No more blockages for abattoir's wastewater system

Hydro Innovations was approached by Western Sydney Meat Works and SJ Plumbing Industries to provide a pump solution to replace the existing submersible pump operating in the abattoir’s wastewater (green and red lines) collection pit.

The existing submersible pump was continually blocking due to the large quantities of paunch, stomach linings, grit and other foreign materials ending up in the pit. As a result of these blockages, constant vigilance of the submersible pump was required to ensure its continuous operation.

In the event of a blockage and the submersible pump stopping, it meant the submersible pump would have to be lifted from the pit, with the impeller/suction end dismantled to remove the offending material, reassembled and returned to operation; an often lengthy, messy and difficult exercise.

The solution

Phil Rothheudt, Hydro Innovations’ NSW Regional Manager, attended the site and quickly realised this was a perfect situation for a Gorman Rupp self-priming pump.

The Gorman Rupp self-priming pump would sit at the surface of the pit (not submersed), where instant and safe access to the pump’s internals (and the blockage) was available to the operators; regular service and maintenance is also simplified with the easy access, all carried out at the surface.

The Gorman Rupp self-priming pump requires no foot valve (to block or leak); just an open suction pipe into the liquid is all that’s required. The result is an easy pump to install, operate and maintain.

Rothheudt also recommended the pump be fitted with the Gorman Rupp Eradicator ‘Solids Management System’ to deal with the often-stringy intestines, tough gut linings, undigested hay or any material that might find its way into the pump that could result in blocking, jamming or wrapped around the impeller. Gorman Rupp self-priming pumps fitted with the Eradicator system have been deployed in many abattoir sites around Australia and municipal sewage treatment plants with excellent results.

The abattoir decided to proceed with the purchase of a Gorman Rupp Super T3C60SC-B fitted with the Eradicator ‘Solids Management System’.

The results

Within a day of operation, the waste material that had built up in and around the pit was being steadily pumped to the separator screen.

The initial startup was so successful that an excavator was deployed to dig and loosen the heavy settled material in the bottom of the well, mixing it with the incoming flow; the pump then sent the mixture to the separator screen.

If the pump ever did block or jam, the operators simply opened the suction-end inspection cover and removed the offending blockage before getting back to work.