Water & Wastewater Treatment

WWT PUMP AND VALVE SUPPLEMENT 2018 7 closely for 20 weeks aer being fitted with the equipment and their perfor- mance analysed. The results During the trial, the DERAGGER minimised the need for manual cleaning at all testing sites. In one case, maintenance jobs decreased from nine to just one per month. At another site, no maintenance was required at all during a six-week period. In addition, the DERAGGER reduced energy consumption by up to 80 per cent for pumps that had not been recently cleaned and 20 per cent for pumps which had been regularly lied and cleaned. Even in stations considered previously not to suffer from blockages, the DERAGGER achieved energy savings between 7 per cent and 20 per cent. Overall, the pumps at the trial sites needed to run for significantly less time, which as well as allowing energy savings meant that operation of the device could deliver extensions to asset life. Dr Leo Carswell, head of technology at WRc, said: "Our thorough analysis of the raw data from five DERAGGER trial sites clearly demonstrates the impact this innovation can have in the wastewater sector. "We found it to demonstrably reduce pump blockages, and also significantly reduce energy consump- tion – even on sites considered to be at low risk of blockages." Keith Haslett, director of wastewater network plus at United Utilities, said that despite winning awards, the device was unproven in the large-scale and complex environment of a UK public sewer system. "With any new tech, take-up can initially be slow until engineers are comfortable that it will work the way they want it to," he said. "That's where we came in." United Utilities' innovation team has worked with other tech start-ups for several years, helping entrepre- neurs bring their ideas to market and in some cases giving them access to the company's expertise, resources and data. "This was slightly different in that the device was already on the market, but it had never been tested in the environments where we could use it," Haslett said. "Its potential was huge. "Blocked pumps account for an estimated 80-90 per cent of all unplanned work carried out on the sewer system and are known to increase pumping energy costs." Clearwater Controls managing director Simon Crompton said: "We've known for some time that our technol- ogy can significantly reduce blocked pumps, and these independent findings confirm that our device has the functionality to tackle the problem head on, by preventing blockages from occurring in the first place. "On pumps that don't regularly suffer blockages, while we were confident the DERAGGER would make a noticeable difference, we did not know the full extent. These findings show that even on these stations the DERAGGER can significantly decrease energy consumption and improve asset life, confirming our device truly is revolutionary." "Blocked pumps ac- count for an estimated 80-90 per cent of all unplanned work carried out on the sewer net- work and are known to increase energy costs." Le and right: the effect of ragging on wastewater pumps. Below: a pump's impeller remains clear a er using the device

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