A conveyor compactor is a horizontally installed shaftless screw conveyor with an integrated compaction unit at its discharge end. A conveyor compactor in wastewater treatment provides a single, low-cost integrated solution for conveying, washing, draining, and compacting screenings — combining four functions that might otherwise require separate equipment into one continuous line driven by a single motor.
This integration is particularly valuable in plants with multiple screening units positioned along a common channel or headworks layout, where a single conveyor compactor line can collect and process screenings from several screens simultaneously.
What Is a Conveyor Compactor?
A conveyor compactor consists of a horizontally installed shaftless screw conveyor, with a compaction unit built into the discharge end of the same line. As a conveyor compactor manufacturer and worldwide supplier, Vortex Engineering provides a range of design options to suit different screening line layouts and capacities.
The defining feature of the conveyor compactor is that all processing stages — conveying, washing, draining, and compacting — are completed within a single continuous line, powered by a single drive unit, rather than requiring the screenings to pass through multiple separate pieces of equipment connected by additional transfer points.
How Does a Conveyor Compactor Work?
Screenings enter the conveyor compactor through one or more inlet hoppers positioned along the length of the horizontal screw conveyor section. The shaftless screw conveys the material along the trough toward the discharge end, where the integrated compaction unit dewaters and compresses the screenings before final discharge.
As the screenings travel along the conveying section, optional washing stages can remove organic material from the screenings, reducing odour and organic content in the final discharged material — similar in principle to the washing function available on a standalone screw compactor.
Because all of these processes — conveying, washing, draining, and compacting — occur in sequence along a single line, the conveyor compactor eliminates the intermediate transfer points and separate drive units that a multi-equipment configuration would otherwise require.
Serving Multiple Screening Units from a Single Line
A key advantage of the conveyor compactor’s horizontal layout is its ability to serve multiple pieces of screening equipment simultaneously. Since all processes are completed in one single line with a single drive unit, the transportation section can be extended and equipped with multiple inlet hoppers to serve multiple screening equipment in a row, at the same time.
This configuration is particularly useful in headworks layouts where several screening units — such as multiple bar screens or band screens operating in parallel channels — discharge into a common conveying and compaction line, rather than each requiring its own dedicated compactor. The result is a reduction in total equipment count, drive units, and maintenance points compared to providing individual compaction equipment for each screening unit.
Conveyor Compactor vs Screw Compactor
| Conveyor Compactor | Screw Compactor | |
|---|---|---|
| Configuration | Horizontal conveying line with integrated compaction | Standalone compaction unit, often vertical or short conveying section |
| Multiple inlet capability | Designed for multiple inlet hoppers along its length | Typically single inlet |
| Best for | Multiple screening units feeding a common line | Single screening unit or standalone compaction need |
| Footprint | Longer, horizontal layout | More compact, often integrated directly beneath a screen |
The choice between a conveyor compactor and a standalone screw compactor depends primarily on the plant layout: where multiple screening units need to feed into a shared compaction process, the conveyor compactor’s multi-inlet capability provides a more cost-effective and space-efficient solution than installing individual compactors at each screening location.
Applications
Municipal wastewater treatment plants with multiple screening units. Plants with several parallel screening channels — common in medium to large municipal facilities — use conveyor compactors to consolidate screenings handling into a single line.
Headworks retrofits and capacity upgrades. When adding screening capacity to an existing headworks, a conveyor compactor can be extended to incorporate additional inlet hoppers, integrating new screening units into the existing screenings handling infrastructure.
Industrial wastewater treatment. Industrial facilities with multiple screening points along their pre-treatment process use conveyor compactors to centralise screenings processing and reduce overall equipment count.
Materials and Construction
Vortex Engineering conveyor compactors are manufactured from stainless steel throughout, selected for durability in the screenings handling environment.
Trough and housing: Stainless steel AISI 304 standard; AISI 316 available for more aggressive environments.
Shaftless screw: Wear-resistant stainless steel, designed for continuous operation handling fibrous, sticky screenings without jamming.
Inlet hoppers: Multiple stainless steel hoppers positioned along the conveying line, sized and spaced to match the screening equipment layout.
Drive system: Single motorised gearmotor drive sized to handle the combined conveying and compaction load across the full line length.
Fasteners: Stainless steel A2 or A4 depending on the installation environment.
Frequently Asked Questions
This depends on the conveying line length, screw capacity, and the combined screenings volume from all connected screening units. Vortex Engineering sizes each conveyor compactor based on the specific plant layout and the number of screening units to be served.
A washing stage is available as an optional feature, similar to the washing section available on standalone screw compactors, allowing organic material to be removed from the screenings before final discharge.
The main advantage is consolidation: a single drive unit and continuous line handle conveying, washing, draining, and compaction for screenings from multiple screening units, reducing the total equipment count, footprint, and maintenance points compared to installing individual compactors at each location.
The horizontal conveying section can be designed with extension in mind, allowing additional inlet hoppers to be incorporated if plant capacity increases or additional screening units are installed. Specific extension feasibility depends on the original design and available space.
As with standalone screw compactors, press water expelled during the compaction stage drains from the unit and is typically returned to the inlet channel or wet well for re-treatment through the plant.
Vortex Engineering designs and manufactures Conveyor Compactors as part of its complete Screening Equipment range and the full Wastewater Treatment Equipment lineup.
