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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
1) How does the SMART Sludge/Solids Dewatering
Box operate?
2) How is the equipment sized for a particular industry need?
3) What industries can benefit from the SMART Sludge Dewatering Box?
4) How are customer’s polymer needs determined?
5) Who are the competitors and what are SMART’s advantages
over these competitors?
6) What is the warranty?
7) What are the typical terms of purchase?
8) What is included for a system installation?
9) How much manual labor is involved in each system? (i.e. Set Up,
Operation, Cleanup, Disposal)
10) What is the range of solids, in percent, that can be effectively
separated?
11) What is delivery time of the equipment?
12) Is there factory assistance during Start Up?
13) What is necessary for a typical installation and what are the
considerations for a typical installation?
1) How does the
SMART Sludge/Solids Dewatering Box operate?
The Sequence of Operation of the SMART Sludge/Solids Dewatering Box is as follows:
Water is pumped directly from the Plant by the customer’s existing wastewater
pump. The water is pumped directly through the SMART High Efficiency Polymer Dosing
Unit’s Patented Static Mixer. At this point, the solids will begin to flock
together and form larger solids. No retention time is required for proper flocculation
to take place since the SMART Dewatering Box will allow for further retention
time automatically if needed. Once the polymer is added to the waste steam as
described above, the solids and water immediately proceed to the SMART Box where
the flocculation process proceeds and dewatering begins. As soon as the flocculated
wastewater stream is introduced to the SMART Box, dewatering begins immediately.
Solids are collected in the SMART Box and clear water begins flowing from the
six (6) outlets along the bottom of the SMART Box. Some customers have simply
installed a trench drain around the SMART Box to allow water to drain into the
plant for storage and reuse such as irrigation, pen clean up, etc. Municipal Wastewater
Plants simply pump the water back into the headworks of the plant for further
processing. Return to Top
2) How is the equipment
sized for a particular industry need?
Sizing of the SMART Sludge Dewatering Box involves only a few variables. Flow
Rate, Percentage of solids in the Wastewater Stream, Amount of time the plant
will be processing Wastewater Stream through the SMART Box (in other words, is
it a continuous or batch operation?). Return
to Top
3) What industries
can benefit from the SMART Sludge Dewatering Box?
Any Municipal or Industrial plant that produces sludge or wishes to dewatering
grit or other solids can benefit from the SMART Sludge/Solids Dewatering Box.
These include, but are definitely not limited to, Municipal Waste Water Treatment
Plants, Animal Rendering Plants, Animal Processing Plants such as Beef, Poultry,
Hog, and Lamb Plants, and Petrochemical Plants. The SMART Dewatering Box can also
be used for grit dewatering (municipal), rag bin dewatering (municipal), and pellet
dewatering (petrochemical). Return to Top
4) How are customer’s
polymer needs determined?
SMART offers Jar Testing at No Charge to the Customer. The Representative or Distributor
must obtain a Test Number from SMART’s Customer Service Department at (800)899-1802.
The customer is simply asked to provide a 5 gallon sample directly from their
wastewater stream. The sample must be collected from the area in the system where
the SMART Box will be installed. The sample must be immediately packed in ice.
Note: Contact must be established with SMART at 210-269-3910 to facilitate sample
coordination. The sample must then be shipped by Overnight Carrier
to the following address:
SMART, LP
235 Danube Pass
Boerne, Texas 78006
Test # ________ / Origin _________
The customer may choose to have their current chemical/polymer supplier do
the testing. This is acceptable but will not be paid for by SMART unless other
arrangements are made prior to testing. Return
to Top
5) Who are the
competitors and what are SMART’s advantages over these competitors?
These advantages include:
a) Experience with many different Waste Streams.
b) Lower Cost.
c) A Dedicated Customer Service Department.
d) SMART’s Management Staff includes a Graduate Mechanical Engineer and
the former Owner and Operator of a large Type 5 Grease and Grit Trap Disposal
Company.
e) The SMART Box is designed to be more Operator and Maintenance Friendly than
all other Gravity or Mechanical Separation equipment.
Types of competitive equipment include Drying Beds, Belt
Presses, and Filter Presses. A brief description of each of these and the advantages
of the SMART Box over these are as follows:
a) Drying Beds are typically found in Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plants. Drying
beds are curbed-in areas made of concrete with some sort of draining material
in the bottom. The draining material includes Sand or Weavewire Panels. Each of
these materials has a replacement cost associated with it. The plant will “waste”
to these beds on a regular basis. The theory is that the sludge will dry over
time and then be ready for removal by shoveling them out manually, or by small
Bob Cat or similar front end loader. The problems with Drying Beds are 1) if it
is rainy, cloudy, humid, etc., the sludge will typically not dry very fast or
in some cases, not at all. The plant must then have a pumping company pump the
sludge (including a great deal of water) from the bed into the truck. The truck
then takes the sludge (along with a great deal of water) to the landfill. This
is very expensive. If the Drying bed does its job, it usually takes several days
or weeks for the solids to dry. As the solids are removed, some of the drainage
media is removed as well and must be replaced. This is an expense for the plant.
The weavewire tiles sometimes break and are expensive to replace. The drying bed
can be wasted to only once. At that point it becomes useless until shoveled or
pumped out.
The Greatest Advantages of the SMART Box over Drying
Beds is CONSISTANT, RELIABLE DRYING. This cuts the Plant’s Hauling
Cost significantly since the SMART Box will dry to “Drip Test” dryness
within 10-14 hours and can be wasted to several times before having to be taken
to the landfill, composting site, etc. This also means a single 30 yard capacity
SMART Box can replace several drying beds.
The Greatest Advantages of the SMART Box over a comparably
sized Belt Press is GREATER DRYING ABILITY, and the fact that there are
no moving parts in or near the waste stream to corrode or seize. The annual maintenance
of the SMART Box is typically $200 - $300, REALLY!! The SMART BOX is typically
1/2 to 2/3rds the cost of the Belt Press.
The Greatest Advantages of the SMART Box over a comparably
sized Filter Press is that the SMART Box is MUCH LESS LABOR INTENSIVE.
Once the filter press has completed its job, the press must be pulled apart, emptied,
lined, and put back together. The SMART Box is simple and can be set up to be
fully automatic during processing. The only labor involved with the SMART Box
is during dumping when the box is picked up with a roll/on roll/off truck and
taken to the dump site. The solids never have to be touched by the operator. Return
to Top
6) What is the
warranty?
Typical Warrantee is 1 year on the
Box and 3 years on the filtration material. Return
to Top
7) What are the
typical terms of purchase?
Typical Terms are Receipt of Payment prior to Shipment of the Box. Return
to Top
8) What is included
for a system installation?
The boxes are typically quoted on a Turn Key basis. Other than the SMART Box and
SMART Polymer Dosing Unit, the customer will need a minimum of 60 feet of 4”
dia. Flexible Hose with Cam Lock style Quick Release couplings. Dependent upon
how the end user plans to direct the filtrate from the SMART Box, several more
Quick Release couplings may be
required. Return to Top
9) How much manual
labor is involved in each system? (i.e. Set Up, Operation, Cleanup, Disposal)
Set Up is relatively simple. The SMART Polymer Dosing System is mounted on a portable
skid. The SMART Dewatering Box is typically moved using a Roll/On Roll/Off Truck
or trailer. The only other items in the system are hoses, valves, and diverters.
Once delivered to the site, installation of the system can be handled in approximately
four (4) hours. Manual labor is minimized with the SMART Sludge Dewatering System.
The operator simply mixes polymer, starts the pump, opens the valve to start flow
to the SMART Polymer Dosing System, checks the size and shape of the flock, and
lets the system run until full. We can supply systems to automatically switch
flow from one box to a secondary box. Once the processing is complete, the operator
simply shuts down the pump, closes the valve, goes back to doing whatever task
is at hand, and allows the solids to dry. Once the solids have dried to the customer’s
specified consistency, the box is picked up and hauled to the land fill, composter,
beneficial application site, and dumped. The SMART Box is then returned to the
processing site.
Clean Up consists of spraying the interior of
the SMART Box with a garden hose with high pressure, low volume nozzle, or pressure
sprayer (approximately 2500 psi). The box is then ready to process the next load
of sludge.
Disposal of Solids Solids can be dumped at a landfill,
composter, or other beneficial land application site. Return
to Top
10) What is the
range of solids, in percent, that can be effectively separated?
Solids in a range from ½ percent to 10 percent can be effectively separated
by the SMART Sludge/Solids Dewatering Box. Return
to Top
11) What is delivery
time of the equipment?
The current delivery time for standard equipment is 6-8 weeks. Custom, Trailer
Mounted, or Self-Dumping equipment is 8-10 weeks. Return
to Top
12) Is there factory
assistance during Start Up?
Yes. Factory assistance is supplied on Start Up via qualified, factory trained
representative or distributor. Two (2) days Start Up services are typically included
with purchase of the unit. Return to Top
13) What is necessary
for a typical installation and what are the considerations for a typical installation?
Installation requirements vary from project to project. Each installation will
require 110 volt
power and a relatively flat surface for locating the equipment. Return
to Top
Please call us with any other additional
questions at (800)899-1802.
Contact SMART by clicking here |
