Disposal in Ohio: Screening and Screw-Press Technology Are Keys to Efficient Dewatering

Disposal in Ohio: Screening and Screw-Press Technology Are Keys to Efficient Dewatering
Tom Frank, left, and employee Gary Baise discuss strategy on a job site in Montville, Ohio. (Photo By Amy Voigt)

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Tim Frank Septic Tank Cleaning services some 2,500 residential tanks per year, plus commercial waste facilities, handling about 3 million gallons of wastewater annually. The company processes that entire volume in a lagoon-based wastewater treatment system.

Treated effluent is ultimately sprayed on a field of giant miscanthus perennial grass. The solids are dewatered and hauled to a landfill. For owners Tom and Carol Frank, a high-quality process is essential, and that includes removing inorganic trash from the waste stream and dewatering the solids to minimize hauling costs.

Septage and other waste discharged from the company’s five vacuum trucks first passes through a primary screen built by company personnel, then into a holding tank, and from there through a 12-foot Maximizer automated screen (Lely Tank & Waste Solutions).

The screened material enters a holding lagoon where heavier solids settle out. The liquid is conveyed to a series of lagoons, ending with a 2.5-million-gallon holding pond from which effluent is sprayed on the grasses.

Sludge from the holding lagoon is pumped to another pond and ultimately to the dewatering building, which houses a Model SHX-500 screw press (FKC). FKC screw presses are designed to be easy to maintain and operate for producing high-solids cake from septage and grease trap waste.

The screw press is a simple and slow-moving mechanical device that provides continuous dewatering. The process starts with gravity drainage at the inlet end of the screw, followed by volume reduction as the material is conveyed by the screw auger to the discharge end of the press. FKC screw presses have heavy-duty construction and are designed to achieve high outlet consistency.

Operating at a slow screw speed and with few moving parts, they require minimal maintenance. Stainless steel wetted parts resist corrosion and extend service life. Low power consumption, simple and unattended operation, and automated screw washdown help reduce operating costs.

Frank notes that his father and company founder, Tim Frank, established the treatment system. “Dad always felt it was his responsibility to deal with the material and not put that off on somebody else,” he says. “He believed that since he pumped it, he had to figure out how to deal with it responsibly.”

An effective treatment system design with high-quality equipment helps the company continue to meet that objective.



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