Aquatreat Environmental Group
Volute Operating Principle
Products > Sludge
Volute Screw Press
for Sludge Thickening and Dewatering
The Volute is a superior solution for managing surplus sludge from industrial and municipal biochemical treatment plants including:
- Food processing - Dairies, soft drinks, breweries, sauce production, bakeries, processed / frozen foods etc.
- Abbatoirs
- Paper mills
- Chemical Plants - Industrial chemicals, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, Foundry plants etc.
- Machine and vehicle manufacture
- Municipal wastewater treatment plants
- Manure processing
- Electronic Industry - Printed circuit boards, Semiconductor plants etc.
- Oil bearing sludge
- DAF sludge
Sludge as dilute as 0.1% solids can be dewatered directly from a biological or biochemical process such as an activated sludge plant or oxidation ditch to form up to 10 % ds ( VT Series) or a cake of over 25% dry solids! (ES Series).
The innovative, patented technology will further cut your wastewater and sludge treatment costs compared to other conventional dewatering technologies. The power, wash water and space requirements of the Volute are significantly lower than other types of dewatering equipment which means your ongoing operating costs are kept to the absolute minimum.
Over 1100 Volute thickeners or dewaterers are currently in operation all around the world - literally saving plant operators £'000s in OPEX each year.
How the Volute works....
The Volute is based on a patented non clog design which allows sludge to be thickened / dewatered using the least possible power and water.
The Volute can be supplied with either one or two integral tanks (for coagulation and / or flocculation including flocculator), control panel and main body. The main body is an inclined cylinder made up of fixed and moving rings which house an archimedes screw.
After passing through the coagulation and flocculation tank(s), the sludge enters the first section of the main body which is the thickening zone. Sludge is pushed along the cylinder and the filtrate falls into the integral filtrate tank below. As the sludge is pushed along the cylinder, the pitch of the screw narrows increasing the pressure, squeezing and dewatering the sludge.
The cylinder (shown on the diagram opposite) has layers of spacers, fixed and moving rings. The moving rings fit between the spacers which are sandwiched between the fixed rings. As the screw pushes the sludge from the inlet to the discharge it uses the moving rings to continuously clean the gaps where the filtrate passes and prevents any clogging.
The net result of this unique design means that the Volute power and wash water requirements are absolutely minimal meaning your plant operating costs are as low as they can possibly be.
Volute Layout
1. Sludge Inlet
2. Flow Control Tank
3. Flocculation Tank
4. Thickening Zone
5. Dewatering Zone
6. Sludge Discharge
Volute Main Body
Volute Non Clog Principle
