Screw conveyors are mechanisms that use a rotating helical screw blade to move bulk materials, both liquid and solid. In the modern industry, they’re typically used at a horizontal angle or a slight incline to move semi-solid materials such as food waste and bone meal. Screw conveyors are used across various industries, from agriculture and wood products to chemical processing facilities and wastewater facilities.
Screw Conveyors in Water Softening
In large-scale and centralized water treatment, pellet softening is frequently used to remove hardness from water.
Typically, a pellet reactor is filled with fine-grain sand, then supply water and chemicals are injected into the base of the reactor and mixed well. These chemicals increase the waters pH levels so that calcium carbonate and lime are expelled from the solution; they then crystallize on the fine-grain sand and emerge as hard balls or pellets. Once these pellets are formed, the upward force of the water in the pellet reactor causes them to be fluidized. The pellets will start to grow steadily, making them heavier, making the pellet bed smaller. Typically, pellets can grow to around 1mm, and they’re removed periodically.
In large-scale water treatment operations, the amount of waste pellets generated is monumental, and organizations have been seeking more efficient ways to transport, and dispose of, this excess waste.
Screw conveyors are one of the most effective solutions for discharging pellets. Most screw conveyors can expel excess pellets into transportation trucks at great speed and in significant quantities.
Wrights Dowson Group has a well-established reputation in the industry and has manufactured a wide range of tubular screw conveyors. The Wrights Dowson Group uses CAD, 3D modelling facilities, and the latest IT technology to ensure their conveyors are manufactured quickly and without compromising quality. The group manufactures a wide range of screw conveyors, including tubular conveyors, vertical screw conveyors, and U-Trough screw conveyors. All of these can serve different processes in the water treatment process.
Vertical screw conveyors have been used in large-scale water treatment operations, primarily to lift and expel various types of sludge.
For water treatment centres that use pellet softening, tubular screw conveyors remain a practical choice for pellet disposal. Tubular screw conveyors are designed to transport bulk solids in manufacturing plants, and their custom designs mean that manufacturing plants can cater the screw conveyors design to suit pellet capacity. Because the tube conveyors can handle large capacities of pellets, they can either be stored in a bunker or transferred directly into trucks for transport.
Most screw conveyors will be fitted with drains and shut off valves. The systems can drain and discharge the residual product; this makes them more efficient to use than vertical screw conveyors, which are not tailored to handle more arduous bulk produce.
If your facility needs the assistance of a screw conveyor & screw conveyor manufacturer, contact the Wrights Dowson Group to make your application. From water treatment to chemicals, food and pharmaceuticals, see if your industry can benefit from using a screw conveyor today.
