Award-winning screw blowers installed at Charles Brand wastewater facility

The challenge

The company’s wastewater treatment plant in Belfast requires blowers to aerate the site’s sequencing batch reactors and treat wastewater. By oxygenating the activated sludge within the reactor withaeration air, the blowers help break down organic compounds within the wastewater.

Charles Brand previously used five 132 kW oversized blowers for this aeration process. These units were 16 years old and required increased maintenance to keep them in good working order. The company’s compressors suffered three failures in as many months, with each repair costing in the order of £6,000. Faced with escalating costs, Charles Brand identified that savings could be made by upgrading their aeration system using advances in blower technology.

The solution

The revolutionary solution – the first of its kind in the UK – involved replacing three of the 132 kW units with 75 kW Robuschi WS 85 Robox Energy screw blowers, with a payback period of three years.

The Robuschi Robox Energy screw blower combines a screw compressor with a permanent magnet motor, allowing for pressure up to 1000 mbar(g) and capacity up to 2,600m3/h. Its internal compressor, combined with an efficient permanent magnet motor, is directly fitted to the conductor shaft to prevent loss of power from the belt drive.

The outcome

These features mean the Robox Energy screw blower can achieve cost savings of approximately 20 per cent, which makes it ideal for the energy-intensive wastewater treatment sector.