Problem: Harris County Municipal Utility District No. 165 in Cypress, Texas, has two wastewater facilities that are extended aeration and return-activated sludge systems that service just under 12,000 customers. Future expansion will increase this number to 28,000 customers.
Plants 1 and 2 experienced delays with having their sludge dewatered as the local portable press companies simply did not have the capacity to be on site to meet their needs. This caused a backup of sludge in their system, impacting the settling properties and overall performance of the treatment process. With the continued increase of sludge volume, the plants needed to solve the challenge of keeping up with sludge dewatering.
Solution: With the leadership of senior wastewater operator Tony Scarborough and H2O Consulting, the facilities searched for dewatering equipment and came across Prime Solution’s Rotary Fan Press. After talking with other municipalities who were using Prime Solution’s Rotary Fan Press, and trade associations and vendors who were familiar with the press, Scarborough states they could easily see the Rotary Fan Press was the way to go. “When looking for a replacement for the mobile presses our main considerations were footprint, reliability, and something that would produce a dry cake to reduce disposal costs.”
Result: “One of the main reasons we looked for a permanent sludge handling solution was the inconvenience and prohibitive cost of renting portable presses to come on site and manage our sludge,” Scarborough says. “We were at the mercy of the rental companies to fit us into their schedule every two to three weeks, whenever we could get them to show up. This, coupled with the cost of paying over $250,000 per year for hauling, led us to find a permanent solution that would make our job easier and be more cost-effective. This solution definitely saved us money.”
• Time savings: “Once you set your parameters for this device, such as the sludge consistency/sludge solids, your flow rate, and polymer rate, once you have those three in balance you can walk away from the system. There is no constant adjustment. You turn it on and walk away and come back only when you need to change out the container being filled with cake,” he says.
• Customer service: “I have nothing but respect for Prime Solutions service technicians. They have answered every question I have ever had. They respond immediately unless they are on an airplane. There is not any problem we have had that we were not able to work out over the phone.”
Prime Solution is a U.S.-based, Build America, Buy America (BABA) compliant manufacturer providing mechanical dewatering solutions. Known for delivering simple, successful and sustainable systems, Prime Solution helps treatment plants reduce their operational footprint, lower operating costs, and minimize operator time. The Rotary Fan Press is available in various sizes and configurations to meet different facility needs.
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