Clean Process Water

Challenges of Process Water Treatment

For process water treatment, there is not the ONE process or technology that will allow you to overcome all challenges. Instead, different approaches must be considered, combined, or even wholly new concepts developed, depending on the operation and requirements. At Felderer, we have an extensive repertoire up our sleeve.

After examining the conditions and parameters, we decide together which system suits you best. Then, we tailor a custom solution for you and adapt it to the technical and financial framework.  

Approaches at Felderer

Goodbye sooty mold, parasites and dirt! Cleaning the apple is the ecological solution!

Various fungal pathogens, insects or their residues, dirt and residues of pesticides can massively affect the surface of the apples and prevent them from being classified as table-apples.

Eliminate these problems with our washing machine for apples, called Fruit-Disease Control (FDC). The FDC unit was developed in collaboration with GREEFA.

With the FDC, up to 90% of apples classified as industrial apples can be upgraded to table apples. Check our Video!

Increase your turnover by using FDC!

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Against Turbid Water & Chemical Pollution

Water is exposed to large loads of dirt (leaves, soil, etc.) and chemical pollution during the sorting processes. These are introduced into the water circuits of the sorting plants by transport containers and the harvested material, among other things. 

To keep the water both visually and chemically clean, we at Felderer rely on filtration and flocculation technologies. These remove dissolved inorganic or organic pollutants, particles and colourants from the process water allowing you to maintain the best water quality in the transport channels.  

In the picture on the left, we see filtered and unfiltered water channels in comparison. Already 4 days after cleaning the tubs (water change) a clear difference can be seen.

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Against Poor Hygiene & High Microbial Load

By inputting dirt through the harvested material, the infestation by fungi and bacteria in the process water is constantly increasing. To treat the microbial germs, after removing dirt particles, we use various disinfection measures (UV, hydrogen, saline water electrolysis) to treat the process water to drinking-water level.

The rule of thumb for disinfection is first remove dirt particles, then fight microorganisms.

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Against Contamination & Loss of Performance

To clean the apples gently, Felderer offers a patented system, the Fru-Jet. It frees the fruit from adhering dirt using a high-pressure water jet in combination with mechanical processes.

The Fru-Jet also reduces the dirt load of downstream circuits such as refilling and packing. As a result, the performance of the plant benefits - especially since contaminants adhering to the surface are otherwise classified as a "defect" by the photo-based sorting system.  

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Against Contamination by Rotten Apples, Soil & Leaves 

Felderer's solution to this is our high-performance disc filters, which can cope with any dirt load, no matter how high.

Leaves and rotten produce expose various tubs to significant contamination as the standard leaf filters usually work inaccurately due to their large mesh size. Our disc filters easily remove leaf debris and particulate dirt and are maintenance-free.

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Against Severe Stock Damages  

The use of saltwater electrolysis reduces stock damages caused by pathogens by up to 100%. Microbial growth in process water is the rule rather than the exception due to constant contamination. Bacteria and fungi find ideal breeding grounds to spread.

With the sanification system of Felderer problems with waterborne fungi and microbes are no issue anymore!

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Against Weekly Water Changes or Machine Standstill

The process water must be changed regularly to maintain the necessary hygiene standards unless water treatment is provided.

In sorting plants, this can lead to unnecessary machine stops every week. A filtration system considerably reduces the water changes (up to 1 time/season).  

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Against High Water Consumption 

Water is a precious and increasingly costly good—a fact confirmed by droughts of recent years. On the one hand, farms have run out of water; on the other hand, prices have risen as a result. In some regions (e.g., in Baden-Württemberg), the cost of water is very high and can now exceed 5 €/m³.  

The use of particular filtration technologies in combination with flocculation technology from Felderer makes it possible to recover process water after treatment reducing water consumption by more than 95 %. That saves money and relieves the consumption of the precious and limited resource water.

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Treatment Of Process Water Before Disposal

Sorting plants produce a wide variety of contaminated wastewater, for example, with plant residues and particles of soil and sand. Depending on its application, the water is cleaned to be returned to the environment or introduced to the sewage system and/or used as process water in the washing or production process.

In some cases, legislation requires the treatment of process water before "disposal". Again, different technologies by Felderer could apply depending on the requirements.

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Against Biofilm & Algae

Biofilm and algae have been everyday problems in a sorting plant - biofilm since ever; algae, instead, is a relatively new phenomenon.

Nevertheless, action must be taken in the event of an infestation. By using different disinfection technologies (UV, hydrogen peroxide, saltwater electrolysis) from Felderer, you can effectively combat algae formation and biofilm and, at the same time, reduce the water's microbial load to a minimum.

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