3,000 feet of 12 inch Q-D piping
installed in only 8 hours.
A major pulp mill producing bleached kraft paperboard had to schedule essential maintenance in the middle of winter to repair the primary clarifier inlet screen .
RMS Enviro Solv Inc. was contacted, an engineer was dispatched to meet with plant personnel and view the project parameters; a recommendation was submitted for pumping system with logistics; the order was issued and four flatbeds of equipment were mobilized. RMS dispatched two field service technicians to provide installation supervision and personnel training. Equipment arrived Monday morning and was installed, tested and operational by Tuesday evening.
In order to avoid shutting down plant production, a way had to be found to lower the level in the 275-foot diameter primary clarifier by 9 feet in less than 3 hours and effectively divert the effluent flow.
The first stage involved installing six 12 inch Godwin Dri-Prime Model DPC300 diesel driven pumps with a total capacity of 24,000 usgpm, to lower the primary clarifier level. During this time, effluent from the plant was diverted and collected in the 60 x 100 meter emergency basin. As this basin has a capacity of handling a total of 6 hours of effluent inflow, plant production would have to be shutdown after only 4 hours to allow for a margin of safety. The primary clarifier level was lowered by 9 feet and ahead of schedule in only 2-1/2 hours.
The second stage involved quickly relocating the six 12 inch pumps to the emergency basin and to start immediately transferring the 22,000 usgpm effluent flow with 3% dry solids to the secondary treatment via the primary clarifier overflow. A temporary dyke was constructed in the basin, effectively creating a temporary primary clarifier action. The 3,000 feet of 12 inch Bauer quick-disconnect galvanized steel piping and bends had already been installed between the basin and discharging into the primary clarifier overflow.
Pumps were installed with 15-foot suction lift and through 500-foot horizontal pipe runs. 100% of the mill effluent was by-passed uneventfully for three days. The entire rental by-pass pumping system was dismantled and returned by that weekend.
Plant personnel were extremely pleased with the reliability and performance of the Godwin Dri-Prime pumps and with the ease of installation and disassembly of the Bauer galvanized steel piping system. Comments included "very competent people . . . it was the first time we used these pumps and it won’t be the last".
