Last month, Peter and Albert travelled to South America to engage with our Peruvian and Chilean clients, distributors and contacts before moving on to Rio

Over the past 40 years, Superior Filtration has supplied filters to more than 35 countries across six continents.

We have active projects on three continents (South America (Peru), Africa (Angola and Morocco) and Eastern Europe (Bulgaria)). These projects are in the Potable Water, Mining and Mineral Processing sectors and align with our strategy of developing international markets.

In Peru, they visited Anglo American (we are supplying filters for their Quellaveco mine), DRA Global (the engineers on the project) and Eriez Flotation (it is their equipment that our filters will protect, and we’re anticipating we can also offer filters on some of their other projects). We also visited Jose Palomino from Futura Technologies – our distributor in Peru.

In Chile, they visited Bechtel and connected with Guillermo Kelly Millán, an engineer Peter worked with more than 30 years ago. He introduced us to his associates at Balmey Engineering.

Constructive meetings were held, and we established new contacts to develop further over the next six to twelve months. Of course, one cannot always work – so Peter and Albert ended their trip with two days in magnificent Rio!

34 years on a Salt Mine: Filters still deliver superior performance

In North-Eastern Botswana lies one of the most extensive salt flats in the world, and it is here where Botash, the largest producer of natural sodium products in the region, currently produces variants of soda ash and salt. It is also here that a critical processing component has proven its mettle: a filtration solution that’s been running for more than three decades under the harshest salt mine conditions – at minimal cost and with very little maintenance.

Near the village of Sowa (‘Sowa’ or ‘Sua’ meaning ‘salt’ in the language of the local San people) in the remote Makgadikgadi region in the middle of the dry savanna of Botswana lies a three-pan complex covering around 24,000 square kilometres. The Sua Pan is the most profound depression or drainage sump, filling with water during the summer rainy season and retaining water until May.

It is here where Botash (Botswana Ash Pty Ltd) – a natural sodium minerals beneficiation company located on the Sua Pan – has produced sodium carbonate and sodium chloride variants since the early 1990s.

1. Success in the salt mine

With a capacity of 300,000 tonnes per annum of soda ash and approximately 650,000 tonnes per annum of salt, Botash is the largest producer of natural sodium and related products in the region and distributes its products to most SADC countries.

At the Botash operations, water is pumped from boreholes out of the pans into solar ponds where, through evaporation, it is concentrated into brine. Before the brine solution is pumped into the processing plant, where soda ash and salt are extracted, a critically important process occurs: removing suspended solids from the brine solution. A crucial decision: the fit-for-purpose filtration solution.

At this point in the production process, the design consultant for the original project, UHDE Consulting, made a design decision
that would continue to deliver superior results over three decades later.

Looking for a filtration solution suitable for this industrial chemical process in harsh salt mine conditions, UHDE Consulting
relied on the expertise of a South African filtration company, Superior Filtration, which has designed and installed industrial
filtration solutions in 36 countries worldwide.

“Every filtration application is unique, and optimal performance requires an accurate diagnosis. Just as a specialist diagnosis is essential in high-level professions such as engineering and medicine, consulting a diagnostic specialist before specifying the filters to be used in any process is key to successful filtration,” explains Superior Filtration’s Albert Bam.
“A fit-for-purpose, customised filtration solution reduces risk and lifetime cost.”

To clear the Sua Pan brine of suspended solids and, ultimately, to optimise the Botash production process and costs, Superior Filtration installed four Autonomous Gravity Sand Filters in 1990.

2. The ultimate solution

Superior Filtration’s AGF polishing filters are mechanical rapid gravity sand filters that remove fine suspended solids from water. AGF filters are the perfect fit for the Botash application due to their high efficiency, minimal maintenance and low operational costs.

The filtration system for Botash was finely customised to meet the challenges specific to the application. For example, while the plain bare carbon steel filtration tanks are uncoated, the internal areas of the top backwash storage compartments are rubberlined. This was done to manage the higher corrosion rate resulting from the interaction with the atmosphere during backwash, thereby extending the life of the filters.

Similarly, due to the demanding operating conditions, minor carbon steel parts and piping of the AGF filters were replaced with stainless steel.

AGF filters have also proven helpful at a large chlorine manufacturing company, where AGF filters are used with the same great
results.

3. Unlocking a range of benefits

In addition to providing a customised solution for Botash’s specific application, the AFG filters also unlock further benefits. Below are some of the benefits delivered by AGF filters over three decades at the Botash operations:

– High efficiency
• Operator intervention is limited to periodic maintenance inspections
• Completely autonomous filtration and backwash
• Thorough filter bed cleaning

– High reliability
• No moving or rotating components
• No peripheral components (backwash pumps, controllers, compressors)

– Complete autonomous function
• No backwash pumps
• No human inputs
• No external controls
• Zero energy consumption

– Easy Maintenance
• Maintenance limited to mechanical structure integrity
• Only periodic replacement of nozzles and sand

– Low Maintenance Costs
• No peripheral equipment
• Manpower limited to periodic oversight functions
• Only nozzles and sand need periodic replacement

– Lowest Lifetime Cost
• Exceptional durability in the harshest conditions
• Works for decades with minimal maintenance or input

Since the installation of the AGF filters at the Botash plant in 1990, no major maintenance has been required except for the occasional replacement of underdrain nozzles and filter sand.

“The success of this filtration system demonstrates how the right filters can make all the difference,” concludes Bam. “Our Superior Filtration diagnostic team invites design engineers and end users of filtration systems to contact us via telephone or email to benefit from our no-obligation diagnostic service and technical input. We are ready to invest our time and expertise upfront to ensure you get a fit-for-purpose filter – to benefit from reduced risk, increased uptime, minimal oversight and maintenance, and the lowest lifetime cost – even in the harshest conditions.”

Superior Filtration is an OEM. We design, manufacture and supply water filters

One of our products is the Autonomous Gravity Sand Filter (AGF), a mechanical rapid gravity sand filter successfully designed
for:
• Potable Water Polishing Filter
• Cooling Water Side Stream Filtration
• Iron and Manganese removal
• Membrane System Feed Water Filtration
• Thickener Overflow Filter
• Underground Water Filtration
• Process/Service Water Filtration

Why partner with our solution? 

• It’s Autonomous.

– Operates without direct human or electronic control

• It’s efficient.

– Net-zero electricity consumption.
– No backwash pumps are required.
– Operating costs are approximately zero.

• It’s effective.
• It’s extremely reliable.
• Easy and quick drop-in installation on-site.
• Lowest lifetime costs.

“We initially installed four AGFs for Alice WTW in 2004. We have been impressed with the filter’s performance, including its low maintenance and operational cost compared to other types of filters. We used them again by adding two more filters during the plant expansion phase in 2024.”
Gervais Sery – Senior Manager: Water and Sanitation at Amathole District Municipality

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