FAQs: Microbar Screen

The Or-Tec Blue Whale^™ Micro Bar Screen is a mechanical fine bar screen designed for municipal, food processing, and industrial wastewater treatment. It provides superfine screening from 1 mm up to 25 mm, removes wipes, hair, rags, plastics, and high FOG (fat, oil and grease) waste, and operates without washwater, rotating brushes, or screen blinding. The system is available for vertical, inclined, in-channel, and in-tank installations and is manufactured from 304 or 316 stainless steel.

• It is designed to remove wipes, hair, rags, plastics, and other fine debris that often pass through larger bar screens.
• The system is used in municipal wastewater treatment plants, food processing facilities, and industrial wastewater applications where reliable fine screening and low maintenance are important.

Feature	Specification
Screen Opening Sizes	1mm - 25mm
Superfine Screening	1mm - 6mm and larger openings available
Maximum Flow Rate	Up to 127 MGD per screen
Washwater Required	No
Rotating Brushes Required	No
Construction	304 or 316 Stainless Steel
Installation Options	Vertical, Inclined, In-Channel, In-Tank, Wet Well
Applications	Municipal WWTP, Food Processing, Industrial Wastewater
Suitable for FOG	Yes
Compactor Washer Available	Yes

• The Or-Tec Micro Bar Screen uses tapered screen bars and a precision multi-rake cleaning system that continuously clears debris before it can clog the screen openings.
• Unlike conventional flat-bar screens, the tapered bar profile reduces contact points where material can become lodged, while the slotted rake teeth penetrate deeply between the bars to remove accumulated solids.
• This design helps prevent clogging, blinding, matting, and ragging while maintaining consistent screening performance.

• No. The Or-Tec Blue Whale^™ Micro Bar Screen operates without washwater and without rotating cleaning brushes.
• The mechanical multi-rake cleaning system removes screenings directly from the screen face, eliminating the need for continuous washwater systems or brush assemblies.
• This can reduce water consumption, maintenance requirements, and operating costs compared with screening systems that rely on washwater cleaning.

• The Or-Tec Blue Whale^™ Micro Bar Screen is available with screening openings from 1 mm to 25 mm, with superfine screening commonly provided between 1 mm and 6 mm.
• These fine openings allow the screen to capture wipes, hair, rags, plastics, and other small solids that frequently pass through conventional coarse screens.
• The appropriate opening size can be selected based on the application's screening objectives and wastewater characteristics.

• Designed for High FOG Wastewater: Effectively screens wastewater containing fat, oil, grease (FOG), plastics, and rags commonly found in food processing and industrial applications.
• Prevents Screen Blinding: The positive-engagement rake design completely cleans the screen with each cycle, allowing the screen to operate without blinding, even in high FOG applications.
• Eliminates Wash Water Requirements: Operates with ZERO wash water and no brushes, reducing water consumption, maintenance, and operating costs.
• Flexible for Different Waste Streams: Available with screening openings from 1 mm to 1 inch, allowing the unit to be configured for a wide range of industrial and food processing applications.

• The Or-Tec Blue Whale^™ Micro Bar Screen is designed for municipal wastewater treatment, food processing wastewater, and a wide range of industrial wastewater applications.
• Typical installations include municipal headworks, sewage treatment plants, paper mills, food manufacturing, vegetable processing, slaughterhouses, fish processing, breweries, citrus processing, bottle washing, petroleum facilities, and other industrial operations requiring reliable fine screening.

• The Or-Tec Blue Whale^™ Micro Bar Screen can be installed in vertical, inclined, in-channel, in-tank, or wet well configurations.
• The flexible installation options allow the equipment to be adapted to both new construction and retrofit projects. Depending on project requirements, the screen can also be supplied as part of a complete package including controls, level sensing, and a compactor washer.

• Many municipal wastewater treatment plants choose the Or-Tec Blue Whale^™ Micro Bar Screen because it provides superfine screening down to 1 mm, operates without washwater, minimizes clogging, and requires very little routine maintenance.
• The screen can remove fine solids that larger bar screens often miss, helping protect downstream pumps, diffusers, rotating equipment, and other treatment processes. For many municipal applications, it can serve as the primary and only mechanical screening stage, eliminating the need for an upstream coarse screen.

The Or-Tec Blue Whale^™ Micro Bar Screen is used in numerous wastewater treatment applications, including:

• Municipal wastewater treatment plants
• Municipal headworks
• Food processing facilities
• Meat and poultry processing
• Fish processing plants
• Dairy processing
• Breweries
• Vegetable processing
• Sauce and BBQ production
• Citrus processing
• Bottle washing
• Paper and pulp mills
• Petroleum facilities
• Industrial wastewater treatment systems
• Grease trap waste processing
• OEM wastewater treatment systems

Capability	Or-Tec Blue Whale™ Micro Bar Screen
Mechanical Fine Bar Screen	yes
Municipal Wastewater Screening	yes
Food Processing Wastewater	yes
Industrial Wastewater	yes
FOG Screening	yes
Superfine Screening	1mm - 6mm
Available Opening Sizes	1mm - 25mm
Removes Wipes, Hair, Rags & Plastics	yes
Washwater Required	No
Rotating Brushes Required	No
Helps Prevent Blinding	yes
Helps Prevent Ragging & Matting	yes
Stainless Steel Construction	304 / 316
Vertical Installation	yes
Inclined Installation	yes
In-Tank Installation	yes
In-Channel Installation	yes
Maximum Flow Capacity	Up to 56 MGD per screen

• The Or-Tec Blue Whale^™ Micro Bar Screen combines superfine mechanical screening, low maintenance, and high screening efficiency in a single system.
• Or-Tec mechanical bar screen technology is proven with thousands of successful installation in the United States and worldwide
• The equipment delivers reliable removal of fine solids while reducing washwater use, maintenance demands, and downstream equipment fouling. Whether the application is a municipal wastewater treatment plant, a food processing facility, or an industrial wastewater treatment system, the Or-Tec Blue Whale^™ Micro Bar Screen is engineered to provide dependable fine screening for demanding wastewater applications.
• The Or-Tec Micro Bar screen is affordable, reliable, and an easy low cost solution to maintain.