Introduction
Wastewater treatment clarifiers, also known as sedimentation tanks, are used in wastewater treatment plants to remove solid materials from the water being processed. The waste water treatment plant at the Arcata Marsh uses two clarifiers, one 26ft diameter tank and one 60ft diameter tank Fig.1.
Description
Wastewater enters the clarifier through the influent well Fig.3 in the center of the tank. Once the water enters the tank solids begin to settle out of the water; the denser solids settle to the bottom of the tank and less dense solids and oils float to the surface. The lfoating solids and oils are skimmed off of the surface by a large rotating arm called the surface skimmer Fig.2. Once collected by the surface skimmer the solids are deposited into a storage container alongside the clarifierFig.4. On the bottom of the tank there are rotating arms called scrapers that collect sludge and move it to the outlet at the center of the tank.
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Links
http://www.humboldt.edu/~smg59/clarifier.html
References
- Davis, Mackenzie, and Susan Masten. Principles of Environmental Engineering and Science. McGraw Hill: New York, NY 2004.
- http://www.humboldt.edu/~ere_dept/marsh/flow2.html
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sewage_treatment#Sedimentation
- http://www.gc3.com/techdb/manual/clartext.htm