Active separation of heavy material for maximum protection
DebrisCatcher
- Prevents damage due to foreign matter such as stones and metal parts
- Prevents blockages of pumps, gate valves and valves
- High throughput with low power requirements
- Sturdy and robust thanks to counter bearing
Top technology for fault prevention
The DebrisCatcher delivers maximum plant protection thanks to active foreign matter separation
All too often, heavy material, such as metal and stones, complicates the lives of biogas operators. Aside from the fact that they become lodged in the digester and over time reduce the fermentation volume, they often cause damage and faults in pumps, mixers and other plant components. As the specialist for industry-specific pump technology, Vogelsang offers a solution for active heavy material separation with unrivaled energy efficiency: the combination of a passive heavy material separator and active foreign matter separation in the form of a sieve and non-contact clearing units. The compact DebrisCatcher therefore complements the Vogelsang portfolio for protecting pumps and plant components to ensure the target yield is achieved – and not impaired by fault-related operational interruptions.
The principle: The unique housing shape of the Vogelsang DebrisCatcher was developed with the help of flow simulations for optimal use of gravity for separation of metal parts and stones. The heavy material contained in the medium reliably sinks into the separator. Other foreign matter carried along with the liquid flow is retained at the sieve, from which it is guided into the separator by the rotating clearing units.
The reliable, active foreign matter separator
Active heavy material separator DebrisCatcher for biogas applications
Foreign matter such as stones and metal parts repeatedly ends up in biogas plants, whether along with the solid biomass or in the fresh liquid manure. However, due to the required dimensions and the prevailing viscosity, there is often not enough room to reliably separate out the foreign matter using a passive foreign matter separator.
The DebrisCatcher is designed for cases precisely like this. It combines a gravity foreign matter separator with active foreign matter separation, offers maximum protection against foreign matter such as stones and metal parts, requires minimal space, and reliably and economically protects pumps and system components from damage and blockages that would otherwise occur.
Slow, laminar flow is created in the flow-optimized housing of the heavy material separator. These are optimal conditions for gravity-based separation of stones and metal parts. Heavy material that is too small and light to be separated in this manner ends up in the cutting screen along with the medium. It is retained there, picked up by the slow-rotating clearing units, and actively guided into the foreign matter separator.
Thanks to the non-contact design and low speed of the clearing units, the system has minimal power requirements. At throughput of up to 400 m3/h, the DebrisCatcher needs only 2 kW of drive power to protect downstream systems.
The housing is made of welded sheet steel and is hot-dip galvanized for high corrosion resistance, enabling maximum internal pressures of 4 bar. Applications under pressure, e.g. on high digesters or if supporting booster pumps are used, can be realized without issue. At the same time, the combination of the non-contact functional principle and slow drive speed ensures minimized wear and a long lifetime.
