Filtration Increases Effluent Treatment Efficiency at St Regis Paper Mill

Micromac Filtration (UK) has successfully completed the installation of a major run down screen and spray bar system at St Regis Paper’s Higher Kings Mill in Cullompton, Devon.

The system, which is designed by Micromac Filtration and constructed in the UK is intended to remove paper and plastic contaminants from the plant’s effluent treatment system and thereby increase its efficiency.

Higher Kings Mill has a total annual production capacity of 35,000 tonnes of paper, which is 100 per cent recycled and 100 per cent recyclable. The mill is a specialist manufacturer of recycled coloured papers and boards. Its products are used widely in educational establishments throughout the UK and in the stationery market. Diversity is the name of the game at Higher Kings - it makes as many as 800 grades and colours of paper and board.

“Our challenge was to remove paper and plastic waste from our effluent treatment plant at the earliest possible point in the process,” explained Jason Emery, Engineering Manager at Higher Kings Mill. “The Micromac system will improve the efficiency of our effluent treatment plant and enable us to meet our environmental targets.”

Part of the sophistication of the run down screen is its simplicity: the screen has no moving parts, which minimises maintenance and makes it easy to install. In this case the screen was installed by the mill’s own maintenance team. Also, the maintenance team decided that the spray bars would work even better if they rotated over the run down screen. They made the necessary adaption to the spray bars and the result fully meets the mill’s needs.

Product and consultancy combination worked well at St Regis
Unlike many other suppliers, Micromac Filtration designs and constructs all its own equipment here in the UK. As a result, the company can incorporate bespoke design modifications to meet the specific needs of each customer application.

“Early trials were encouraging and the screen does remove more than the expected amount of fibre and plastic,” confirmed Emery. “When we reported some screen blinding Micromac was swift to remedy the problem through the addition of a second spray bar. Our in-house maintenance team was able to adapt the spray bars to meet the specific requirements that we have.

“Micromac’s product quality is very good and their pre- and post-delivery support is also first rate. The Micromac team have followed up the installation and assisted with recommendations for improvements. They always provide a good professional friendly advice,” Jason Emery concluded.