Cycloidal Gearboxes & Speed Reducers For Secondary Water Treatment & Wastewater Treatment Sludge Processing

Secondary water & wastewater treatment processes demand durable and reliable cycloidal gearboxes & speed reducers to deliver the best results

Last month, In the first of two articles on water treatment, we described cycloidal drive applications in the preliminary and primary stages of water treatment and wastewater treatment. This month we will see how cycloidal speed reducers and cycloidal drives are also an excellent choice for secondary stages and sludge processing.

Why are cycloidal speed reducers used for secondary wastewater treatment?

Secondary wastewater treatment includes several processes that benefit from the high torque gearmotors and speed reducers that are made possible by cyclo drive technologies.  Skimmers and rakes in sedimentation tanks, aerators, agitators and rotating biological contactors are among the essential treatment processes that can be improved and made more efficient by employing cyclo speed reducers and drives.

---

Where are cycloidal drives used in water treatment processes?

---

Secondary Clarifiers

Cyclo speed reducers and drives are used in both rectangular and circular secondary sedimentation tanks in the same way that primary clarifiers are operated. Our Transcyko 600 Series cyclo drives can be supplied with upgraded housing materials and advanced tooth profiles developed by us for customers who require drives that can withstand very harsh conditions and operating environments. 

Circular clarifiers can create extremely high torque loadings, and non-cycloidal drives require torque limiters and overload clutches as standard options to avoid breakages caused by entanglements and blockages or high internal gearbox pressure levels. Torque limiting devices may also be used to protect equipment even if using shock resistant cyclo drives.

Rectangular Secondary Sedimentation Tanks

Transcyko 600 Series cycloidal drives offer a rugged, high torque solution to drive skimmers and scrapers as well as rotating flight bars in both primary and secondary clarifiers. Our TL-Series designs add the option of either electronic load sensor or spring loaded torque limiters to protect flight bar chain drives, scrapers and skimmers from damage caused by obstructions.

Circular Secondary Sedimentation Tanks

Cyclo drives are a good choice for sludge scrapers and grease and oil skimmers for secondary sedimentation tanks due to their extreme reliability and high speed reduction capabilities. Transcyko 600 Series Cyclo drives offer very low risk of failure and are an easy maintenance solution because they are easy to seal against contaminated wastewater.

Surface Aerators

There are a variety of tank designs for aerobic water treatment, and many different models of aerators that can be used to bubble air into the system. Cyclo gearmotors, cyclo drives and speed reducers offer reliable options for driving all types of aerator. The classic Transcyko cycloidal 600 series cyclo drive is a dependable solution that can be used for all types of aerator.

Sludge and Microorganism Pumps

Pumps are used to move semi-solids and sludge from clarifiers to thickeners and then to digesters for final processing. In wastewater treatment the microorganisms that are used to clean the water need to be pumped from the bottom of tanks back up to the biological reactor stage to be put back into the system. 

Cyclo drives are a sensible, low-maintenance, easily sealed option for powering both these applications, with the added advantage of high overload resistance, which makes them a potentially highly effective customization option for moving sludge which may have a variable consistency and resistance to pumping. 

Mixers & Agitators

The microorganisms that break down and process wastewater contaminants grow more rapidly when they have a plentiful air supply. This is achieved by mixing and agitating wastewater to get more air into the liquid. Vertical agitator systems operate continuously to achieve this, but because they are vertical the motors can be positioned in a dry location, which makes maintenance easier.

Agitators and mixers generate extremely high radial and axial loadings, which has to be taken into account when specifying suitable gear motors. The high torque of cyclo drives usually means that a more compact drive with a lower rating than helical gear motors can be used as an efficient and cost-effective alternative. 

Pairing the Transcyko Cycloidal 600 Series with our TL-series special designs for torque limiters is a very simple way of getting all the power you want in a cost-effective format while protecting gearmotors from sudden loads and shocks.

Submersible agitators can be used, and are very effective if paired with pumped aerator systems. The comparative ease with which cyclo drives can be environmentally sealed makes them highly suitable for submersible agitators and wet area applications.

Transfer Pumps

Large transfer pumps are required to transfer water from primary clarifiers to aeration tanks. Cyclo speed reducers provide an excellent high-torque, compact option for maximizing the power output of transfer pumps without compromising on reliability, and enabling very long service life with predictable maintenance intervals. Standard Transcyko 600 Series cycloidal drives offer a reliable ‘plug-and-play’ solution for all transfer pumping requirements.

Rotating Biological Contactors

Rotating Biological Contactors (RBC) turn wheels bonded with a biological film through the wastewater. The biological film absorbs pollutants towards the end of secondary wastewater treatment processes.  Cyclo drives are well suited to this continuous duty application as a more robust alternative to helical bevel gearmotors.

The high tooth contact ratio, smooth operation and 500% overload capacity of Transcyko cycloidal 600 series drives makes them well suited for powering rotating biological contactors, being able to run through extended duty cycles with no risk of thermal overload and offering very predictable maintenance profiles to avoid unexpected interruptions to this critical process.

Sludge Processing

Sludge thickeners for sludge processing come in screw and disc types. These can be powered most reliably by high torque cyclo drives to reduce the risk of unexpected failures due to overloading. The FCD45 reinforced housing material and SUJ2 hardened and ground steel bearings of our high torque Transcyko Cycloidal 600 Series drives offer extreme service reliability.

Our customized tooth profile design and precise bearing life calculations ensure reliable operation under highly demanding torque and load requirements. This maximizes speed reducer service life far in excess of the capabilities of non cyclo gearmotors and drives, which can fail unpredictably in this type of high stress application. 

Transcyko 600 Series Cycloidal Drives offer a dependable one-stop solution For wastewater treatment

Water treatment and waste water treatment processes that normally require a wide range of conventional gearboxes can be met using our Cyclo 600 Series cycloidal drives. Consider the benefits of being able to use a single solution across your water or wastewater treatment site as an alternative to maintaining a range of incompatible parallel shaft, helical bevel, helical, double or triple reduction or worm gear speed reducers and gearboxes from different suppliers.

---

Seven key features of Transycko Cycloidal 600 Series Cyclo Drives

1. Unique circular arc teeth for reduced noise and smoother operation
2. Overload capacity up to 500% 
3. Cycloidal tooth profile provides rolling contact profile to withstand sudden shocks and reduce breakage
4. Compact size: single ratio available from 6:1 to 119:1, double stage up to 7569:1 & triple stage up to almost 1 000 000:1
5. Low inertia design is Ideal for dynamic applications with frequent start-stop-reversing duty cycles
6. Lower total cost of ownership (TCO) compared to conventional gearboxes due to high reliability, long life, and minimal maintenance 
7. Internal parts compatible with other brands to ensure 24-7 reliability and maintenance support

---

We have built the Transcyko 600 Series cycloidal drive into the dependable industry standard over more than 30 years of continuous manufacturing. Our advanced production processes and incremental refinements have added to the flexibility and utility of the 600 Series. This enables simple refitting and substitution for both conventional non-cyclo products as well as direct replacement of Sumitomo drives.

Transcyko: the supplier of choice for cycloidal speed reducers & cycloidal gearboxes

Our expertise in designing and manufacturing the very best cycloidal speed reducers and gearboxes led Mitsubishi sludge drying systems to select our products for their most demanding waste treatment systems. You can benefit from the long experience of our in-house technical team who are on hand to specify more effective replacements for existing equipment or customize the perfect solution for your business. 

Contact us to discover how Transcyko cycloidal drives can enhance your water and wastewater treatment operations while adding the peace of mind that comes with precision cycloidal gearbox manufacturing and excellent customer support to keep your site running without interruptions.