A clarifier mechanism is a device used in water treatment to remove solids from water. The mechanism works by allowing the water to flow slowly through a tank, during which time the solids settle to the bottom. The settled solids are then removed from the bottom of the tank by a scraper mechanism and sent to a separate location for disposal. Clarifier mechanisms are commonly used in municipal water treatment plants, as well as in industrial processes that require the removal of solids from water. They are an efficient and effective way to ensure that water is clean and safe for consumption or use in industrial processes.
Although sedimentation might occur in tanks of other shapes, removal of accumulated solids is easiest with conveyor belts in rectangular tanks or with scrapers rotating around the central axis of circular tanks. Mechanical solids removal devices move as slowly as practical to minimize resuspension of settled solids. Tanks are sized to give water an optimal residence time within the tank. Economy favors using small tanks; but if flow rate through the tank is too high, most particles will not have sufficient time to settle, and will be carried with the treated water. Considerable attention is focused on reducing water inlet and outlet velocities to minimize turbulence and promote effective settling throughout available tank volume. Baffles are used to prevent fluid velocities at the tank entrance from extending into the tank; and overflow weirs are used to uniformly distribute flow from liquid leaving the tank over a wide area of the surface to minimize resuspension of settling particles.
How Clarifier Work:
1. Sedimentation: The solids in water separate by gravity.
2. Slowing down velocity: A baffle plate slows down the velocity of the influent.
3. Settling zone: The solids gradually separate from the liquid due to gravity and the slowed velocity.
4. Sinking: The solids that are heavier than the liquid sink to the bottom of the clarifier
