WATER AND WASTEWATER MANAGEMENT
ROBOTSMAKE LIGHT WORK
A new product provides automated cleaning for LPS inclined plate separators
A
s part of a continuous improvement program, Nordic Water, a Sulzer brand, has made several
upgrades to its range of Lamella separators. The seperators are a compact solution that provide water treatment processes with a minimal footprint, according to the company. To maximise their eff iciency, the
plates inside the water tanks need to be regularly cleaned, but a manual process using pressurised water poses several challenges in terms of operator safety and eff ectiveness. In response, Nordic Water has developed an automated robot cleaner that ensures this task is completed frequently and safely. The upgrades include the CleanBot,
designed to off er an automated cleaning solution for the LPS inclined plate separators.
IMPROVING CLEANING PROCESSES Within both water and wastewater treatment plants, Lamella settlement processes are used to remove solids from the water stream. The increased surface area of the Lamella plates enables this process to be achieved within a small footprint, making the tanks ideal for increasing treatment capacity without the need for huge areas of land. Conventional cleaning procedures
for the plate packs include manual spraying with a water hose, using a built-in water spray system. In all these scenarios, the water levels in the settlement tank must be lowered to ensure eff icient cleaning. Each option poses its own challenges, but all need the process to be halted while the cleaning is conducted. Nordic Water’s CleanBot provides a
Trials of the CleanBot have been conducted over the last 12 months
solution to these issues, since it is an automated process completed during normal tank operation, maximising process eff iciency and maintaining personnel safety. The robot resides in a charging station before it is deployed on a pre-timed basis to mechanically clean the plates.
AUTOMATION DELIVERS EFFICIENCY The robot is positioned on the rails above the Lamella plates before it lowers the cleaning head between the them and removes all the solids that have been deposited. After one set of plates has been cleaned, the robot is moved to the next row, and the process continues until all the plate assemblies have been cleaned. The interval between each cleaning
operation can be adjusted as required depending on the application. Trials
The CleanBot is designed to offer an automated cleaning solution for the LPS inclined plate separators
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