Mechanical Rapid Gravity Sand Filter, Potable Water Treatment Plant – Alice
AGF Autonomous Gravity Sand Filter
Client: Amathole District Municipality
Industry: Potable Water
Region: Eastern Cape, South Africa
Product: AGF42S, 3 units, 97m³/h per unit @ 7m/h
Installation Date: 2000
Challenge
- Amathole District Municipality operates a 7MLD potable water treatment plant at Alice, a rural town in the Eastern Cape province in South Africa.
- During the design phase, process engineers were looking for polishing filters that would ensure compliance with potable water standards for Turbidity and TSS.
- They required:
- easy installation
- high efficiency
- low maintenance costs
- easy maintenance functions
- zero electrical energy consumption
- high reliability
Application
- Final Filtration / Mechanical Rapid Gravity Sand Filters (polishing filters) at Potable Water Treatment Plant.
Solution
- The inherent simplicity of the Autonomous Gravity Sand Filters (AGF) addressed constraints presented by the rural location and it easily met the requirements set by the design engineers.
- Easy Installation:
- Minimum civil works on site.
- Fabrication under tightly controlled factory conditions. • High efficiency:
- AGF filters cycle autonomously between filtration and backwash cycles resulting in regular, thorough cleaning of the filter bed.
- Low Maintenance Costs:
- No peripheral equipment (backwash pumps, controllers, compressors) required.
- Manpower limited to period oversight functions.
- Easy Maintenance:
- Maintaining the integrity of the mechanical structure and periodic replacement of nozzles and sand.
- Zero Electrical Energy Consumption:
- Gravity flow through the filters.
- Complete Autonomous Function.
- High reliability:
- No moving or rotating components.
- No peripheral components.
- 3 x AGF42S Mechanical Rapid Gravity Sand Filters were installed, processing 97m³/h per unit at an average filtration velocity of 7m/h.
Results
- Since commissioning in 2000 the AGF filters have consistently provided efficient filtration.
- Maintenance and operating costs have been kept to a minimum.
- The filters continue to produce filtrate that complies with the drinking water standard.