Alar Corp

Diatomaceous Earth (DE), is an inexpensive natural mineral with honeycomb structure that is ideal for filtering. It is an industrial mineral composed primarily of the skeletal remains of microscopic aquatic plants, called diatoms. Deposits of their skeletal structures accumulated over the millennia, and are now accessible to mining.

Perlite filter media is the alternative to DE that is man-made hydrated, naturally occuring volcanic rock with good clarifying power and large throughputs.

One-Step is an unique bentonite clay based product that absorbs particles while the unique chemical formula acts as a separating agent to encapsulate the solids; removing emulsified oils, ink particles, phosphates and suspended solids from wastewater. It is not a filter aid media, but a pretreatment chemical that is added to wastewater prior to filtration. One-Step can be utilized on existing systems without modification and can be controlled to pH to minimize chemical consumption.

Dry & Liquid Polymers uncoild their molecular chin in order to bridge smaller particles into larger groupings (floc), so that liquid can be released and solids suspend on the filter.
Polymers increase flow rates, enhance effluent quality, conserve DE usage and provide cost savings. ALAR provides a wide range of both anionic and cationic blends used for both coagulation and floccuation of solids.

ALAR is one of the largest distributors of DE in the United States. It is used as a filter precoat for ALAR’s wastewater treatment equipment.

A Filter Press (also known as a Plate-and-Frame Filter Press) removes solids from wastewater and produces a clean effluent.

It is the most widely used method in the treatment of sludge produced by wastewater treatment.

ALAR’s Micro-Klean™ has the following features:

• 2 to 20 cubic feet Size Options
• Heavy Duty Steel Construction
• Automatic Open/Close Ram
• Roll-Off Solids Hopper
• Chemical Batch Treatment Skid Option
• PLC or Manual Control

ALAR also builds a Slurry-Klean™ Filter Press that is an economical compact plate-n-frame filter press with the ability to filter and purge automatically; providing continuous operation with minimal labor.  The Slurry Klean™ provides an innovative  solution for small batch operations and companies that cut, drill or grind concrete; it is best suited for cured or inactive concrete slurry water recycling.

The Micro-Klean™ and Slurry-Klean™ are made in the USA with easy access to universal parts and 40+ years of ALAR Engineering experience.

ALAR is preparing to attend the SuperCorrExpo in Atlanta at the Georgia World Congress Center in October.  ALAR has been exhibiting at the SuperCorrExpo for many years. We feature a working model of the ALAR Auto-Vac® in our booth (#2947).

ALAR built its first production unit specifically for flexographic ink wastewater in 1970.  The concept was to manufacture a complete system to remove metals, solids, and color; along with the ability to handle starch and adhesive waste – without clogging or blinding the filter.

ALAR’s Wastewater Treatment Fleet consists of:

• Flex-O-Star® – Automatic system with Auto-Vac® filter, chemical batch delivery and treatment bank
• Auto-Vac® – Rotary vacuum pre-coat drum filter that is self-cleaning and will not blind
• Micro-Klean™ – Easy to operate plate-n-frame filter press

Continue reading “Sustainable Solutions In North Dakota” »

TopFloorTechnologies located in Milwaukee, WI created a Responsive Design from our website for mobile users.

ALAR identified a continuing growth of online traffic from smart phone users. To keep up with this trend and provide a better online experience for our mobile users, ALAR worked with the TopFloor team to develop a mobile version of its existing site, which was launched in May 2012.

Responsive design helps ALAR’s site layout to get changed according to the users’ screen resolution, thus, as viewed more friendly on smartphones, tables, or other mobile devices screens.  Rather than designing multiple sites for different-sized devices, this approach designs one site, namely the same domain, but specifies how it should appear on devices with a wide range of dimensions.

Go to your smart phone, iPad, tablet or whatever you use to search the web and put our website in…www.alarcorp.com and see what we are talking about.

New rules from the North Dakota Industrial Commission go into effect April 1, 2012 that will provide stricter regulations to the oil industry.

Specifically, oil companies will now be required to separate liquids and drilling mud from rock cuttings.  The liquids can then be hauled away for disposal or recycling rather than stored in reserve pits.

Governor Jack Dalrymple, who is part of the Commission, said, “We want to do away with open pits for production wastewater.  There are treatment processes available today to clean and recycle these waste liquids  so that we leave a lighter footprint on the environment. Our management and oversight must reflect improvements made possible through new technologies .”

Aware of the upcoming “No Reserve Pit” regulations, ND based Paragon Water Solutions tested conventional methods such as Centrifuges, Hydrocyclones, Filter Presses and Settling Tanks. In each scenario, they hauled out hundreds of barrels of dirty water, and replaced them with truckloads of clean water.

In January 2011, Paragon contacted ALAR Engineering Corporation, a manufacturer of wastewater separation and water recycling equipment, with a need to dewater water-based drilling mud from active circulating systems where other technologies failed. ALAR recommended the Auto-Vac®  rotary vacuum precoat drum; a self-cleaning filter that does not blind or cause bottlenecks, and is forgiving of wastewater variances and thick oily sludge.

A trailer-mounted ALAR system, capable of filtering up to 800 barrels a day, was commissioned in April 2011. A year later the Auto-Vac® continues to filter a combination of wastewaters, producing dry solids and recyclable clean water without the cost and headaches.

Paragon noticed that the Auto-Vac® eliminates the need for reserve pits, which should satisfy the NDIC rule.  Their customers claim that the clean water increases the drilling rate of penetration and reduces mud pump and downhole tool wear and maintenance. The dry solids decrease wet tonnage hauling and water truck traffic congestion.  Most of all, the dollar savings are substantial. Earlier methods cost Paragon customers up to $66 a barrel; Paragon charges much less utilizing their mobilized Auto-Vac®.

Paragon Water Solutions focusses mainly on water-based drilling fluid reserve pit wastewater in the Williston Basin and Bakken Shale Oil Field.  A video of the ALAR Auto-Vac® system in operation is available online at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkZUzEaqh-M

There are Auto-Vac® systems in the infant stage currently filtering hydraulic fracturing production water in PA and NM; showing promising results. ALAR custom builds sixteen (16) filter sizes to accommodate virtually any volume of wastewater.

The ALAR D.A.F. Clarifier is a wastewater clarification system that combines flotation and settling. This incorporates dissolved or inspirited air to aid in the flotation of fine solids, fats, oils, and grease.  Its rectangular design uses less space, and the hopper shaped bottom facilities easy removal and high concentration of settleable solids. Sludge collectors, equally spaced on the traveling bridge, give complete coverage of the clarifier bottom.  The bridge is also equipped with wiper blades that sweep the surface of the clarifier on each forward movement of the bridge.  These wiper blades move the float to the incline plate and into the float discharge trough.

Polymer Injection: (2 potential tanks)

Chemical separation is necessary (prior to the DAF) using a polymer.  Polymer breaks apart the emulsified solids from the water and allows them to concentrate and float.

Flocculation or coagulation of solids is typically accomplished through the addition of cationic and/or anionic polymers; resulting easier solid flotation and less dissolved air usage.  In many cases, the use of polymers promotes stronger floc formation, lower float volumes, and lower float moisture content.

In some cases additional polymer dosage is not necessary prior to a dewatering filter.  Polymer enhances the filtration rates, provides higher quality effluent, and dryer solids.  In the case of the Auto-Vac, it also conserves the use of diatomaceous earth (filter media).

DAF Float:

The pH adjustment chemicals, coagulants, and polymers will impact the methods of disposal and/or utilization of the float generated by the DAF system.  The moisture content and volume of material recovered by a DAF will vary and must be considered when sizing transfer pumps, storage tanks, and dewatering systems.

The tank size should be capable of holding 10% of the original gallons of sludge; and be agitated using a mixer (if going to dewatering filtration).

ALAR Auto-Vac Sludge Dewatering Filter:

The ALAR Auto-Vac is a rotary vacuum drum filter that effectively removes solid particles from the sludge, producing dewatered dry waste.  Typically, this waste is disposed of at a local landfill without further drying.  The Auto-Vac is self-cleaning with every revolution, which prevents blinding or clogging, and provides rapid filtration and extremely high filtrate clarity.  The ALAR Aut0-Vac filtering system is skid mounted, pre-piped, pre-wired for easy installation.  It is offered in both semi-automatic and automatic modes of operation.  This design works incredibly well with DAF sludge applications.

Dean Trevaskis pumps and hauls commercial greasetrap, residential septic, portable toilet and wine lees near the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains in Northern California.

In 1999, with several disposal sites closing or raising their discharge fees, Trevaskis opened a private processing plant to dewater over 3.5 million gallons of sludge a year.  The plant turns a profit, and Trevaskis sees a lot of potential for growth and may one day move away from pumping and concentrate solely on the processing business.

Trevaskis was excited to share what he’s learned by hosting an open house this past October (2011) in conjunction with a wastewater sysmposium held by COWA and NAWT.  Sierra Septic showcased their 12-year-old ALAR system consisting of a Rotary Auger Strainer, Super Sack Unloading System and Auto-Vac AV690 Rotary Vacuum Drum Precoat Filter.

View entire story at: Disposal Done Right

Hank and Shane VanVeen of Wessuc located in Brantford, Ontario, Canada expanded their wastewater treatment and pumping services into a long-term municipal biosolids management.

When land-application of the sludge is unavailable, Wessuc turned to dewatering and composting practices.  The VanVeen’s tried to dewater the liquid sludge using centrifuge and belt press technologies. The equipment could not handle variances of thick and thin loads, and it wore out and choked on grit, sand, hairballs, and plastic.

Wessuc found greater success with a trailer-mounted ALAR Auto-Vac rotary vacuum drum filter.  “It gives us a great competitive advantage.  It uses less power, and we get very high effluent quality.  The water we return to the digest contains roughly 16 to 20 mg/l of total suspended solids”, says Hank VanVeen.

Wessuc,  a customer of ALAR‘s since June 2005, has an Auto-Vac Model 6120 at their facility.

Read more: A Solids Success

Trailer Mounted Auto-Vac Rotary Vacuum Drum Filter

Located in San Francisco, family-owned producer Bode Concrete has ties that go back to 1915.

Bode Concrete has stepped up recycling with a cement fine capture method that maximizes usage of reclaimed water in a minimal timeframe. Processed water from a morning delivery’s washout can be part of the batch for an afternoon load, thanks to the installation of an Alar Engineering Auto-Vac system.

Bode runs the largest capacity Auto-Vac Alar has delivered in concrete, with a 6 x 9 ft. drum. The installation can take up to 20,000 gallons of slurry in an eight-hour period down to the specific gravity range suited to  a wide variety of mix specs.

Auto-Vac 690