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Product updates, industry insights, case studies, and company news from Franklin Miller.

All News Blog (15) Industrial Case Studies (22) Latest News (53) Solid Waste Case Studies (7) Wastewater Case Studies (44)

Wastewater Case Studies·April 5, 2019

Video Case Study: A Septage Receiving Solution

The Willits, California Wastewater Treatment Plant services over 10,000 residents and receives 750 loads of septage each year, but found they had a serious problem. Heavy septage from “honey trucks” was dumped by haulers into its wet well which clogged the plant’s pumps and caused flow channels to overrun. The plant also lacked oversight as to who was pumping and what was being pumped into its system. It could not control the pH level of the wastewater. As they searched for a solution, Franklin Miller’s SPIRALIFT® SR Septage Receiving Station stood out. After a thorough review, the plant determined that the unique SPIRALIFT had the exact capabilities they needed. They decided to purchase this system. The SPIRALIFT SR effectively separates, washes and grinds septage with its TASKMASTER grinder and high-strength fully enclosed shaftless screw screen. The grinder reduces the waste, allowing it to freely flow through the system while heavy metal and rock solids are captured in the unit’s tramp trap. A flow meter accurately records the gallons being pumped. The SPIRALIFT SR will automatically turn off if the pH level is out of range. Operator Daniel Curtis noted, “Waste overflows are no longer a problem because the SPIRALIFT prevents the haulers from dumping directly into the plant’s wet well.” Curtis is also no longer concerned about inaccurate loads. He knew that the financial benefit of accurate recording would offset the cost of the SPIRALIFT SR, but is impressed that the SPIRALIFT has “darn near paid for itself in the first year by keeping all the pumper trucks and operators honest.” Plant Operator Nici Caldwell also has nothing but praise for the SPIRALIFT. “The plant is operating better and more efficiently since the installation, she said. “The SPIRALIFT is working great. It is really easy for the septic haulers to just come in, hook up and dump. It’s an in and out; no more trash in our equipment. Our influent pumps seem safe. Controlling the pH level is also no longer a concern. With the pH meter, if it is out of the norm, the machine shuts off. It is really, overall, working great for us.” With a full array of options, including unique Hauler Logic software, the SPIRALIFT can be customized to meet almost any septage receiving need. Contact Franklin Miller to learn how the SPIRALIFT can meet your plant’s requirement. Call 973-535-9200 or email info@franklinmiller.com to speak to an application engineer.

Industrial Case Studies·April 4, 2019

Taskmaster® Shredder Featured on Latest Episode of Canna Cribs

Proper waste disposal is a regulatory requirement of growers and processors in the booming medical and recreational marijuana industry. Cannabis cultivators and dispensaries like The House of Dankness in Colorado are not allowed to simply throw away the unusable plant scraps. Instead, they must shred and then mix the leaves, stalks and stems with other material, such as cardboard and rock wool, to render the resulting mix unusable and undesirable. But the House of Dankness had a problem. They burned through three different shredders that just didn’t hold up to their cannabis waste. It wasn’t until they found Franklin Miller’s TASKMASTER® TM8500 industrial duty shredder that they found a unit with the functionality and reliability they needed. Jump To Section How to maintain TASKMASTER® Cannabis Shredders? Features How to maintain TASKMASTER® Cannabis Shredders? In a recent episode of Cannacribs, Kelsey Rodgers, the Flower Quandrant Lead for the House of Dankness, spoke highly of the TASKMASTER. Rodgers stated the TASKMASTER® Cannabis Shredders reliably handles their waste and praised the shredder for its low maintenance. “We maintain it about once a week … clean the teeth, maybe put some oil through it. And other than that, maybe once a month, we’ll fully take it apart and give it a nice, good cleaning.” Features The TASKMASTER® TM8500 is a precision manufactured shredder that employs two intermeshing cutter stacks that rotate at low speed but with very high torque to provide the reliable shredding the facility needed. In just eight to twelve seconds, the TASKMASTER® can cut, shear, tear, slice, and rip apart solids – like leaves, stems and full stalks, generating a chip-like output. Additionally, the TASKMASTER shredder is quiet in operation and suitable for indoor use. That’s because it’s electrically driven so it doesn’t generate the fumes of gas powered chippers. Shredding maintenance problems are now a thing of the past at Rare Dankness. The TASKMASTER® TM8500 has helped them successfully process the cannabis waste in a manner that saves time, money and ensures regulatory compliance. Franklin Miller’s TASKMASTER® line of shredders offers a full array of features – including customizable chamber and tooth sizes as well as configurations that can be engineered to meet a variety of requirements.

Franklin Miller Receives 100th Year Proclamation at WEFTEC 2018

Franklin Miller President Bill Galanty proudly accepted a proclamation at WEFTEC celebrating Franklin Miller’s 100th anniversary. Pictured from left to right: Sales Manager Ryan Westman, Service Manager Jonathan Taylor, President Bill Galanty, Sales Manager Joe Macula and National Sales Manager Korkmaz Oz.

Night of the Living Shred

If there’s one thing the zombie community hates, it’s being made a mockery by humans during the Halloween season. This year, they’ve had enough and decide to fight back. But how do you stop the human race from their disrespectful Halloween celebrations? Watch this zombie community fight back against Halloween – with the help of Franklin Miller, Inc.! Choosing a shredder doesn’t have to be a nightmare. Happy Halloween!

Industrial Case Studies·November 15, 2017

Taskmaster Aids in Biomass Research

At CRBM Marine Biology Research Center in Quebec, Canada, researchers were in search of a grinder for a project involving marine biomass. A big part of this research project was focused on finding and extracting marine molecules that could fight against major diseases such as cancer (breast, lung, prostatic and intestinal). For the research, marine materials such as hard shells, lobster pieces, stretchable fish skin and even large and resistant seaweed needed to be ground to a homogeneous size so the research elements could be effectively extracted from the material. Getting the output size right was imperative to having a workable material for the very delicate extractions and research. During the research process, lipids, proteins and other valuable residues such as carbonite calcium, enzymes and other molecules, all extracted from the marine biomass, are used. These molecules are also used for researching and producing cosmetics, natural health products as well as food and vitamin supplements. When they first began their research, CRBM was using a basic meat grinder. The results were uneven and unreliable and the material frequently got stuck in the grinder and ruined. It was also a slow and tedious process that could not keep up with the demand of the research. “To obtain the proper molecules for this research, the grinding output has to be perfect in order for the extraction step to work,” said Simon Cartier, CRBM Project Manager and Process Development Research Officer. “There are so many factors that can affect output, so we had to find a machine that could provide the exact size and quality that we needed. The grinding and homogenizing is always the first step in many of our processes, such as hydrolysis, so it is crucial to achieve appropriate grinding in order to obtain the best extraction yield after grinding.” “We looked for a long time to find a grinder that would allow us to crush various marine biomasses and learned about many different options before finding the TASKMASTER®.” When they installed the TASKMASTER in 2015, they expected to have to run the material through 2 or 3 times to obtain the desired output size. Instead, they were happy to find the TASKMASTER gave them the fine homogenous output with a perfect surface size and contact with their material only going through once. “We were shocked and incredibly happy,” said Cartier. “This has taken our research to higher levels much faster. It is a fantastic product for any marine biomass application.” The TASKMASTER TM8500 is a twin-shaft industrial grinder (a fine shredder) that features an 8.5” wide cutting chamber up to 60” long and a direct drive. It features a fully-sealed housing, mechanical shaft seals and CUTTER CARTRIDGE® technology with unique cutting profiles. “The addition of the TASKMASTER in our facility was essential. Using the TASKMASTER prior to extraction allows us to easily facilitate the marine proteins and peptides, marine lipids and other types of interesting molecules for our research.” “We looked for so long and wow, did we find it! What a good choice this was for us. It worked very, very well. We are very happy with it.” According to Simon Cartier, the company loves their TASKMASTER so much they are spreading the news. They even let another division borrow the TASKMASTER for their own research grinding algae. “Every pilot plant should have a TASKMASTER grinder!”

Wastewater Case Studies·November 8, 2017

Super Shredder to the Rescue!

The City of Scotts Valley sewage treatment plant was having a very tough and frequent problem with their scum pump. This screw pump would rag up monthly, forcing the operators to take it apart and use large wrenches to manually turn the pump to remove the clogged rags and wipes. This was not a sustainable operating model and it was costing the city a lot of time, manpower and money, not to mention causing a lot of frustration. “We had rakes on the clairifier for scum, rags and other problematic debris,” said Troy Adams, Wastewater Division Manager in the City of Scotts Valley. “But we still had such a massive problem with pump clogging. Rags kept getting into the screw pump.” When the pumps ragged up and couldn’t turn, taking them apart was a constant issue. “It was an operator nightmare,” Adams said. “It was at least once a week, and at least a four-hour ordeal. It was happening so often, we just left all the tools and everything needed sitting right next to the pump.” Scotts Valley knew they had to find a solution to this once and for all. “We spoke to many Franklin Miller users and were very impressed with everything we heard about the Franklin Miller SUPER SHREDDER®. They installed the Super Shredder in 2016 on the line from the clarifiers to the scum pit for the FOG, rags and flushable wipes that collect off the top of the clarifiers. The SUPER SHREDDER in-line macerator reduces tough wastewater solids to fine bits with a unique spherical rotor design. The unit is specifically designed for high capacity and minimal headloss. Because of its high percentage of open area, the SUPER SHREDDER remains practically invisible to flow. It is also simple to install straight-through pipe systems. “From the day we put the SUPER SHREDDER online, we have not even one time had to stop operation or de-rag the pump. Not a single problem! The SUPER SHREDDER is truly a dream come true for operators. It has saved us so much time. Our maintenance costs alone were so high, that this has saved us a ton of money.” “I am so appreciative of the great working relationship with everyone at Franklin Miller,” Adams continued, “from the salesman to the representative. They were a big help; they worked very closely with me to be sure I was getting the right equipment for my project and that it was being installed and operated correctly for the task I was trying to accomplish. I am very appreciative of all their help and I will continue to use the expertise and experience in the future with my other projects at the plant.” The Super Shredder truly did save the day for the City of Scotts Valley.

Industrial Case Studies·October 30, 2017

Crusher Provides Cool Solution for Freeze-Dried Mushrooms

When establishing a processing and freeze-drying system for an exotic mushroom customer, Van Drunen Farms in Momence, Illinois found themselves in search of a solution for a unique set of challenges. Van Drunen Farms specializes in processing high-quality ingredients through a multitude of processing methods and services, including freeze-dried, drum-dried, frozen and infused, as well as dietary supplements. The company needed help processing specialty exotic mushrooms. The mushroom spores are grown in wet rice holes. Once grown, the mushrooms are frozen in bulk and sent in forty-pound blocks to Van Drunen for processing. This is where the problem came in. Van Drunen needed a high-quality, reliable crusher that could break the blocks while keeping them frozen. Output size was also a driving factor. Because the pieces would be freeze-dried after processing, the output size couldn’t be too fine. The pieces would have to have an output size between 3/8 and 1/2 inch. The company began exploring options, but had trouble finding a solution that would be able to deliver the right size output, keep the product frozen, and be reliable and well-built. “We needed to find a machine that could keep the material frozen during processing,” said Rick Owenga, Plant Manager at Van Drunen Farms. “We pride ourselves on the high quality of our end product, so this was an imperative part of process we had to maintain.” That’s when they turned to Franklin Miller to see if they had a solution. “We had heard of Franklin Miller quite a bit in the food processing industry,” Owenga said. “We were hopeful they would have a solution for our exotic mushroom processing needs.” Franklin Miller had a machine that exactly matched what the company needed. Van Drunen Farms purchased and installed a stainless steel DELUMPER® Model 1075L on a custom support and feed system in 2015. DELUMPER® “L” Series Lump Breakers reduce product to desired output size with a positive, once-through chopping action. Cutting teeth mounted to a smooth drum rotate through sizing combs to process agglomerates and chunks and reduce oversized particles to their basic grain size without over-grind, heat rise or fines. The DELUMPER Lump Breaker has been running in their plant ever since and has made Van Drunen’s mushroom processing headaches disappear. “The DELUMPER does a great job,” Owenga said. “It does exactly what we need and doesn’t give us any problems. Our customer is very happy and so are we.” Looks like Van Drunen Farms got the cool solution they were looking for. SEE OUR FULL LINE OF DELUMPER CRUSHERS AND LUMP BREAKER

Introducing the TASKMASTER® XL Pallet Shredder

Disposing of pallets is a substantial expense for companies across the country often involving multiple solid waste containers per week. Old pallets accumulating on property are also a problem. Pallets can be dangerous, unsightly, accumulate mold and attract animals. Franklin Miller Inc. is proud to introduce the new TASKMASTER® XL industrial pallet shredder which addresses this problem. This powerful industrial shredder can substantially reduce the expense of disposing of pallets by reducing them in size and reducing their bulk volume. This means this machine can quickly pay for itself. In designing the TASKMASTER XL, Franklin Miller engineers employed the engineering knowhow gained in nearly 100 years of size reduction equipment manufacturing. This single shaft unit employs a quiet operating 25HP gear drive and 3 phase motor direct coupled to the unit. The XL features easy maintenance, quiet operation and a low shaft speed, high torque shredding action. Once connected, it quickly goes to work reducing up to 100 pallets per hour. The cutters shred the pallets with nails and all. Its heavy construction, oversize shaft and high strength bearings assure long life and reliable service. The unit is supplied complete with an S250 automatic reversing controller. This controller senses jam conditions and automatically reverses the direction of operation to clear the obstruction for a preset amount of times. The unit’s design allows fast and easy interior access for maintenance or to remove an unshreddable object. The XL features a single pallet hopper which directs the pallet into the cutting chamber. Optional equipment includes auxiliary discharge conveyors which convey the output into a waste container as well as an optional infeed conveyor.

DELUMPER® Crusher with Unique Automatic Bag Tipper/Unloader

This unique automatic bag tipper coupled with a DELUMPER® Crusher makes unloading and conditioning of caked bagged material safe and easy. The operator places the bag on the unit tray and secures it with clamps, cuts the bag and the unit does the rest. The tray automatically closes forming a front door of the hopper. The material drops out of the bag with the help of a unique agitator. The contents are discharged from the DELUMPER Crusher conditioned and deagglomerated, creating a freshened product, ready for further processing, conveying or sale. The crusher is fully enclosed while operating for maximum safety. The DELUMPER can be supplied with a PLC-based control system that coordinates the motion of the tipper and DELUMPER. This unit is supplied in carbon steel as well as 304L and 316L stainless steel in standard and sanitary finishes. Options include a dust collector, explosion-proof drive and auxiliary conveying and weighing devices.

Wastewater Case Studies·February 23, 2017

How the Franklin Miller Dimminutor® Became an Olympic Winner

The Franklin Miller DIMMINUTOR® was selected for the state-of-the-art sewage system infrastructure project built to accommodate the Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia. After an intensive construction project, multiple Model DM36XF DIMMINUTOR® open channel comminutors were employed throughout the new sewage system. Each unit has the capability of 29 million gallons of raw sewage per day. As part of the preparation for the games, an advanced sewage treatment system in Sochi had to be built. Designed by Olimpstroy, the system is said to meet BREF standards and employ top available technologies including tertiary treatment with microfiltration. The advanced sewage plant is part of a series of state-of-the-art infrastructure projects that were built in preparation for the games. The extensive construction plan involved building and modernizing the telecommunications, power and transport infrastructure of the area, in addition to the construction of a new Olympic Park by the Black Sea coast. The DIMMINUTOR® reduces wastewater solids in open channel wastewater installations and wet wells. It was selected by virtue of its unique design that features reliability and ease of maintenance. The owner was shown a similar installation nearby and was impressed with the unparalleled design features of the unit. While other comminutors being considered required disassembly of the entire unit to replace even one of the many cutters, the DIMMINUTOR features only a few replaceable parts. Each cutter can be independently replaced without unit disassembly. Additionally, there are no mechanisms or seals down at the gritty channel bottom while other designs have bottom bearings and seals subject to wear from grit. Each DIMMINUTOR is equipped with a submersible motor. Unlike immersible motors, the submersible motor is designed to operate while submerged in water or sewage for unlimited time periods. “Franklin Miller is very pleased that the DIMMINUTOR was part of the Sochi Olympics with one of the largest installations in the world,” says Dave Schuppe, VP of Sales, Franklin Miller. Learn More About Our Wastewater Grinders

Wastewater Case Studies·February 23, 2017

Maximum Security with The Space-saving SPIRALIFT® SLV

Due to the waste from the Northeast Correctional Facility, Alliance Water Resources, the wastewater treatment plant in Bowling Green, Missouri, was constantly having problems. The prison, which produces 300,000 gallons of water per day, was creating a deluge of problems for the pump station, including clogged and plugged pumps, excessive power draw and the need for continuous service and ultimate pump replacement. The inmates were flushing paper, jumpsuits, and all manner of debris – pretty much anything they could flush. It was costing the plant a lot of downtime and tons of money. Once the pumps started needing total replacements on a very frequent basis, costing the plant more than $30,000 each year, they knew they needed a solution. “We knew we had to find something better. It was beyond expensive to maintain and very difficult to stay on top of the almost-constant plugging,” Bo Stinnett at Alliance Water Resources. Because the pit was 35 feet deep, there weren’t a lot of options. As a matter of fact, Bo says, “The Franklin Miller SPIRALIFT SLV was the only machine that had the technology to take care of the needs we had in the space we had. Because we have another Spiralift in our plant that we’ve been running for years, we were confident in buying another Franklin Miller unit.” The Spiralift SLV was installed and the results were immediate: no more clogs, no more downtime, no more wasted manpower or replacing machines. “We check on it once in a while,” Bo said. “But that’s it. It’s working great and has proven to be very, very low maintenance. It has worked wonderfully for us.” The Spiralift SLV is a unique fine screen that conveys solids straight up. With its small footprint, it fits into tight places where no other screens can fit. This unit combines Task master® grinding technology with a vertical screw screen to provide fine screenings of solids entrained in liquid flows.

Wastewater Case Studies·February 23, 2017

Screenmaster® CS Bar screen Helps Township Weather the Stormwater

When the township of Little Ferry, New Jersey constructed a new bridge, it created a big problem. The bridge, constructed at a traffic circle in town, created changes to the road that left a drainage pond below the water level of the Hackensack River. The problematic effect this had was immediate as local neighborhoods were flooded on a regular basis. The town knew they had to fix this problem immediately and decided to install pumps to combat the flooding. Because the runoff was stormwater, the problem was compounded by the large solids such as leaves, branches, sticks and other debris that would enter the pumps and clog or even shut them down. After careful research, the DOT (Department of Transportation) specified a Franklin Miller Screenmaster® CS bar screen to protect the pumps. A complication was that the unit had to be installed while the system was running as the flow could not be shut off or diverted. The township installed a custom, oversized Screenmaster® CS bar screen, which fits in an 8 ft. wide, 20 ft. deep channel, with 13 ft. of max. water height and providing 239” of lift to the discharge. The unit was designed with a special bottom grating to handle the quantity and size of debris in the stormwater. The Screenmaster has been hard at work since its installation, filtering solids from the stormwater before they have a chance to reach the pumps, and helping keep Little Ferry flood free. The SCREENMASTER CS features a series of rakes mounted on oversized perforated rake baskets that clear solids from a stainless bar rack and lift them up and out of the channel. It’s easy to install in new or existing channels. The SCREENMASTER installs at a 75-degree inclination so it has a very small footprint. The design features a simple, continuous rotary motion. As the rake head passes through the bar slots collecting debris, it travels up the unit’s dead plate until it reaches a special scraper supplied with a dash pot for smooth operation. The screenings then drop out the unit’s discharge chute into a bin, conveyor or SPIRAL IFT SC screenings washing system. The unit is available in a variety of widths up to 78” wide (2 m) and for a lift height of up to 38 ft. (11.6 m).

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