Lightweight aluminium-extrusion or steel space-frame holding swappable treatment modules. The shape that makes the process visible — ideal for teaching, training, parallel-process comparison and the trials where the design team wants to watch every reaction happen. Highest reconfigurability of any pilot form factor.
A Plant You Can See
An open-frame modular pilot is built around a lightweight aluminium-extrusion (typically 40×40 mm or 45×45 mm slot-and-tab profile) or steel-tube space-frame. Treatment modules — reactors, dosing rigs, sensor packs — are slotted into the frame at standard interface positions and connected with quick-release process and electrical links. The frame itself is the chassis; the science is the modules.
This is the form factor of choice when reconfigurability is more important than weather protection, and when the design team or trial visitors need to see what is actually happening to the water rather than reading it off a SCADA screen.
Why Open-Frame
Swap an MBBR reactor for an SBR over lunch. Add a third coagulant-dosing rig in parallel. Move the polishing filter ahead of the biological reactor and back again to find the right sequence. The pilot is a building set rather than a fixed plant.
Every pump, valve, transmitter, hose and reactor is visible. Excellent for teaching graduate students how a treatment train works; essential for trial visits where the client wants to see the data being made.
No surplus container shell, no heavy steel skid frame. A 20′-equivalent open-frame pilot typically weighs 60–70 % of the same equipment in a containerised build.
If the trial reveals an unexpected fault mode, an extra sensor or a different mixing element can be slotted into the frame the same afternoon — standard tools, no drilling or welding required.
The visible-process design supports postgraduate research where the pilot is itself an experimental platform, not just a black box producing performance data.
After the field campaign, the same frame becomes a permanent teaching rig at the home institution. Modules are re-arranged to suit each successive teaching exercise.
Three Standard Profiles
| Frame type | Profile | Frame mass | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aluminium extrusion (light) | 40 × 40 mm slot-and-tab | 1.8 kg/m | Indoor, light-load, frequently-reconfigured pilots and university teaching rigs |
| Aluminium extrusion (heavy) | 45 × 90 mm slot-and-tab | 4.0 kg/m | Outdoor or load-bearing pilots; rooftops and industrial test halls |
| Steel space-frame | 40 × 40 mm SHS | 4.7 kg/m | Heavier process loads (large reactors, tall column stacks), outdoor exposed pilots |
All frame interfaces are standardised so any module built to the standard will fit. We maintain a kit-of-parts catalogue that grows as we build new modules.
Building Blocks
Variable-speed peristaltic or centrifugal, 0.05–5 m³/h with inline flow meter and turbidity probe.
4-channel peristaltic dosing rack with reagent racks. Mid-trial chemistry change in 15 minutes.
Variable-speed paddle mixer with G-control. Tapered-G flocculation rig with 3 chambers in cascade.
Inclined-plate clarifier or skid-mounted DAF cell. Single-glance view of the floc forming and the float clearing.
MBBR or SBR with transparent acrylic body. Carriers visibly circulate; the operator can confirm mixing by eye.
Glass or transparent acrylic columns showing media bed expansion during backwash. Online ΔP logging.
UV reactor with online UVT sensor; ozone contactor; chlorine dosing module.
Compact PLC cabinet mounting on the frame; tablet HMI on a swing arm; satellite modem for remote access.
Refrigerated autosampler with 24 bottles; manifold sampling ports at every stage of the train.
Honest View
An open frame on an outdoor site fails fast in heavy rain or wind-blown dust.
Detachable polythene shrink-wrap during transport; canvas awning bolted to the frame for short-term outdoor use; pop-up event tent for longer outdoor deployment. For permanent outdoor service the containerised form factor is the correct choice.
Equipment is visible and reachable. Theft and tamper risk on unsecured sites.
Lockable canvas covers, tamper-evident wraps on chemical stores, perimeter intrusion sensors with SMS alert. For high-risk sites, containerised is the safer call.
Light frames break and fastenings loosen if dropped or jolted in transit.
Disassemble for transport into structural sub-frames + module crates. Vibration-tested module mountings. Re-assembly on site takes a half-day rather than a full day.
Open frame cannot host nitrogen inerting and cannot contain a vapour release.
For flammable-feed pilots, use the containerised ATEX build. Open-frame is suitable only for non-flammable wastewater trials.
No enclosed floor means a spill goes straight to the site surface.
Detachable spill tray under the frame, sized to contain the largest single-vessel inventory. Visual leak indicators on every connection.
Below 0 °C, instruments freeze; above 35 °C, electronics drift.
Heat-tracing on wet lines, insulating jackets on the most sensitive instruments, shade canopy in hot climates. For climate envelopes outside −5 to +35 °C, switch to a climate-controlled container.
All five form factors.
Hub PageFor hard-to-access sites.
Read MoreFor long campaigns and hostile climates.
Read MoreFor multi-site campaigns.
Read MoreConstraints every remote pilot solves.
Read MoreThe natural home for open-frame pilots after the field campaign.
Read MoreThe broader pilot-testing service hub.
Read MoreFrame fabrication and module integration.
Read MoreTell us the modules and the configuration freedom you need — we will estimate an open-frame build within two weeks.
Our expertise spans multiple industries with sector-specific water treatment solutions.