Through the adoption of CDEnviro’s D:MAX dewatering system, a sludge dewatering specialist is reducing its clients waste disposal costs by 90 per cent.
The implementation of advanced technology is expected to revolutionise wastewater resource recovery and reuse projects in Australia, according to a 2017 report from Frost & Sullivan.
Rapid population growth and continued urbanisation is driving wastewater volumes up, and as a result, traditional wastewater treatment methods are reaching system-constraint limits.
However, as highlighted in the report, there is an articulated desire to find sustainable solutions, with corporate and environmental stewardship a driving force behind a growth in wastewater resource recovery projects.
To explore the issue, Waste Management Review spoke with a sludge dewatering specialist that been working in this space since 1999, successfully executing contracts for wastewater and water enterprises, along with larger construction and industrial companies.
With a specific focus on digester cleaning and the dewatering of lagoon sludges, the company is committed to driving sustainable wastewater treatment throughout Australia and New Zealand.
To support this commitment and grow its dewatering capabilities, the company has forged a partnership with waste recycling and material recovery equipment manufacturers CDEnviro.
One of the key challenges for the wastewater industry is the removal of solids from wastewater in the form of sludge.
A typical process that’s used is anerobic digestion to reduce sludge volume, over time however, inert materials such as rag and grit build up in the tank and reduce its capacity.
Furthermore, as grit is highly abrasive, it causes attrition and wear on downstream processes. This results in the need for regular maintenance and replacement of parts.
To counteract this issue, the company invested in CDEnviro’s D:MAX solution in 2017.
The D:MAX has improved efficiency and throughput by removing rag and grit from anaerobic digesters, facilitating cost savings for the sludge dewatering specialist’s clients, protecting upstream processes and maximising environmental outcomes.
According to a company representative, the initial motivation behind the partnership was finding a solution that would increase efficiency to process waste and restore operational capacity in anaerobic digestor tanks.
Prior to working with CDEnviro, the company had to manually remove sands and grits from the tanks, often with the added expense of cranes and lifting equipment.
The dewatering company sought to find new equipment that would increase its efficiency to process waste and were introduced to CDEnviro’s D:MAX solution.
The D:MAX is a mobile screening and classification system that efficiently removes grit, rag and troublesome solids from waste streams.
Solids removal and dewatering of the material reduces waste volumes and ensures any waste going to landfill is drier and easier to manage.
The D:MAX system can adapt to accommodate surges and variations in feed material, with the mobile nature of the unit ensuing flexible processing.
The representative explains that the D:MAX offers a reduction of up to 90 per cent in disposal costs by reducing the volume of waste going to landfill, as well as transport costs.
“Recovered grit has become a value-added product, such as becoming a rich soil nutrient or composting additive, used for backfill, pipe bedding, and the biosolids can be used in biosolid applications,” he says.
The D:MAX comes equipped with its own on-board generator for ease of operation, with rosta screen mounts ensuring the maximum transfer of energy to the material on the screen.
Additionally, standard compliant walkways ensure quick, easy and safe access for maintenance.
The telescopic product conveyor gives the D:MAX an added degree of flexibility to cope with the individual requirements of the site it is operating on, the representative says.
He adds that the D:MAX has improved the company’s throughput by allowing it to separate its flows.
“Originally, when we were pumping straight to the balance tank, we were only able to process one truckload per day, now with the D:MAX, we can fill three to four truckloads per day,” he says.
“We also no longer need to manually clean out the tanks, which has allowed us to process tanks four times faster than before.
“This has allowed us to win more contracts and reduce costs for our customers.”
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