Horizontal to Incline Shaftless Screw Conveyor System for Pandora Water Treatment Facility

General Description

Telluride Public Works opened the Pandora Water Treatment Plant in Telluride, Colorado in order to provide up to 1 million gallons per day of clean and environmentally friendly drinking water for Telluride and the surrounding area. The Pandora Water Treatment Plant collects water from the Bridal Veil Basin where the water is filtered and chlorinated. Solids are collected during the filtration process, treated by various systems and ultimately dewatered by rotary presses. The dewatered solids are then transferred by KWS shaftless screw conveyors to bins for removal.

Design Parameters

KWS Advantages

Engineers from KWS Environmental made several site visits to work closely with SW Contracting to determine the design and suitability for the application. The dewatering system including the shaftless screw conveyors had to be designed for periodic duty and long periods of non-use. The long term goals of the plant dictate that the system is capable of handling 1 million gallons per day and also be expandable to 2 million gallons per day. The system capacity was designed for future expansion and the addition of another rotary press. The collection conveyor was designed with an additional inlet to handle the future expansion. KWS Environmental provided a complete shaftless screw conveyor system including controls and structural supports.

Special Features

Keeping the future capacity requirements and space constraints in mind, KWS designed the shaftless screw conveyors for maximum capacity within a minimal footprint. The horizontal shaftless screw conveyor receives dewatered solids from two rotary presses and pushes the product directly into an inclined shaftless screw conveyor. The inclined shaftless screw conveyor is located on a 32-degree incline. By eliminating the typical transition between a horizontal and inclined conveyor, KWS was able to fit the two conveyors in the tight space that was available. Overall conveying capacity was increased because the angle of the inclined conveyor was reduced, making it more efficient. Also, with the direct connection, the conveyors are more efficient when the rotary presses are discharging a lower capacity of solids. The system was designed to be water-tight in order to prevent any unwanted leakage. The entire conveyor system and supports were constructed from 304 stainless steel. Xylethon liners provided a very low friction wear surface for the spirals and are highly resistant to water absorption. The controls provided by KWS Environmental interfaced with the rotary presses and other upstream equipment creating a totally automated system.