Sludge Pumps
Municipal Sewage Treatment Facilities (Concentrated Sludge):
Handling municipal sewage sludge has always been a costly and inefficient job. Due to the physical properties of digested sewage sludge the material is particularly difficult to transfer efficiently and economically using conventional methods such as pumping with centrifugal pumps or dredging with draglines, clam buckets or backhoes. Centrifugal pumps typically can only handle sludge containing only about 4-6 percent total solids by weight. Since transportation costs represent the vast majority of the total sludge handling budget, it is desirable to maximize the total solids by weight (TSW) of the sludge being transported. For example, if TSW can be increased from 6 to 14 percent, transportation cost could be cut almost in half; reduced sludge volume can also lower costs associated with landfill disposal. Due to this sewage handling one of the largest municipal sewage treatment facilities in the world brought in the Eddy Pump to transfer the sludge within a pond as well as to pump concentrated sludge from ponds to trucks for transport for final processing. The Eddy Pump exceeded all expectations by operating 95% of the work day at rates of 100 ft of head while pushing 18.6% TSW sludge 1,320 ft at rates averaging 2,500 gpm. These unheard of pumping capabilities were achieved without any assistance of external intake-feeder devices or booster pumps and could fill a 21-ton payload dump truck with concentrated sludge in less than 3 minutes.