While some water treatment plants simply make the sludge safe enough to dispose of, most facilities continue treatment so that the material can be put to good use in their communities. Once sludge is treated to meet EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) safety standards for beneficial use, the resulting nutrient-rich product is termed “biosolids.” These biosolids are used to enrich soil and reduce the need for harsh chemical fertilizers.

A small tank, (On the Right Side) is needed to hold carbon scrubbing media for a discharge bay in a bio-solids facility. Others manufacture these with steel and cost more… this tank is cheaper than steel and is not susceptible to corrosion.

Click on photo to enlarge

I know it’s supposed to be Tank Tips but we are going to look at direct drive barrels instead. From time to time we all need a refresher course or if you’re like me you really need Direct Drive Barrel 101. Except our information is free and you can sit in our virtual classroom with your coffee cup.

If you just need a refresher on what we call all of our replacement parts, the picture has all the details listed on it. Print it out for future use if you’d like!

If you need Direct Drive Barrels 101 then continue reading. As shown by the picture this is what a direct drive barrel looks like. The motor is literally mounted on top of the stainless steel superstructure, which is what makes it a direct drive. Otherwise, the barrel is rotated by the motors mounted on a plating tank. A polypropylene box is needed to protect the motor and gear box driving the rotation of the barrel. Both sides of the barrel have plastisol coated hangers, attached to them are the drive/idle hanger arms; the drive side is the side with the 16T drive gear.  The 3-1/2” UHMW barrel bearing (which is “drawn” on the picture) inserts in the hole of the 88T ring gear head to allow the dangler to enter the cylinder with a perfect fit. The dangler is attached to the copper horn along with the crossover cable, by the horn collar, rubber horn washers and stainless steel washer and nut. The stainless steel drive shaft is attached to the plastisol hanger by the flange bearing, then goes through both hangers where the 16T drive gear is fastened with a bolt, continues through the pillar block bearing and finally to the 21T steel sprocket. The door is held on by the titanium clamps. Each of these items can be purchased individually and some come in as a set. Some parts have to be fabricated to your specification, if replacing them on an existing barrel.

Currently we are in the process of research and developing a new barrel door design for our barrels. Once it moves in to production we will put it under the “download our new literature here” on our website.

By: Renae Smith