Dewatering with the WinklePress for high capture rates

CLEAR FILTRATE IN MICHELSTADT

The “Mittlerer Mümling” wastewater association from the Odenwald district in the federal state of Hesse operates five small wastewater treatment plants with a capacity of up to 1,300 connected inhabitants and the main wastewater treatment plant in Michelstadt. The Michelstadt plant has a capacity of 37,600 inhabitants and treats almost exclusively municipal wastewater. Furthermore, 16 pumping stations and a sewer network of more than 400 km are taken care of in the association’s area. The digested sludge of the Michelstadt — Asselbrunn wastewater treatment plant was previously dewatered in a chamber filter press, which had to be replaced due to its age. The decisive factors for the association were a high degree of dewatering with low polymer use, continuous and automated operation and a very clean filtrate. Various dewatering systems were tested in on-site pilot tests, including the Bellmer WinklePress. The WinklePress won the race because of its economic efficiency. The project‘s scope of supply included the new installation of all components of the dewatering system: new pumps, foundations, discharge screws, and a two-chamber polymer plant up to the WPK 2 S WinklePress including electrical engineering. The newly installed Bellmer WinklePress went into operation in March 2020 and immediately achieved all the values required in the specifications. In daily operation, the WinklePress dewaters between 50 and 80m³ of digested sludge to a solids content of up to 29%. Due to high nutrient loads in the biological stage, the treatment plant is forced to operate an additional turbid water treatment. The WinklePress easily meets the high demand for capture rates as the filtrates are fed to this turbid water treatment with a >99% capture rate.