PORTAFLOW 330
MEASUREMENT & MONITORING
MICRONICS LTD
MICRONICS FLOWMETER USED TO MEASURE
EFFLUENT ON NORFOLK FARMS
A Micronics Portaflow 330 installed at a food
processing site over two decades ago has
more than exceeded its lifecycle expectancy
but the parts were now obsolete so the site
engineer opted for a replacement from the
same supplier. The Micronics ultrasonic,
clamp-on flowmeter is used to measure the
flow of effluent on Norfolk farms.
The water on the farms is drawn from bore
holes and belongs to Cranswick Country
Foods, one of the largest fresh and added
value food producers in Britain.
Detritus has to be screened out and the
water is then pumped across to the lagoons
on the farms in order to aerate it before
being used for irrigation. It was vital to
measure the flow of this effluent in order to
provide data to supply to the Environment
Agency. Cranswick’s existing meter had been
serviced regularly but by 2016 was no longer
preforming accurately.
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Explains Phil Childs, engineer at Cranswick
Country Foods: “We process pigs at our site
here in Watton and this particular plant
incorporates a large effluent pit that collects
waste from various points located around
the factory.
Once it is collected, the effluent is then
pumped over a filter screen to remove any
large particles; the filter screen only lets
particles of about 1mm through.
The filtered effluent then goes into a holding
tank from where it is pumped to lagoons
about 4 kilometres away. As the effluent
leaves the pumps there is a section of
100mm pipe approximately 2.4m in length.
It is on this straight line of pipe that the
clamp-on flowmeter has been located for
the last 25 years. After this point the pipe
leaves the pump house and goes into the
ground and the effluent is sent away for
further treatment”.
Phil Childs felt that the non-intrusive
Portaflow 330 which can be strapped onto
the outside of pipes without the need to
cut into the pipe, would still be ideal for
Cranswick’s needs. The device is very simple
to use – there is no overhead for additional
fittings, plant modification, or retro-fit
expenditure. Also there is no contact with
fluid so there is no risk of contamination,
which is crucial for a food production unit.
He would certainly use Micronics flowmeters
again.
Cranswick was established in the 1980s
and is now one of the country’s biggest pig
producers and a leader in best practice in
the poultry industry. It has annual revenues
of around £1.2 billion.
For further information on this project
or the Micronics range call Micronics on
+44(0)1628 810456, or visit
www.micronicsflowmeters.com