Sofia Med improves water quality after installing Surfcleaner skimmer separator hybrid
Sofia Med is a producer of a wide range of rolled and extruded copper and copper alloy products such as sheets, strips, plates, circles, disks, bare and plated copper bus bars, rods, profiles, components, fabricated parts and wire that are used in a wide variety of industrial – electrical – automotive and building applications. Sofia Med is part of the Copper Segment of ElvalHalcorHellenic Copper and Aluminium Industry S.A., a leading global manufacturer of aluminum and copper rolled and extrusion products.
Sofia Med recognize that water is a precious natural resource and that water resources must be conserved, and aquatic life must be protected. Sofia Med makes efficient use of water in their operations and strive to increase the efforts to reduce water consumption and increase water reuse and recycling. Constant monitoring of water quality is of key importance to meet the demanding limits.
Surfcleaner cleans oil-contaminated wastewater
The company needed an efficient way to further improve the quality of the treated wastewater to increase the wastewater recycling rate, by having more efficient oil removal at their local wastewater treatment plant.
Surfcleaner is a self-adjusting, floating oil skimmer separator hybrid that is suitable for continuous operation in these kinds of installations. The Surfcleaner has a separation capacity of 1m3 per hour and a maximum flow capacity of 3,5m3 per hour. As the installation space was limited the SCO 1000 has been commissioned without buoys and water surface level is kept constant.
Why the final decision to choose Surfcleaner?
Sofia Med evaluated the Surfcleaner technology at the site during a two week’s demonstration project and concluded quickly that the Surfcleaner technology was very efficient method for removing oil from the oil-containing wastewater.
Within hours after the SCO 1000 was put into operation, the oil was collected, separated and discharged at a very high rate.
One of the advantages with the SCO 1000 is that it can cope with various operating conditions, being able to collect both oil layers from 0.1 μm and upwards, continuously keeping the water surface completely free from oil. The continuous separation with minimal manual efforts has significantly optimized the treatment process.
What were your expectations on the investment in Surfcleaner?
“We needed additional equipment to clean the oil contained in the wastewater generated from our production processes. Surfcleaner has exceeded our expectations, both in terms of capacity and maintenance. Sofia Med has earlier tested various technologies, but none has been found to be that satisfactory.”
The result so far
The SCO 1000 has made daily work easier for operators at the plant. The SCO 1000 can be operated via
a tablet and will look after itself and sends an alarm if there is a problem.
“Improved control of water- continuously and a minimal operational cost” -Vasil Harizanov, Sustainability Manager
