A ProPress high-performance filter press commissioned by wet processing specialist, CDE, has exceeded processing targets and ‘significantly’ reduced reliance on costly settling ponds, Collier Quarrying and Recycling has said.
The firm was the first CDE customer to integrate the new ProPress into its wash plant setup. Commissioned in April this year at the company’s Goathill Quarry in Fife, its ProPress X4-200, the largest model in CDE’s new range of filter press, benefits from 200 plates and can process 20m3 per mechanical cycle.
Developed to meet the evolving needs of the construction and demolition waste recycling, quarrying, and mining sectors, the ProPress integrates the latest technological advancements to deliver exceptional operational efficiency and maximum water recovery.
Duncan Collier, owner of Collier Quarrying and Recycling, said, “I have two CDE plants and they’re really good plants. They’re very efficient, so when I found out CDE was designing its new filter press I knew it wouldn’t let me down. We’re very familiar with the technology under the hood and fully trusted CDE to deliver – and they really have.”
By the end of the year, the ProPress will be found on eight plants across three regions, processing around 1,000tph of material.
With the CDE ProPress, owners and operators can recycle up to 95% of process water for immediate reuse in their wash plant, eliminating the need for settling ponds which typically require extensive maintenance, consume labour resources, and incur significant costs, CDE said.
CDE business development manager Fergal Campbell said, “Settling ponds are known to be a source of considerable revenue losses. They occupy a very large site footprint, maintenance costs are high, and they adversely impact the production of saleable material due to the amount of management needed. With the CDE ProPress, we can address many of these pain points with a single solution.”
When Collier Quarrying and Recycling acquired Goathill Quarry it began recycling demolition waste into reusable aggregates and sub-base materials, a process that requires significant water resources along with its virgin material processing.
“We’ve been managing settling ponds for over a decade now. More and more, our business is focused on recycling demolition waste and as that side of the business continues to grow our water needs increase substantially,” Duncan added.
“The time we spend creating and managing the ponds to ensure we have clean water readily available really impacts on our productivity, so the integration of a new filter press to dispose of waste and contaminants while quickly returning clean water to our two wash plants has been a really positive development.”
Jordan McCooe, CDE programme manager UK & Ireland, commented, “For Collier, the challenge with pond management was doubled because it required clean water to supply two active wash plants. Initially, it was thought that two filter presses would be needed; one for each plant. When we reviewed current and projected throughput, we found that a single, large filter press had the capacity to process materials from both plants.”
