ABEL HMD – Soil washing and sludge dewatering

Background

This reference is a plant for cleaning contaminated mineral soil and other mineral waste. Environmentally friendly disposal of the contaminated soil that is excavated during construction is a top priority of the company’s treatment process. The washing procedure of contaminated mineral materials consists of a multistage process that includes the use of 3 chamber filter presses for dewatering.

The solution

In order to increase the efficiency of the sludge dewatering process and to reduce the costs for the transport of the highly abrasive sludge, the plant operators were looking for innovative solutions for their three filter press lines. Adapted to the customer’s needs, a frequency-controlled ABEL diaphragm pump, type HMD-G-32-0250, was selected in 2018. This special pump type is characterized by a pre-formed diaphragm and the pressure balanced diaphragm position control. Compared to the former progressive cavity pumps installed, that required two pumps per feed line, the use of the ABEL hydraulic diaphragm pump require to use only one pump per filter press feed line.

The result

In conclusion, one hydraulic diaphragm pump can replace two progressive cavity pumps reducing the need for spare parts and maintenance. The total savings has already facilitated the achievement of a significant operating cost reduction of approximately EUR 20k during the first year of operation. In the meantime, three HMD pumps and one filter cloth cleaning pump made by ABEL have been put into operation and are contributing to a sustainable and environmentally friendly recycling economy.