TeaCup on Grit Snail
Industrial water treatment Water and wastewater treatment

TeaCup

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Remove, separate, classify and wash wastewater and process solids at a range of municipal and industrial treatment plants.

The TeaCup® is a high-performance accelerated gravity grit removal system that has set the standard for high-performance headworks grit management since 1976.

Available in a range of sizes and able to accommodate flows as low as 70 gpm (4.5 L/s) in a single unit, TeaCup® units can be used to accommodate a wide range of flow characteristics, making it the ideal system for many different types and sizes of plants.

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Optimized for grit collection, grit washing, sediment removal on pumped flows and for classifying and washing grit on systems where batch discharge is required, the TeaCup® addresses both municipal and industrial solids removal challenges, and the capital investment has been shown to pay for itself in as little as two and a half years.

Removing over 95% of wastewater abrasives to cut deposition and reduce mechanical wear, TeaCup® reduces downstream maintenance and repair and can reduce solids handling costs by as much as 50%. 

Applications 

  • Municipal wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) grit removal
  • Surface water pretreatment
  • Industrial process water recycling and reuse
  • Snail shell removal 

Reduce footprint and save money on electricity

The compact design of the TeaCup® requires up to 80% less area than conventional grit systems, which frees up valuable plant space for other processes. Aside from low energy solenoids and an actuator that only needs to operate as infrequently as once every 8 hours (for 3 minutes), the all-hydraulic TeaCup® requires no additional electricity to provide phenomenal grit removal performance. 

Reduce downstream wear and maintenance 

With guaranteed performance and removal rates of up to 95% of wastewater abrasives you can be confident that the TeaCup® will reduce downstream deposition and significantly reduce excessive mechanical wear - cutting annual maintenance and repair costs. 

Increase your downstream solids handling capacity 

Without the protection of a Hydro International Advanced Grit Management® system, grit accumulates in downstream processes and these processes serve as grit storage - clogging them and significantly decreasing their capacity. Additionally, excess capacity needs to be available to manually remove uncaptured grit that has deposited. With the TeaCup® you cut out the grit upstream, reducing downstream accumulation and reducing the need to pay for expensive process capacity to store your grit. 

The TeaCup® uses a combination of a free vortex and the accelerated gravity boundary layer effect to capture, classify, and remove grit, sugar sand, and high-density fixed solids. The TeaCup® discharges a clean, low organic grit slurry, which emits fewer odors and requires only dewatering to meet stringent disposal regulations.

  1. Flow enters the stainless steel vessel tangentially at a controlled rate and velocity.
  2. The flow regime established in the device forms a vortex, which results in high forces and a thin, predictable boundary layer.
  3. Grit is forced to the outside perimeter or held in suspension until it falls by gravity into the boundary layer, which sweeps the grit, but not volatile solids, into the collection chamber at the bottom of the unit.
  4. The concentrated slurry is collected in the chamber at the bottom of the unit.
  5. Periodically, fluidizing water is added and the grit is purged from the system.
  6. The slurry discharged is clean and ready for dewatering.
  7. The water containing the volatile solids exits the top and returns to the plant for treatment.

Watch a Video to see how the TeaCup® Works

TeaCup Cutaway

Removal rate

  • Removes 95% of grit particles 75 micron and larger at the design flow rate

Output

  • Outputs less than 20% Volatile Solids 
  • Greater than 60% Total Solids 

Capacity 

  • Handles flows of between 70 gpm to 8 Mgal/d (4.4 L/s to 30 MLD)
  • Solids concentrations up to 1.5%

Unit size

  • Single unit diameters range from 24" to 96" (0.6 to 2.4 m)

Design notes 

  • Open free vortex design 
  • Simple operation, long product life
  • Large diameter easily handles peak flow volumes without clogging
  • Prefabricated modular components provide simple installation and maintenance 
  • Discharges a clean grit slurry, with low volatile solids 
  • Suitable for batch processing operation 
  • Standard turndown ratio of 3:1 peak to average daily flow

  • 96
  • Discharge box side of TeaCup
  • Large TeaCup feeding to Decanter Dewatering
  • TeaCup on Girt Snail
  • TeaCup underflow elements
  • TeaCup on Grit Snail
  • TeaCup System
Q

My plant only processes flows of 200 gpm (12.6 L/s), is the TeaCup right for me?

A

TeaCup® systems can accommodate flows as low as 70 gpm (4.4 L/s) in a single unit, making it the ideal system for many different sizes of plants. Larger TeaCup® units can handle flows up to 8 Mgal/d (30 MLD) in single unit, or multiple units can be used to process flows from even the largest plants.

Q

Can the TeaCup be used in agricultural or industrial applications?

A

The TeaCup® has been successfully used in both industrial and agricultural applications within certain operating parameters. Please contact us to determine whether the TeaCup® system would be the right solution for your specific application.

Q

Snail shells accumulating in our trickling filters are a big problem for our plant, can the TeaCup system help?

A

The TeaCup® has proven very effective in removing snail shells from trickling filters. In many plants, snail shells can quickly fill up trickling filters and are very difficult to remove with any other technology.

Parts & Spares

Keep your Hydro International water management systems running effectively and efficiently. Our services teams will supply you with…

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A New TeaCup is in Town!

If your plant has ragging issues, the OpTeaCup™ might be just what your plant needs. OpTeaCup™ is our newest grit classification system, specifically designed to pass everything but grit.     

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