Upgraded wastewater screen saves maintenance

An upgraded Aqua Guard® screen can reduce downstream wastewater treatment clogging by as much as 50%, claims supplier Parkson.

The Aqua Guard UltraClean™ is the product of extensive research into improving the capture rate at the headworks of a plant in an effort to maximize efficiency throughout the plant process.

The UltraClean marks the next generation in the long-running Aqua Guard line, featuring several improvements such as the addition of an independent brush drive and a second spray bar, as well as a new hybrid brush design.

The new brush is wider and includes longer bristles to penetrate deep into screen elements, along with hybrid rubber strips that prevent long rags and hair from twisting around the brush. The end result is a brush design that lasts longer and requires less maintenance, while also capturing more solids.

The new design delivered concrete results in a head-to-head comparison with the original Aqua Guard design during an extended trial at the Spring Tree Wastewater Treatment Plant in Sunrise, Forida.

Plant staff observed that the UltraClean was more tidy and manageable, thanks to changes to the screen path and the addition of a second release-point for screenings. More importantly, the new system captured 64% more solids by weight than the original design, which is crucial to maximizing efficiency throughout the plant process.

As a result of the UltraClean’s ability to capture more solids at the headworks, plant operators reported a 50% reduction in downstream ragging, which can pose major problems for equipment maintenance and repair. At the end of the trial, operators said the self-cleaning design of the UltraClean required far less attention, enabling them to cut their cleaning schedule from twice a week to as little as once a month.