Innovative Approach on the HUBER STRAINPRESS®

As the original designer and manufacturer of the world recognised and respected HUBER STRAINPRESS® pressurised sludge screen, it has been increasingly interesting to us to see the number of different applications where the STRAINPRESS® has been utilised and requested.

From its original launch into the market in 1990, with its cast steel casing, chain-drive motors and old stuffing box seals, the unit then underwent a period of innovation in 1999 and the latest design was launched in 2000. The modifications included items such as the whole casing now being manufactured and supplied in 304L stainless steel as standard and therefore increasing its asset life against that of the old steel casing versions, which could be subject to corrosion after around 10 years.  Additional major modifications at the same time were a direct geared motor drive in place of the old chain-driven design and an up-to-date mechanical seal arrangement to replace the old stuffing box sealing.

These new improvements in its design meant that the STRAINPRESS® was now suitably upgraded to ensure that the whole life cost of the unit was reduced and thus allowed it to comply with the latest specifications and market requirements.

With this latest design and its extensive track record of over 345 units in the UK and over 1000 units worldwide it is therefore renowned as a market leader in its field.

One of the main strengths of any supplier is for them to understand and be aware of its products capabilities in terms of sizing / throughput and performance but also the applications and the effects that different products and solids loading can have on that unit.

While the municipal wastewater market tends to have a fairly recognised and well proven range of applications and has full confidence in the unit’s capabilities, this was not always the case when industrial applications are presented to us.

This is particularly apparent with the commercial Anaerobic Digestion (AD) market which has expanded over the past 5 to 6 years.  HUBER recognised this particular area as a potential application for the STRAINPRESS® units some 7 or 8 years ago and undertook a large number of trials on different applications within this area.  It was observed from the very first trial that the characteristics of the digestate required re-evaluation of how the machine could best be optimised in order to give the best performance in this area.

HUBER undertook a large number of trials on applications with a series of end users and sites and different basket hole perforations where items including the hydraulic throughput, solids throughput, temperature of the sludge and screenings retention were all recorded.

From these extensive trials it was apparent that specific items in terms of some changes to the build of the unit together with the control of the unit were required and from this the industrial version of the recognised STRAINPRESS® unit was developed with validated sizing parameters.

The main lessons learned from this was that one size or type does not fit all and from this sound base we have grown this now so that numerous units have been supplied into this demanding and difficult application sector over the past 5 years and all of which are working successfully.

Our extensive experience has shown that each application must be looked at and engineered on its own merits , should anyone tell you otherwise then they have obviously not done their homework or undertaken the hard work upfront in order to gain the experience necessary. In that regard, HUBER’s extensive trial work and experience has made us a market leader and allows us to give confidence to our clients that the STRAINPRESS® “does what it says on the tin” in this field.

We are equipped to address any present or future AD market needs - just contact us for a discussion about your application.