Learning About Wastewater Clarifier and its purpose in Biological Treatment

The functions of a wastewater clarifier in a wastewater plant are one of the most important parts of the wastewater treatment plant. It is quite important in the separation of solids and liquids in the treatment process whereby cleaner water can proceed to other purification stages.

The clarifiers are usually installed after the wastewater biological treatment in which the microorganisms degrade the organic pollution. After this biological activity has taken place the effluent is allowed in the clarifier. In this case, gravity is used to allow the sinking of the heavy sludge to the bottom and the clarified water to be floated on the surface to be treated or discharged.

But how then do we treat biological waste effluent before it is taken to the clarifier? Here decomposition of organic matter in the liquid waste is done through the use of bacteria and other microorganisms. The process leads to a great decrease in biological oxygen demand (BOD) and conditions the water ready to be separated physically in the clarifier. The benefits of a biological treatment would be eroded in absence of effective clarifier because there would be no way of separating treated water and the remaining solids.

Besides clarifiers, there are also grit removal systems such as Smith & Loveless PISTA Grit System. They also compute sand, gravel and other heavy inorganic fabrics in the early stages before the sand sacks and clog in down-stream apparatus- and this improves functionality of biological treatment and the clarifiers.

In summary, a wastewater clarifier is required to make sure that the advantages of biological treatment are not wasted, therefore separating the solids and liquids effectively. Clarifiers add to the efficiency whether they are used in an industrial setup or municipal.