Wastewater in processing facilities, such as factories for food and beverage production, can present unique requirements for drainage systems.
Production equipment in these facilities may need regular washing down, resulting in large volumes of water containing debris and cleaning agents. The wastewater drainage system will need to cope with the volume as well as the contaminants. Additionally, if the equipment operates using liquid, then the wastewater system will be required for catchment if a sudden release occurs.
Selecting a drainage system with a wide opening such as 200 mm allows for greater catchment in situations where a large volume of water is suddenly expelled from equipment or in a sluicing or cleaning process. A slot drain with a 20 mm opening would be ideal for areas that see smaller volumes or have consistent flowrates, such as chiller openings or work stations.
Channel depth is a factor in wastewater catchment and hydraulics. The channel needs to provide enough capacity to capture the surface wastewater so not to cause flooding or safety hazards. An outlet performs better hydraulically if there is a head of water creating pressure; this increases the flow rate and the speed at which wastewater is drained. Therefore, when flow rate is a priority, a sump is an ideal end point for the channel; it is deeper, allowing the discharge to waterfall to the sump and increase flow rates. The depth can be fabricated to a requested measurement as determined by the hydraulic design in customised products.
When washing down processing facilities such as butchers and fishmongers that may have larger food particles, wider grate openings may be required. The wider grate opening allows for larger particles to be swept into the system. Strainer baskets are an ideal addition to the outlets; Allproof can customise strainer basket perforations to suit particle collection. In a recent meat processing plant, the mesh was fabricated to 20 mm openings so that the heavier chunks could pass through and be manged by the trade waste separator further down the line, reducing blockages at the sump. Allproof also supplied strainer baskets with handles that sit just below the grate, allowing for easy identification of the sump outlet when the channel is full and maintenance is required.
Allproof’s MC Series channels and grates are manufactured from 304 or 316 stainless steel and designed to perform under load class requirements and are slip resistance tested. This ensures that the operational needs of the facility can be met with traffic such as fork lifts and fast-moving foot traffic. The MC Series also comes in modular components of 100 mm or 200 mm wide channels in a range of depths allowing for off-the-shelf selection, easy transportation and installation into layouts that meet the project’s exact needs. Additionally, Allproof can design and fabricate fully custom drainage channel to meet specific design requirements.
