Advanced Brackett Green fine screening technology for municipal and industrial water and waste water intakes was showcased by Eimco Water Technologies at the Enviro 2010 Conference and Exhibition which was held in Melbourne from July 21-23, 2010.
The Brackett Green Centre Flow Band Screens displayed at Enviro 2010 can extend the lifespan and reduce the maintenance of municipal and industrial, infrastructure, energy, desalination and resources plants.
The technology is being adopted internationally to meet the need for fine screening to capture solids that either clog conventional screens or bypass them entirely, says EIMCO Water Technologies national sales manager, Industrial/Municipal, John Koumoukelis.
“As energy, desalination and processing operations increase in scale – with higher demands on scarce water resources – it will be vital for processing plants to protect their equipment and their environment with the best technology available,” says Koumoukelis.
Australia was this year declared the World Centre of Excellence for the application of the Brackett Green technology on sewage treatment. The global EIMCO Water Technologies (EWT) group made its Australian operation the international leader for the application on sewage of its Brackett Green CF100 and CF200 Band Screens technology.
EWT – which has 1,500 staff and a presence in 40 countries – has established its Centre of Excellence in Australia because of the local operations’ expertise built up through the rapid uptake of the technology in Australia and New Zealand. Because of the rapid uptake in Australasia the screens are now fully manufactured In Australia, said Koumoukelis.
Brackett Green Limited, founded in 1899, was the original designer of all forms of screening equipment and currently has about 9,000 installations in some 85 countries worldwide. Brackett Green was acquired in 2005 by EIMCO Water Technologies, which is part of the GLV group.
“We in Australia have been extremely busy with the Brackett Green Band Screens, with many installations across Australia and New Zealand adopting this high performance technology for sewage inlet works and desalination intakes,” said Koumoukelis.
“Australasian applications currently under way will feature mesh apertures down to 2mm, with the standard being 5mm for sewage. This permits near-total capture of solid waste and protects plant that could otherwise be high maintenance, including pumps, impellers and mixers. A further benefit of the fine screening is prevention of needle stick injuries from sharp waste and an overall need for less hands-on maintenance,” said Koumoukelis.
Koumoukelis says Brackett Green CF100 and CF200 Band Screen technology is in itself a real advance in screening systems that has been extensively proven as an effective alternative to slotted screens.
“By using circular apertures and screening in two dimensions instead of one, they can virtually double screen efficiency and capture fine objects that otherwise may pass through an equivalent size slot.
“Additionally, the patented thick panels virtually eliminate hair pinning, meaning they can achieve near total capture of material that might otherwise pass through, under or around conventional screens,” he says.
Based on the Brackett Green Band Screen technology supplied for raw water applications and utilizing features developed for the Brackett Sewage Drum Screen, the band screens introduced to Australasia have proved to be a reliable and efficient fine screen both as a retrofit and for new installations on raw sewage and treated effluent.
Their CF200 and CF100 band screens have been tested independently at the UK National Screen Evaluation Facility and found to offer the highest capture rates of the many screens tested, up to 93 per cent.