Sustainability and ecological footprint increasingly important for manufacturing companies

Just think of industrial fluids for cooling and cleaning machines or disposing of waste products. Instead of discharging polluted process water, recycling is now the choice. With its centrifuges and process water systems, Rösler offers an ideal solution for every recycling application. They provide significant cost savings and contribute to the protection of people, the environment and the climate.

The chemical and petrochemical sectors may often be labeled the most polluting industry, but metal processing plants are also high on the list of polluters. This is a result of burning fossil fuels to get the heat and electricity needed, emissions from chemical reactions, use of raw materials and leaks. "In addition, in metalworking, industrial fluids are used to cool and clean machinery and other equipment or dispose of waste products. At some point, that process water is too contaminated to use anymore. Then you can discharge it, but ultimately it is much more efficient and environmentally friendly to recycle it," says marketing manager Vincent Raman of Rösler Benelux. "It is clear that the treatment of process fluids is becoming more and more of a cost factor for companies. With our centrifuges and process water systems, we offer them functional as well as economical solutions."

Cleaning centrifuges

Rösler offers customers a wide range of centrifuges for cleaning process water and industrial liquids. Through centrifugal force, 2-stage systems separate solids from liquids. For example, when sawing, grinding, drilling or milling, metal burrs are removed from a liquid. There are also 3-stage centrifuges, which depending on the application can also separate emulsions and oil solutions. This is necessary, for example, in cooling lubricants, where solids and oil are separated from the liquid substance. "Our compact RZ 60 M is a semi-automatic 2-phase centrifuge, which can process up to 60 l of liquid/minute and is characterized by a speed of 4,100 rpm and a centrifugal force of 1,800 g. The powerful RZ 120 M is available in a 2- or 3-phase version and suitable for up to 120 l of liquid/minute. With a speed of 2,950 rpm and a force of 1,750 g, this unit also scores high," explains the marketing manager. "With the RZ 150 A, we developed a fully automatic cleaning centrifuge. In most centrifuge systems, the peeling blade rotates continuously in the drum, but with this RZ 150 A, the blade remains stationary. During the cleaning cycle, a linear drive pushes the blade toward the drum wall, scraping off the sludge without any load on the drum bearings. After scraping, the drum is automatically rinsed to remove any sludge residue. Specific sensors shut down the system in case of imbalance."

Process water systems

The company also supplies recycling systems for the process water generated, for example, in slide grinding processes such as deburring, fine grinding, coarse grinding, edging, rounding or polishing. Here, the recycling of water and compound significantly reduces production costs. Each installation is tailored specifically to the application, including a choice between semi- and fully automatic systems. "The semi-automatic process water systems of our Z 800 series combine a proprietary developed basket centrifuge, the plant controller and the tank for process and clean water in one ready-to-use unit. They are characterized by a speed of 3,160 rpm and a centrifugal force of 2,010 g and process from 100 to 1,200 l of liquid/hour," Raman concludes. "In certain applications, however, it is necessary to centrifuge particularly large quantities of solids or water in a short period of time. Process water circulation systems such as the Z 1000 ASS with automatic sludge removal are used for this purpose. Here, the solids are removed after centrifugation in a sludge car with a capacity of 300 l under the centrifuge. The rotor is then rinsed to remove any residual dirt and prevent greater bearing wear. Sensors are also provided here, which switch off the system in case of imbalance."