Principle of operation
Fat and starch separators are designed for treatment of process sewage contaminated with greasy substances (vegetable and animal fats) and/or containing starch before it is discharged into the sewer system. These substances do not dissolve in water or dissolve to a negligible extent (in the case of starch – it foams a lot), therefore their direct introduction into sewerage systems causes a number of utility problems (clogging of pipelines and sewerage drains, corrosion of equipment, unpleasant odour), thus hindering the proper operation of sewage treatment plants/sewerage systems. It should be emphasized that the above mentioned separators cannot receive “black” sewage, rain sewage, or sewage containing light liquids and mineral oils.
The separators are flow devices, i.e. they mechanically separate fat from the rest of the sewage as it flows through the system (in the case of starch, the foam formed is neutralised). The separation process is made possible by the flotation phenomenon due to the lower density of the fatty substances in relation to the density of the water. Due to their mode of operation, the separators also retain a portion of the easily settling suspension which accumulates in a settling chamber at the bottom of the unit (sedimentation phenomenon).
The basis for proper separator operation is the proper determination of the nominal flow (the amount of process effluent flowing through the device [L/s]). This determines the basic characteristics of the separator, such as the diameter of the inlet and outlet, the volume of the sedimentation chamber and the volume of the separation chamber. Fat and starch separators manufactured by JPR AQUA are designed for treating process sewage with flows ranging from 0.5 to 30 L/s (standard offer). At the customer’s request we also manufacture devices with higher flow.