This expression has never been more apt as more companies are realising that there really is hidden value in wastes.  Recovering solids or liquids from your waste stream is no longer the domain of the “environmental greenies’ – it actually makes a great deal of financial sense!

By assessing the opportunities within your processes to recover valuable solids and liquids, not only can it lead to major cost reductions in chemical and water usage, it can significantly reduce your overall waste disposal costs.

Quarries, mines, concrete products, metal processing, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, beverage production and a host of other industries have the potential to better manage their wastewater to protect the environment and reduce operating costs.

However, selecting the right dewatering equipment for your process can be a complex decision, and depends on several factors, including waste volume, solids content and particle size, chemical composition, ultimate disposal or reuse, and liquid quality.

Jonassen Industrial Projects Ltd (JIPL) are experienced Wastewater Treatment engineers and can evaluate the technical issues and costs to determine the optimum sludge dewatering process for your specific needs.

Tradewaste Consent limitations and charges offer up a whole raft of challenges to many industrial operations, but the modern versions of one of the oldest dewatering technologies, the filter press, now offers a truly cost effective and highly efficient option for most operations.

JIPL has successfully completed a number of wastewater treatment systems utilising quality filter presses, not only solve particular wastewater discharge problems, but also allow for substantial recycling, removal of solids and reductions in chemical treatment to meet Discharge Consent limits.  The filter press provides the highest solids contents and the cleanest filtrate of any wastewater treatment system available.

A filter press will reduce operating costs by:
– Removing solids into solid cakes for re-use, or landfill
– Recovering valuable materials for re-use or sale
– Recycling liquids for re-use in further processing or cleaning operations

Trials are especially important to prove the process under specific production conditions and thereby enable a factual cost-benefit analysis.  JIPL has a sophisticated test filter press unit available for on-site trials.  The plate and frame press is skid-mounted for easy transport, can produce cakes of different thicknesses, operates up to 16-bar, and features a membrane squeeze option (with subsequent cake air-blow and cake back-wash facilities).

For example, JIPL’s test press (see photo) has been used to determine the processing time, solids capture and water quality from concrete wash-down wastes.  This waste material is normally sent to a large on-site pond, but the fines themselves have a potential commercial value.  Site test work has also proved it success for water treatment plant alum sludge, coal and quarry fines (for recovery and potential commercial use), and wastewater treatment digester sludge.

In addition to these site trials, JIPL have undertaken ‘laboratory-type’ test work on hundreds of different wastes and products, to determine the technical parameters necessary for effective de-watering.  The work allows JIPL to determine flocculation requirements, filtrate quality, filter cloth type, cake dry solids, process cycle times and so on.  This work is an essential first step in determining de-watering requirements.

To offer clients a choice of filter press types, JIPL have recently joined forces with Magytec International to bring the most technologically advanced belt filter presses in the world today to New Zealand, including the high performance DynamicÊRadial Wedge Belt Press.

This press is capable of processing unstable, slow draining materials at flow rates 50% higher than comparable models while achieving consistently higher cake solids.

Filter press technology is applicable to a huge range of industries and JIPL’s broad knowledge of wastewater treatment systems means you get the best practical advice based on experience.
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Visit: www.jipl.co.nz
Tel: 09 479 3952