Established in 1990, Veolia is the UK’s waste management leader. While they are involved in numerous waste management activities across the country, one of their Sheffield sites, in Northern England, focuses on the recovery of hydrocarbons, diesel oils and industrial solvents.

One particular recovery process is the manufacturing of a secondary liquid fuel (SLF) from liquid wastes. These materials come from various sources, with the majority from the manufacturing industry and include waste fuels, waste thinners, waste paint, waste oils and waste solvents. The waste materials are carefully recovered by Veolia and then blended, macerated, and filtered under strictly regulated conditions before being delivered to cement manufacturers.

After Veolia’s mixing and blending process, some debris remains in the resultant fuel oil. The debris must be removed before the fuel can be used and pumped into delivery tankers. Veolia used basket filters to achieve this check-screening function, leading to some delays in the filtering process due to blockages.

After considering several options, Veolia turned to specialists Russell Finex. Peter Hithersay, plant manager of the Sheffield site, comments "Russell Finex were the only company willing to provide us with a test unit before we had to commit to any equipment. Because of this, we ran the trial unit for approximately one month before deciding that this was clearly the right choice for us". Veolia procured two Self-Cleaning Russell Eco Filters® to filter their reclaimed fuel and immediately reaped the benefits of their installation. The filters were supplied to meet the latest ATEX approval ratings, essential to operate safely in Veolia's secured environment.

The unique design of the Eco Filter ensures that material flow passes through the filter screen whilst the screen is automatically cleaned using a rotating wiper inside the element. The Russell Eco Filter® wiper system works on a continuous basis, cleaning the filter element surface at all times thereby maintaining maximum open screen area, which in turn gives a consistent throughput rate and prevents a build up of differential pressure.

Because of this unique design, Veolia are no longer experiencing filter blockages. Productivity at the tank-filling stage has improved by more than 50% since the installation. While filling a 28,000-litre delivery tanker with fuel used to take between 1.5 to 2 hours due to continual stoppages to clean out the filter baskets, this can now be achieved in only 25 minutes with the Russell Eco Filter®. Additionally, their operators are working in a much safer and more efficient environment.

Throughout the world, Russell Finex serves a variety of industries with applications including food, chemicals, adhesives, plastisols, paint, coatings, pharmaceuticals, metal powders and ceramics. Contact Russell Finex today to find out how its separation equipment can optimize your new or existing processing line.

Russell Finex has over 85 years of experience manufacturing and supplying separators, screeners and filters to enhance productivity and ensure product quality. The company serves a variety of industries in over 140 countries with applications that include adhesives, ceramics, chemicals, colors, enamels, explosives, food, inks, latex, metal powders, paint, paper coatings, pharmaceuticals, plastisols, powder coatings, and waste oils. Contact Russell Finex today to discover how technology such as this could optimize your production process at www.russellfinex.com.