Many of the current wastewater screens are generally effective, but they are not particularly innovative to face the challenges that we face in the modern day. In recent times, water companies have been fined large sums for pollution. It is imperative to ensure non-organics are removed from the flow to ensure the process can perform at its optimum level. Typically, the screening element is angled between 45° and fitted in-channel or in a tank. However, the typical screen in a tank has a problem. This is where grit settles out and causes some minor, or major, maintenance issues.

There are many different screen designs in the marketplace and each have their own respective features. But no unit currently on the market is fully effective at capturing both low-flow and high-flow rates. All current designs experience significant hydraulic head-loss, due to flow restriction. When the screen starts to blind, it severely restricts downstream flow, and can cause premature overflow discharge of untreated sewage.

The Penguin concept also separates grit, so is effectively a packaged inlet works. It’s superbly resourceful as both screening and grit-separation is all achieved in a single unit. This makes the process very energy efficient.

This inlet-screen arrangement is designed to minimise the amount of hydraulic head-loss. It is made possible by utilising kinetic energy of the inflow to create a hydraulic jump, giving a very useful water level rise. The open-screen area is greatly enlarged and the flow velocity that travels throughout the screen element is reduced, ensuring that maximum and minimum guidelines, defined by WIMES, are always met!

The screen is a modular unit and, if there’s power loss (or mechanical failure), the flow will always be controlled in a fail-safe manner. The unit is factory-built and tested; therefore making installation on-site far quicker and more reliable.

This unit is typically smaller than the traditional units, for the same flow capacity, and offers a huge reduction in embodied carbon footprint.