Colubris (The Netherlands)

Water Treatment Powered by NORD Drive Solutions

Clean water is becoming an increasingly limited resource. At the same time, stricter environmental regulations govern how wastewater can be discharged, while the cost and complexity of using fresh water continue to rise. Colubris, based in Winterswijk, Netherlands, designs and builds advanced water treatment systems that help customers purify and reuse water around the world. To power these systems, Colubris relies on NORD Universal motors.

Turning Wastewater Into a Valuable Resource

Colubris transforms wastewater into clean, reusable water. Since its founding in 1984 under the name Redox, the company has grown into an internationally recognized provider of water treatment solutions. Colubris develops, designs, manufactures, and supplies complete process solutions configured to meet each customer's requirements. In addition to water treatment systems, the company also provides solutions for waste separation and bioresource recovery.

"Clean water is becoming increasingly difficult to obtain," says Frank Tillmann, CEO of Colubris.

"At the same time, strict environmental regulations mean companies cannot simply discharge wastewater from their production processes into surface water or sewer systems. It must first be thoroughly treated. For many companies, treating and reusing their own water is the only practical way to support future growth."

Colubris serves customers around the world, particularly in the food industry, including slaughterhouses and vegetable processing facilities. The company is also expanding its work in the municipal sector, including wastewater treatment plants operated by regional water authorities.

Saudi Arabia

"We're currently involved in a major project in Saudi Arabia, where we're building a wastewater treatment plant for a chicken processing facility in the middle of the desert," says Tillmann. "To give you an idea of the scale, approximately 500,000 broilers are processed there every day. Water is a scarce resource and must be pumped from significant depths."

To reduce water consumption, wastewater is purified and reused through Colubris's treatment systems.

"The plant we developed can process 600 m³ of water per hour, or 7,500 m³ per day. That's significantly more than a typical slaughterhouse, which processes approximately 1,000 m³ of water daily. What makes this wastewater treatment plant unique is its exceptionally low chemical consumption, resulting in operating costs that are six times lower than the industry average."

A similar treatment plant also processes wastewater from the poultry farm itself. The treated water is then used to irrigate nearby fields and vegetable gardens, where crops are grown to feed the chickens. The Saudi Arabia system was manufactured by Colubris's approximately 60 production employees in Winterswijk and shipped to the Middle East in more than 50 containers. Construction of the wastewater treatment plant is now well underway.

Global Certification of NORD Crucial

Colubris has partnered with NORD DRIVESYSTEMS for more than 30 years. Early on, the company made the decision to standardize on NORD motors.

"In the past, we used drives from several different suppliers," says Erwin Geessinck, Manager of Purchasing & Logistics. "However, it's much more efficient to work with a single supplier. Most of our business is outside the Netherlands, particularly throughout Europe, North and South America, and the Middle and Far East. We chose NORD because its Universal motors are certified and accepted worldwide. They also deliver exceptional torque at very low speeds, which is essential during the first stage of the water treatment process."

Steps in the Water Treatment Process

"A water treatment plant typically consists of several systems, each representing a different stage of the overall process," explains Project Engineer Marco Hogenkamp.

"This includes equipment that screens larger solids from the water, as well as dissolved air flotation (DAF) units. In these systems, oils, fats, suspended solids, and flocculated particles are separated using extremely fine rising air bubbles. Additional dissolved substances are then removed in basins using aerobic and anaerobic treatment processes."

Drum filters are typically used at the beginning of the treatment process to remove solid particles. Dirty water enters the outside of a cylindrical screen with openings ranging from 0.5 to 1 mm. Water passes through the openings into the inside of the drum before flowing back out and continuing to the next treatment stage. The captured solids form a filter cake on the drum surface that is continuously scraped away and discharged. This filter cake also acts as an additional filtration layer. Maintaining the correct drum rotation speed is critical to proper filtration performance and consistent filter cake formation.

High Power at Low Speeds

NORD Universal motors, combined with worm gear units and parallel shaft gear units, rotate the filter drums at extremely low speeds while maintaining high torque. At 50 Hz, the drums rotate at approximately 7.5 rpm, while at 10 Hz they operate at just 2.5 rpm.

Universal motors are available in power ratings from 0.3 to 45 kW (0.4 - 60.0 hp). Most motors used in Colubris water treatment systems are rated up to 3.0 kW (4.0 hp).

The drives are controlled by control cabinet mounted variable frequency drives. These may be supplied by NORD or, depending on the customer's requirements, by another manufacturer. The gear units are controlled from centralized control cabinets rather than decentralized controls. This configuration provides an important advantage because Colubris water treatment systems often operate in humid environments. Separating the drives from the controls helps protect the variable frequency drives from moisture and supports reliable operation.

Reliable Service Around the World

Reliable operation is critical for both Colubris and its customers.

"When the water treatment process stops, production usually comes to a halt almost immediately," says Geessinck. "One of the major advantages of NORD drive technology is its global service network."

With operations in more than 80 countries, NORD can provide local service and support whenever needed.

"Fortunately, that's an advantage we've rarely had to use," Geessinck says with a laugh. "In practice, NORD's high quality motors and gear units have proven to be exceptionally reliable."

UNIVERSAL Motors

Asynchronous Motors for Worldwide Use

Power: 0.16 – 75.0 hp (0.12 kW - 45 kW)
Efficiency class: IE3
Protection class: IP66
Globally approved for universal use

UNIVERSAL SMI Worm Gear unit

Hygienic Design Worm Gear Units

Power Range: 0.16 - 5.5 hp (0.12 kW – 4.0 kW)
Torque: 186 - 3,780 lb-in (21 Nm – 427 Nm)
Wash-down ready with food-safe NXD tupH® surface conversion
Quiet operation
Compact design

UNIVERSAL SI Worm Gear Units

High Power Density Worm Gear Units

Power: 0.16 HP - 5.4 HP (0.12 kW – 4.0 kW)
Torque: 186 lb-inch - 3,779 lb-in (21 Nm – 427 Nm)
High overload capacity for safe operation
Highly configurable
Low space requirement due to compact design

NORDAC PRO Variable Frequency Drive - SK 500E

Wide range control cabinet functionality

Power Range: 0.33 – 200 HP (0.25 – 160 kW)
Protection Class: IP20
Flexibly Adjustable with Scalable Ethernet Interfaces
Scalable Range of Functions With Optional Plug-In Modules
Multiple-Axis Operation Controllable via Multi-Encoder Interface

NORDAC PRO Variable Frequency Drive - SK 500P

Single Product Family with Basic to Advanced Functions

Power: 0.33 to 200.0 hp (0.25 to 160 kW)
Protection Class: IP20
Multi-protocol Ethernet interface supporting PROFINET IO, EtherNet/IP, EtherCAT, Ethernet Powerlink, and more
USB interface for voltage-free parameterization, even when the mains power is disconnected.
Multi-encoder interface for multiple axis operation