Yorkshire Water gels with mains clearing trial

TECHNOLOGY UPDATE

Yorkshire Water has "successfully trialled" the use of gel to remove sediments from rising mains.

Under the trial, gel was inserted into 4km of nine-inch sewers in Yorkshire's wastewater network using existing network pumping to remove sediment and build up in rising mains.

The viscosity and chemical make-up chosen for the gel is determined by the types of materials it is required to remove including grit, rubble, sediment, soil, and fats, oils and greases.

Project manager at Yorkshire Water, Mark Gregory, said: “This successful trial removed sediment from a large section of our network, ultimately helping to reduce the load on the pumps, their energy consumption, maintenance costs as well as the likelihood of pumps failing due to blockage and the associated customer and environmental impact that can have. This is an exciting development and one we’re looking at using further across our network.” The gel and sediments were disposed of at Knostrop treatment works.

Managing director at the gel supplier, Intelligent Gels, Matt Wilson, said he trial had used flexible chemistry capabilities to create a unique plug and play system that can be applied to the rising main systems throughout the UK"