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Disc Screens for Water Intakes

Rotating disc screens — mesh-covered discs on a horizontal shaft give a large fine-screening area in a compact footprint at low head loss, an efficient alternative to drum and band screens.

Disc Screens for Water Intakes

Intake Screening for Water & Desalination Plants

A disc screen is a series of mesh-covered discs mounted on a rotating horizontal shaft; flow passes through the disc faces while debris is carried up on the rotating mesh and spray-washed off at the top. Because both faces of each disc screen, a disc unit packs a large fine-screening area into a short channel length, at low head loss.

Background & History

Rotating disc filters and screens developed for water and wastewater through the mid-twentieth century, valued where a large fine-mesh area was needed in a compact, low-head package. Modern segmented-disc designs allow individual mesh panels to be replaced without removing the whole unit, and have become a mainstay of fine and tertiary screening.

Types & Variants

Configurations in service

Rotary Disc Fine Screen

Mesh discs on a shaft; both faces screen for high area per length.

Segmented-Disc Panels

Individually replaceable mesh segments for easy maintenance.

Disc Micro-Screen

Very fine mesh discs for algae and fine-solids polishing.

In-to-Out / Out-to-In

Flow path selected for the debris and cleaning regime.

Advantages & Limitations

An honest engineering assessment

Advantages

  • Large screening area in a short, compact footprint
  • Low head loss
  • Fine mesh capability for polishing duty
  • Segmented discs simplify mesh replacement
  • Continuous self-cleaning

Limitations

  • More seals and moving parts than a drum
  • Debris-handling capacity below band screens
  • Less suited to very large single-stream flows
  • Spray-wash and drive maintenance required

Where It Fits

Typical applications

Disc screens suit fine and tertiary intake screening, micro-screening of algae and fine solids, and sites where a large fine-mesh area is needed in a short, low-head channel.

Other Intake Screen Types

The full intake-screen series

Related Equipment & Hubs

Specify the right intake screen

Our engineers select and size intake screening — disc screens and the full train — matched to your debris load, fish-protection duty and downstream process.

Industries We Serve

Our expertise spans multiple industries with sector-specific water treatment solutions.

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