Minworth is the largest sewage plant within Severn Trent’s region, and the fifth largest in Europe. The plant operates 24-7, serving a population of around 2.5 million people in the Birmingham and Black Country areas. The plant covers an area equivalent to 300 football pitches.
Maintain-in-Place Technology and Digital Solutions
After seeing SEEPEX’s success at Severn Trent’s Stoke Bardolph and Finham THP plants, the Minworth site decided to explore SEEPEX’s Maintain-in-Place (MIP) capabilities and digital solutions that included pump monitoring.
SEEPEX provided an open hopper progressive cavity pump with MIP technology to replace original progressive cavity pumps without altering the physical footprint or the installed power. SEEPEX MIP technology includes Rotor Joint Access (RJA) and Drive Joint Access (DJA).
RJA enables the pump’s compression zone to be moved over the stator, allowing access to the rotor universal joint and giving the ability to remove debris without extensive maintenance work, for example, removing pipework and the pump’s stator. With DJA, the pump baseplate is split into three sections (rotor/stator, pump hopper and drive end) enabling maintenance tasks such as replacing a worn auger or a mechanical seal to be completed safely without needing to dismantle the whole pump.
SEEPEX Digital Solutions provide a comprehensive platform for pump performance monitoring, detecting potential issues with early warning notifications, and scheduling maintenance tasks. With the ability to track and analyse data on pump operation, tasks such as topping up mechanical seal quench pots are transformed from regular, time-consuming inspections into quick, planned interventions. Additionally, the monthly report provides a high-level overview of pump performance, including a simple RAG status to quickly identify any areas requiring further investigation.
Improved Pump Performance and Streamlined Maintenance
Over the course of over a year, SEEPEX reports that the pump has performed reliably and consistently, maintaining optimal performance levels as confirmed by advanced analytics. Thanks to SEEPEX innovative MIP technology, maintenance staff can easily access and dismantle the pump, streamlining maintenance and reducing downtime.
Integrated SEEPEX Digital Solutions provide a comprehensive platform for tracking pump performance and scheduling maintenance tasks in a preventative capacity, avoiding costly reactive maintenance and maximising process throughput and biogas production.
