HMGA Water Project
  • Home
  • Project Overview
    • Project Description
    • Project Team
    • Collaborative Projects
    • FAQ
  • Publications
    • Blog
    • Factsheets
    • News Articles
  • Events
  • Gallery
  • Dedirting
  • Contact

Lesson Learned: Drum Filter Optimization

8/4/2015

2 Comments

 
For more information on the drum filter test, see Drum Filter Demonstration Site.

Filtration systems are not always a simple installation. Technologies require some manipulation to ensure that they are functioning at their maximum efficiency. The drum filter that was installation is one example. It succeeded in taking in washwater and filtering it through the screen. It was successful in rotating the barrel and spraying off the waste into a collection tray. However, initially the output of the collection tray contained excessive amounts of water. As the goal is to have a sludge-like material with the least amount of water possible to limit amounts of waste to dispose, adjustments were in order. The drum filter is able automated to rotate and spray on a regular schedule; the purpose of the optimization process is to find the setting that produces the most concentrated waste stream.
Table 1: The time between each spray cycle, approximate volume of waste output, volume of waste output per minute, and solids (depth in sample bottles) for each spray cycle setting
Picture
The first step was to investigate the settings that were most appropriate for the solid load and flow rate of the washwater. The drum filter was run at each of those settings for a few cycles and sludge samples were taken along with waste output volumes, spray cycle time, and time between rotations was recorded (Table 1). The samples were left to settle so the solids portion of the sludge could be observed (Figure 1).
Picture
Figure 1: Illustration of waste output at a spray cycle setting of (left to right) 5 seconds, 10 seconds, 15 seconds, 20 seconds, and 3 samples at 25 seconds.
Based on the results outlined in Table 1, the samples taken from the 5 second and 15 second rotation had the highest amount of solids in the sludge. The 5 second spray cycle has the lowest overall waste output. It was determined that this setting was the most efficient out of those tested.
Prior to optimizing the cycle setting, the change in total suspended solids between pre and post drum samples was 46%. The drum filter was run using the 5 second spray cycle setting and samples of the pre drum, post drum, and sludge were taken. After changing the setting, the change pre and post drum was 71%. Through manipulating the spray cycle, the efficiency of the system was greatly increased.
Picture
Figure 2: Total suspended solids in pre drum, post drum, and sludge samples prior to optimization on day 1 and after on day 2
Lesson Learned: As with many technologies, it takes time and careful measurements to set equipment to operate at optimal levels.
2 Comments

Drum Filter Demonstration Site

6/8/2015

0 Comments

 
Picture
Figure 1: Components of a drum filter
A drum filter was placed at a washing facility to test its performance. Drum filters function by allowing washwater to fall through a circular metal screen. As the screen becomes plugged by solids, the water level rises until it trips a sensor. This signals the machine to rotate the drum and turn on a spray bar which cleans the waste off the screen into a collection tray that exits through an outlet. The water used to rinse is pumped out of the lower portion where filtered water is collected prior to flowing out. It can also be programmed to rotate and rinse on a set schedule.
Picture
Figure 2: Solids trapped by the screen (left), spraying the screen clean (middle), and the inflow, left, and outflow, right, from the drum filter (right)
The filter tested is rated to handle 1,000 US gallons/minute with a solid load of 10 mg/L using a 30 micron screen. However, the washwater it was treating had a lower flow rate and a higher solid load. It was installed after a barrel washer for root vegetables and before a biofiltration system intended for dissolved solids and nutrients. Theoretically this drum filter would remove suspended solids larger than 30 microns in size, leaving the finer solids and dissolved portion for the next treatment step. 
Drum filters are able to remove large amounts of solids from a washwater and concentrate it into the waste stream (Figure 3). The outflow can then continue to further treatment processes to remove finer solids which cannot be caught by the screen. The waste stream, however, would also require further work. The goal is to concentrate the waste to the point where it is the consistency of sludge with minimal water and maximum solids. It is then disposed of, for example, through composting.

This filter required optimization to produce a sludge-like waste and that process will be more thoroughly explained in an upcoming article.
Picture
Figure 3: From left to right, samples of inflow, waste stream, and outflow
0 Comments

    Project Updates

    Find articles on project-related topics here

    Archives

    December 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014

    Topics

    All
    Aerators
    Coagulation & Flocculation
    Deionization
    Discharge Characterization
    Drum Filter
    Filter Bags
    General Information
    Hydrocyclone
    Lake Simcoe
    Lesson Learned
    Muck
    Nottawasaga Valley
    Pre Treatment
    Pre-Treatment
    Sampling
    Settling Ponds/Tanks
    South-Eastern Georgian Bay
    System Evaluation
    Treatment Technologies
    Ultrafiltration
    Washing Process
    Water Quality Parameters
    Watershed

    RSS Feed

    Article Titles

    Introduction to
      Watersheds

    Lake Simcoe Watershed
    Nottawasaga Valley
      Watershed
    South-Eastern Georgian
      Bay Watershed
    Water, Water,
      Everywhere?
    The Trouble with Muck:
      Size
    Lesson Learned: Bottom-
      up Aerator to Treat
      Washwater in Settling
      Tanks
    Phosphorus, the
      Environment, and
      Farming
    Nitrogen’s Impact on Air,
      Land, and Water
    Water-borne Pathogens
      and Food Safety
    Defining Dissolved
      Oxygen
    Filter Bags
      Demonstration Site
    Organic Matter
      Breakdown &
      Biochemical Oxygen
      Demand
    Dealing with Cloudy
      Water
    Hydrocyclone
      Demonstration Test
    What IS Muck?
    Demystifying Oxidation-
      Reduction Potential
    News Release
      "Technology
      Investigation: Filter
      Bags"
    Drum Filter
      Demonstration Site
    Decomposing With(out)
      Oxygen
    Flow monitoring
    Lesson Learned: Drum
      Filter Optimization
    Polders & the Holland
      Marsh
    Vegetable Washing
      Process
    ​Dry Soil Removal
    Ultrafiltration &
      Deionization
      Demonstration Site
    News Release
      "Technology
      Investigation:
      Ultrafiltration &
      Capacitive Deionization"
    Progressive Passive
      Filtration
    ​Dissolved Air Flotation
    Clarifying the Solid
      Removal Process
    Factsheet Reading Order
    News Release:
      "Technology
      Investigation:
      Coagulation &
      Flocculation"
    Self-Indexing Filter
    Monitoring Discharge
    ​  Flows
    Settling Soil
    Mass Loading
      Calculations
    Lesson Learned:
      Technology Selection
    Electrocoagulation
    Auto-Samplers
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.