Lewis O’Brien, Technical Director for ELIQUO HYDROK recently presented a paper at European Waste Water Management Conference at the Royal Armoury in Leeds, outlining the successes and performance of the Mecana Tertiary solids and Phosphorous removal plant technology. Investments and continual developments have enabled Mecana and ELIQUO HYDROK to offer the Deep Pile Cloth Filter as an efficient technology for the removal of Phosphorous.

ELIQUO HYDROK have installed Mecana PCMF technology as part of Phosphorus removal trials throughout the UK, covering a broad range of applications from; pilot scale to Full Flow to Treatment, single and multi-stage systems, following filter works, activated sludge and Granular Activated Sludge, with differing dosing chemicals (predominantly compounds of Iron or Aluminium) applied in differing process locations. In so doing, ELIQUO HYDROK have developed a wide range of UK specific process experience together with the participating U.K. Water companies.

The Mecana filter technology was the sole cloth filter included within the UKWIR National Phosphorous removal trials where results demonstrated the excellent performance of the OptiFiber^® as a unique separation technology.

Each Mecana installation is designed to suit the specific hydraulic and solids loading in-order-to provide the required cloth area, ensuring the site performance is met whilst minimising the waste return backwash volumes. High filter effluent quality is achieved along with durability of the cloth fabrics. They can be tailored to utilise existing or new concrete chambers, or as a bespoke stainless steel chambers designed and manufactured within the ELIQUO HYDROK factory.

With over 20 years of experience and more than 2000 installations worldwide, the original and unique OptiFiber® Pile Cloth is utilised either in a standard or microfibre cloth which ensures performance longevity, reliability and minimal operator maintenance. Many years of development and improvements have produced a Cloth Filter which has proven performance and longevity which cannot be replicated with any other Cloth types. The OptiFiber® pile fibres used are designed so that the removal of solids is maximized in a wide range of particle sizes. The three-dimensional OptiFiber® structure acts as a depth filter offers significant solids holding capacity and requires correspondingly far less backwashing. A wealth of individual fibres offer a large internal surface area.

In principal, P removal by filtration consists of a number of core process stages: dosing, precipitation, coagulation/flocculation, and finally, filtration. However, in-order-to achieve the ultra-low P concentrations demanded through AMP 6&7, a technological step change is required and one which is achieved with the OptiFiber® equipped Mecana Pile Cloth Media Filters.

ELIQUO HYDROK have represented Mecana with the Pile Cloth Media Filtration technology within the municipal water market over the past 5 years building a portfolio of many reference installations across the UK. Mecana are the original equipment manufacturers for the Pile Cloth Media Filtration technology which provides a robust and efficient Tertiary filtration solution for Waste Water Treatment plants. Together, ELIQUO HYDROK with Mecana have the technology and experience to deliver the effective and optimum total process solution for the broad spread of works types, sizes and tighter consents of this AMP and those coming.

ELIQUO HYDROK have installed PCMF in assets across the U.K, from small rural works, to some of the UK’s largest WwTW’s, which in addition to the world-wide Mecana OptiFiber® cloth installation reference base, provides more than 20 years’ experience and in depth knowledge of Tertiary Filtration across the most varied range of applications. For example, completed in 2014, ELIQUO HYDROK installed the world’s largest Mecana Tertiary Pile Cloth Disc Filter solution at Thames Water’s Deephams STW in North London. This unique installation required 12no. Mecana Filters to filter total flows of up to 4200l/sec achieving a Total Solids Consent of <8mg/l.

ELIQUO HYDROK are now building upon the work through individual and National P removal trials to deliver innovative and proven solutions to the tightest phosphorus consent projects of any required in AMP6.

For information on the ELIQUO HYDROK Tertiary Filtration solutions contact:

Lewis O’Brien
01726 861900
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