Success at Buckton Castle WTW

The viscous lime slurry used at Buckton Castle WTW to maintain a neutral pH during the water treatment process was causing frequent blockages in the diaphragm pumps used for the duty. However, the installation of ten peristaltic hose pumps supplied by Watson-Marlow Bredel has overcome this problem, substantially reducing both the time and cost of maintenance required

During the water treatment process, lime slurry is added to the water supply at several points in the system in order to maintain the required pH level. The alkaline solution is added firstly during the coagulation process, which causes unwanted particles in the water to stick together so that they can be extracted from the solution. Further along the system, lime slurry is again dosed into the water, to correct the pH during two stages of filtration before it enters supply pipelines.

Buckton Castle had been using diaphragm pumps to achieve this dosage, yet at low flow rates the pumps frequently became blocked with the viscous slurry, causing maintenance problems and increased down-time. However, when the diaphragm pumps were replaced with peristaltic SPX hose pumps supplied by Watson-Marlow Bredel, blockages were no longer a problem. These pumps use only a hose to move the fluid from source to delivery and there are no other wearing parts. Hoses can be replaced when required without dismantling the pump so maintenance is simple and low cost.

Process Technician at Buckton Castle, Mike Whittam, says that the Watson-Marlow Bredel pumps are a great improvement for the treatment works: “I am an engineer by trade and have worked with the pumps before. I have always found them very easy to use and maintain, as they have a simple design.”