Texas Water Treatment Plant Boosted by Rotork’s K-TORK Actuators

Published: 2nd November 2021 | Issue 68

Rotork’s K-TORK Actuator

A water treatment plant in Texas, USA has ordered hundreds of Rotork’s K-TORK rotary vane actuators for its ultrafiltration for Ultrafiltration Processes.

San Felipe Springs Water Treatment Plant is based in the City of Del Rio, Texas. It is supplied by water from the nearby East and West San Felipe Springs and uses an ultrafiltration system to process the water. The centre has an incoming flow of 18.2 million gallons per day. The treated water serves the population of Del Rio and the nearby Laughlin Air Force Base.

The primary process used is ultrafiltration, which removes unwanted particles from the water. Membrane systems such as this provide treated water that has been pushed through a thin membrane that removes solids and contaminants, resulting in water suitable for drinking.

Nearly 400 K-TORK rotary vane actuators were ordered for the San Felipe Springs Water Treatment Plant to aid in the ultrafiltration process. These highly accurate and reliable units are to replace existing actuators to ensure reduced maintenance and replacement costs. They are ideal for critical applications of this kind because of their high cycle and precise modulating output. They do not need to convert linear motion to rotary motion, which means they offer true rotary control.

A direct drive design means K-TORKs provide accurate modulating specifications. The client chose Rotork and K-TORK actuators because of the benefits of reduced maintenance and lower replacement costs compared to their previous units, as well as the reliability of its products and support that Rotork can offer. The majority of the actuators have now been installed.

Kevin Froneman, Gulf Coast Sales Manager – Municipal Water & Power, Rotork, said: “We worked very closely with our local channel partner WWatertech, Inc. on this project to provide continuous support. We advised on processes changes and initially installed a demonstration K-TORK actuator for a period of eight months to demonstrate its abilities, before the large order was placed. There was a great working relationship between the client and our Dallas office.”