To increase the capacity and economic efficiency of their plant, they have decided to install a HUBER Belt Dryer BT 24 with up to 40,000 t/a throughput capacity. The installation of the dryer is scheduled to take place at the end of 2019, commissioning in spring 2020. Furthermore, in the medium term, they also want to recover phosphorus from the dried sludge.[...]

[...]Novelty – HUBER Sludgecleaner STRAINPRESS® 420 With nearly 1000 produced machines, the HUBER Sludgecleaner STRAINPRESS® 290 is one of the most proven HUBER products. To complement or as an alternative to fine screens installed in channels, the STRAINPRESS® permits the separation of solids even from closed pipeline systems. In contrast to conventional screening systems, the STRAINPRESS® not only separates solid material, it also dewaters the material before discharging it. Typical screen perforations used for screening primary sludge are 3 mm or 5 mm, with the screenings being dewatered to dry substance contents of 35 to 45% already in the discharge of the STRAINPRESS®. To adjust to varying sludge qualities and solids properties, the screw speed and contact pressure of the dewatering unit are regulated automatically according to the pressure conditions and the motor load of the STRAINPRESS®. It is, however, not only the screen perforation that is easily adjustable. The dewatering area can also be adjusted to different screenings properties due to its modular design. The STRAINPRESS® is therefore suitable for coarse screening of biosubstrate as well as for separating fine plastic particle from the fermentation product of biogas plants. With the use of the newly developed size 420 of the HUBER Sludgecleaner STRAINPRESS® presented now, it is possible to separate and dewater up to 2000 l/h screenings with sludge throughputs in excess of 150 m³/h. The new unit size is of course suitable to be integrated into pressure lines completely odour-encased easy to retrofit with screen perforations from 2 mm to 10. All components of the new system size are made of corrosion-resistant stainless steel, as with all other sizes. To minimize wear, the outer edges of the screw shaft are equipped with a replaceable protection on a carbide basis.[...]

[...]Bayreuth, Germany In a new sludge treatment plant in Bayreuth the sludge from 300,000 PE is dewatered and dried – fully automatically, with the use of exhaust heat and exhaust air treatment. The project is still in the construction phase. The new plant will process the generated sludge from 2016 on. From the dewatering system into the dryer The digester sludge with a DR content of between 2.5 and 3.5% is dewatered by two centrifuges and automatically transported into the solar dryer by screw conveyors.The dry residue is measured automatically by a probe so that polymer consumption can be optimized and dewatering efficiency can be regulated. The downstream screw conveyors are frequency-converter controlled to ensure that wear is reduced to the minimum with the selected transport capacity. The plant operators also have the possibillity to adjust varying throughputs on the centrifuges and screw conveyors. Inside a Venlo greenhouse the press cake is evenly distributed onto five individual lines. If one or several lines should fail, the electrical control system automatically changes the feed to the plant so that the remaining lines process the generated sludge. The dewatered sludge can optionally be conveyed directly into a container if necessary. From press cake to dry granulate While the HUBER machine turns and transports the fed sludge through the greenhouse the sludge gives off humidity to the air and arrives as a dry globular granulate at the end of the drying beds. The special feature of the HUBER machine is the unique sludge turner: The sludge is moved by the permanently rotating double shovel of the HUBER Sludge Turner SOLSTICE® so that the sludge is rolled to round compact grains and intensively exposed to air at the same time. The double shovel can however also be used to selectively displace the sludge. For this purpose the SRT sludge turner takes up sludge into one of its shovels and places the sludge turning tool into horizontal position. The HUBER SRT can thus not only backmix dry sludge into wet sludge, it also provides the possibility to feed wet sludge and remove dry sludge on the same side of the dryer, like it is the case on the Bayreuth site. The SRT sludge turner is installed to ensure that 99% of the surface covered with sludge is processed. The double shovel is able to move so close to the boundary walls that virtually no sludge remains in the corners. The turner shovels are driven by high-performance motors so that up to 1,000 m³ sludge can be turned per hour. In the first zone the sludge is still quite wet so that composting effects may start with reduced sludge bed activity. To prevent this HUBER machine moves the organically highly active sludge every 15 minutes and thus eliminates undesired composting effects. Such intensive and complete sludge bed treatment enhances water extraction, improves the mechanical treatability of the sludge, reduces odour emissions and produces a well dried stable end product – a free-flowing and easy-to-process dry granulate. Wind and heat dry the sludge A number of grade heaters are installed above the sludge bed which introduce exhaust heat from a nearby biogas plant into the sludge drying process. The greenhouse is equipped with a special condensate drain system which reduces remoistening of the sludge to a minimum. The grade heaters are made of galvanized steel to prevent corrosion and dimensioned to ensure that the desired amount of heat is supplied even in case of pollution. Furthermore, ventilators are mounted above the sludge bed, they move the dry and hot air above the drying surface through the greenhouse. The ventilators are speed controlled. As requested, they can rotate very fast and produce powerful air turbulences on the sludge bed or rotate slowly for energy-optimised operation. When the air arrives at the feed end of the dryer it is saturated due to the moist sludge and removed from the system via an exhaust air treatment system. The two-stage washer was manufactured under factory conditions and only needed to be mounted on site. All sealings are therefore of high quality. The air flow is routed through the washer as cross flow. The pressure losses are reduced through exhaust air treatment with the result of reduced power consumption. The dry granulate is collected, stored and quickly carried out for removal Screws transport the dry granulate to a bucket conveyor which delivers the sludge into a horizontal silo. The sludge is quickly removed from the silo. The granulate can be loaded with loading bellows either onto an open dump truck or onto a closed silo truck. The silo is set on weighing cells so that it is possible to control the fill level and avoid overloading of the truck. Outlook and conclusion The whole mechanical and electrical equipment is installed centrally on one side of the dryer. All plant components are high quality and designed for a long life. With this new sewage sludge treatment plant the city of Bayreuth decided in favour of an ecological and long-term solution of their sludge disposal problem. Technical layout data of the Bayreuth plant: 8,940 m³/a digester sludge after dewatering (28% DR) 3,340 m³/a digester sludge after solar drying (75% DR) 5,600 m³/a water evaporation (incl. utilisation of exhaust heat from biogas plant) 4,970 m³/a water evaporation (without utilisation of exhaust heat from the biogas plant) Without utilisation of the exhaust heat from the biogas plant a DR content of 63% after mere solar drying can be guaranteed. Land occupancy: 7,000 m² for the Venlo greenhouse with integrated exhaust air treatment 300 m² on 2 storeys for the machine building with dewatering, chemicals room, heat transfer station, dry granulate storage, and electrical control room The sludge turner in the one-way road: The dry granulate is returned to the machine building Solar sewage sludge drying with the HUBER SRT process and the HUBER Sludge Turner SOLSTICE® Automatic feeding of dewatered sludge Aerial photo of the sludge drying plant in Bayreuth Video: HUBER sludge turner SOLSTICE® at Bayreuth[...]

[...]As the original designer and manufacturer of the world recognised and respected HUBER STRAINPRESS® pressurised sludge screen, it has been increasingly interesting to us to see the number of different applications where the STRAINPRESS® has been utilised and requested. From its original launch into the market in 1990, with its cast steel casing, chain-drive motors and old stuffing box seals, the unit then underwent a period of innovation in 1999 and the latest design was launched in 2000. The modifications included items such as the whole casing now being manufactured and supplied in 304L stainless steel as standard and therefore increasing its asset life against that of the old steel casing versions, which could be subject to corrosion after around 10 years. Additional major modifications at the same time were a direct geared motor drive in place of the old chain-driven design and an up-to-date mechanical seal arrangement to replace the old stuffing box sealing. These new improvements in its design meant that the STRAINPRESS® was now suitably upgraded to ensure that the whole life cost of the unit was reduced and thus allowed it to comply with the latest specifications and market requirements. With this latest design and its extensive track record of over 345 units in the UK and over 1000 units worldwide it is therefore renowned as a market leader in its field. One of the main strengths of any supplier is for them to understand and be aware of its products capabilities in terms of sizing / throughput and performance but also the applications and the effects that different products and solids loading can have on that unit. While the municipal wastewater market tends to have a fairly recognised and well proven range of applications and has full confidence in the unit’s capabilities, this was not always the case when industrial applications are presented to us. This is particularly apparent with the commercial Anaerobic Digestion (AD) market which has expanded over the past 5 to 6 years. HUBER recognised this particular area as a potential application for the STRAINPRESS® units some 7 or 8 years ago and undertook a large number of trials on different applications within this area. It was observed from the very first trial that the characteristics of the digestate required re-evaluation of how the machine could best be optimised in order to give the best performance in this area. HUBER undertook a large number of trials on applications with a series of end users and sites and different basket hole perforations where items including the hydraulic throughput, solids throughput, temperature of the sludge and screenings retention were all recorded. From these extensive trials it was apparent that specific items in terms of some changes to the build of the unit together with the control of the unit were required and from this the industrial version of the recognised STRAINPRESS® unit was developed with validated sizing parameters. The main lessons learned from this was that one size or type does not fit all and from this sound base we have grown this now so that numerous units have been supplied into this demanding and difficult application sector over the past 5 years and all of which are working successfully. Our extensive experience has shown that each application must be looked at and engineered on its own merits , should anyone tell you otherwise then they have obviously not done their homework or undertaken the hard work upfront in order to gain the experience necessary. In that regard, HUBER’s extensive trial work and experience has made us a market leader and allows us to give confidence to our clients that the STRAINPRESS® “does what it says on the tin” in this field. We are equipped to address any present or future AD market needs - just contact us for a discussion about your application.[...]

[...]Magilligan, Northern Ireland HUBER Technology successfully completed the NI Water Magilligan WwTW scheme. Project Profile The Magilligan region is located on the north coast of Northern Ireland just north of the town Limvardy. This area is very popular with tourists and incorporates a Blue Flag beach at Benone as well as a significant portion of land designated as a Special Area of Conservation (SAC).It was concluded from an assessment that a single wastewater scheme for the Magilligan region would be the most cost effective solution whilst offering additional qualitative benefits for the area and its inhabitants and visitors. HUBER Technology Supplied 1 x HUBER Disc Thickener S-DISC size 1 & Control Panel Objective HUBER Technology’s success in Northern Ireland Water and with principal contractor Williams Industrial Services originally stems from a very well attended open day arranged by Area Manager Fred Neumann around the successful trial of a containerized RoS3 (now S-Press) at Enniskillen’s Silverhills WwTW back in 2002. Since then a significant number of screw presses and screw thickeners have been installed in the region, with the total number of units overall now being 65 at time of writing. HUBER have now discontinued the two smaller RoS2 (now S-Drum) thickener sizes in favour of the new size 1 and 2 RoS2S (now S-Disc) units. Though the customer’s operations and maintenance staff were naturally cautious of moving away from the S-Drum units that they were now overtly familiar and happy with, visits to reference S-Disc units elsewhere in the UK quickly appeased any such potential concerns and it was decided to try an S-Disc unit on the new Magilligan WwTW. Since commissioning in 2013, the site and area operations staff are incredibly pleased with the new unit and its process robustness at handling varied SAS flow rates, feed thicknesses and operating times due to the seasonal population fluctuations as a result of a number of large caravan parks in the catchment. So much so that more units have subsequently been ordered for installation in the area. Solution Northern Ireland Water required a throughput of 6.3 m³/h x 0.6%DS and a dewatering efficiency requirement of 6% DS and HUBER were pleased to supply the S-Disc, Flocculation reactor, poly mixing valve & injection ring and control panel. The installation was carried out by Williams Industrial Services and HUBER carried out the commissioning of the unit. Product Profile HUBER Disc Thickener S-DISC - Sludge Thickening Sludge thickening - to reduce storage on site and reduce tanker movements from site. Key benefits include; Low energy & polymer consumption Easy set up & low operator attendance Can be installed inside or outside Unique design & compact footprint Simple robust design Offsite build packages available “By working closely with the NIW Project manager, operations and process team along with the design consultant and the contractor, I was able to impress on them the potential of the new HUBER Disc Thickener S-DISC for this application and future sludge thickening projects. Knowing the reliability of other HUBER products, which they are currently using and the support which HUBER Technology provide, they agreed to take our product on for this application and to date operational reports on the S-DISC are very complimentary. The same has resulted in a further two units being ordered for the new Ballycastle WwTW” commented Fred Neumann Area Manager Scotland & Ireland. Aidan Diamond Williams Project Manager commented that “the S-DISC was installed and commissioned to a very high standard and produces a very good sludge output. It is easily maintained and operated.”[...]