MWS Equipment has unveiled the latest addition to its smart washing solutions product lineup. The Hydropure thickener range is designed to maximise water recovery while minimising the use of tailing dams
MWS Equipment says its new product range results from listening to its customers, particularly in regions where it can be difficult and, in some cases, impossible to find the water required to supply an aggregate-processing plant.
The primary goal of the Hydropure thickener is to recycle as much water as possible at the point of use, ready for feeding back to the wash plant. The MWS Equipment range of thickeners come in a variety of diameters of 6, 8, 10 and 12 metres. They are designed to handle various flow rates from 180 to 650 m³/hr of slurry and process up to 40 tonnes per hour of solids.
A well-designed and installed thickener system can recycle up to 90% of the original feed water supplied to the plant. This greatly reduces the amount of freshwater required. The use also vastly reduces the overall footprint of a plant as it reduces the need for large surface area settling ponds and the costs associated with operating such ponds.
The cyclone overflow (waste slurry) from the wash plant is directed to the Hydropure thickener, where an anti-turbulence feed chamber adds a small amount of flocculant to the waste stream. The dedicated make-up station prepared flocculant is used to combine the small particles into larger sizes. These larger size particles then sink to the bottom of the Hydropure thickener, allowing the clean water to flow over the weir into the clarified water tank for direct reuse within the wash plant.
The particles that settle in the tank are collected in a lower cone section to be pumped from the thickener. The Hydropure is fitted with a centrifugal pump which is used to pump this waste sludge out of the thickener. This can either be to a settling pond or sludge holding tank for further processing by a filter press or similar.
The system is controlled from a dedicated standalone PLC system or can be combined into the MWS Equipment washing plant controls.
As a result, MWS Equipment says customers enjoy the flexibility to choose the best filtration technology for their production environment, along with being able to integrate the Hydropure into existing equipment.
Ben Frettsome, product line director, MWS Equipment, said: “In line with our core values of commitment, innovation and sustainability, we are diversifying our product range to supply our customers with a full product solution. MWS has been responsive and adaptive to change, with the outcome being our industry-leading design which offers versatility and cost-efficiency. The water management range showcases the very best of MWS engineering and, with almost infinite permutations across the wet processing sectors, enables us to deliver our customers truly smarter water management solutions.”
Norman Kane, senior technical manager, MWS Equipment, added: “This is an exciting development for the business with the new product range complementing our core offering. Over the years, MWS Equipment has gained a great reputation for quality products and efficient service, and these are the standards to which MWS Equipment will thrive to emulate. The business will continue to expand to suit the demand of the industry, regularly releasing new products and increasing its coverage to service our partners and customers through its regional teams.”
MWS smart water treatment and process filtration solutions are designed to:
- Increase productivity – using the latest water treatment and process filtration innovations
- Improve quality – using proven technology to deliver consistent results
- Drive sustainability – saving water, energy and consumables while reducing waste
- Reduce operating costs – with solutions focused on a low total cost of ownership
- Maximise efficiencies – through tailored technology that meets exact site requirements
