Watermark Projects were recently tasked with the design, manufacture, installation and commissioning of a bespoke Dissolved Air Flotation system for one of our clients within the food industry. The project had 3 key targets to fulfil the clients’ requirements:
- Efficient treatment capacity at flow rates of up to 50,000 litres per hour.
- Integration into existing pre-treatment equipment including pre-screening and oil recovery.
- Designed to fit into an existing building structure with limited access & restricted lift capacity.
Working alongside our engineering division (The WA Cooke Group – Engineers), Watermark Projects designed a bespoke 50m³ DAF with modular Mixing Tanks, Whitewater System (our SuperSaturator system), Access Steel & DAF Cell not only to maximise the existing space for installation but also the future operational requirements of the clients engineering team.
Following completion of the design, production began at our Ely works in Cambridgeshire. The 22,000 square foot fabrication space being ideal for the fabrication of the DAF Cell at almost 8 meters long. The DAF Cell, Mixing Tanks, and Super Saturator were all fabricated T304 Stainless Steel.
These parts were then loaded up and transported over 200 miles to our Manchester workshop for the next stages of production.
Following offloading at our Manchester works, fabrication began on the interconnecting pipework, also in T304 stainless steel, as well as the mild steel access steelwork. Final fabrication also included the addition of inlet, outlet, and whitewater flanged connections between the DAF Cell, Mixing Tanks & SuperSaturator.
Once fabrication had been completed, the various components were sent off for finishing which included cleaning and passivating of all stainless steel parts as well as galvansing of the access steel. Passivating the unit improves the steel’s corrosion resistance by using acid to remove free iron from the metal surface and gives the DAF its finished look.
With fabrication and finishing complete, the unit could now be assembled & tested including Sludge Scraper System installation, SuperSaturator recirculation test, Mechanical Mixer installation, Whitewater Inlet Valve assembly & complete hydraulic testing.
Finally, the complete DAF system was loaded for transport to site ready for installation and commissioning by the Watermark Projects site team.
After being loaded onto a transport wagon and leaving our Manchester workshop, the Bespoke 50m3 DAF arrived at our client’s site in the Midlands.
With the new equipment being installed into an existing building with limited access, the DAF cell, two-stage chemical mixing tanks, supporting access steel and whitewater system were offloaded externally via Hiab and then skated into position inside.
The Watermark Projects site team then completed the full scope of installation works including all interconnecting pipework, electrical wiring and signal cables to the various components. The client’s existing control panel was also modified to incorporate Watermark Projects software, required to operate the DAF.
Following a comprehensive system test, our engineers complete the final steps – commissioning of the new system, training and handover to the clients operation team.
With this, the project was now complete having fulfilled the three objectives outlined by our client.