Lamella Clarifier: High-efficiency Water and Liquid Wastewater Treatment within Small Volume

Modern water treatment plants must handle numerous problems, among which is the necessity to work within limited spaces and time resources in order to achieve maximum efficiency in the process. This is why a lamella clarifier is used by numerous industries all over the world. Thanks to its sophisticated design, this equipment allows achieving high treatment efficiency in a small volume and this is why lamella clarifiers are used now.

Lamella Clarifier: Definition and Features

Lamella clarifier is a special type of sedimenters equipped with several inclined plates. Unlike usual sedimenters where the process of settling is held in open tanks where the suspended solids sink down to the bottom, lamella clarifiers are equipped with special plates in order to increase the settling area. Thanks to increased settling area, this equipment provides the same or even higher separation efficiency comparing to conventional sedimenters, which require much space for operation.

Principle of Work of the Lamella Clarifier

Principle of work of the lamella clarifier is based on gravity and increased settling area. While water with suspended solids is moving upwards or across the inclined plates, the particles of sludge settle on the plate surface thanks to gravity force. Plates, which are installed at an angle,

allow washing the settled sludge off with its own weight into collection hopper located at the bottom of the clarifier. At the same time, clear water passes through the plate and moves upwards, going out of the equipment through the top outlets.

Advantages of Industrial Use of the Lamella Clarifier

As it was mentioned above, lamella clarifier became popular in modern industry due to numerous advantages. First, space-saving feature is important for industries operating in urban environment. In this case, one has to settle a big amount of solids from water, but there is no enough space for sedimentation tanks. Second, municipal water treatment plants can treat large amounts of water using this equipment. Third, industrial facilities dealing with mining, chemical processing, or food processing can use lamella clarifiers for treatment of their liquid waste before discharge or recycling.

Besides, one can save time thanks to short retention time needed for treatment.

Uses in Various Sectors 

Apart from water treatment at municipal level, lamella clarifiers find application in sectors where there are large quantities of heavy sludges. In mining, lamella clarifiers are used to separate particles from process water, and in power plants, the clarifiers are used to treat cooling water. Brewery and food processing companies use lamella clarifiers as part of their wastewater treatment systems to conform to environmental discharge requirements.

How to Select the Right Lamella Clarifier

Selection of the right system is based on considerations such as flow rate, type of suspended solids, plate spacing, and type of construction material. For instance, in case of corrosive wastewater, there will be a need for clarification systems which are coated and made of materials that resist corrosion.

Conclusion

The lamella clarifier shows that solid liquid separation can be done without much infrastructure in place. Through efficient engineering and compactness, the equipment continues to enable industrial facilities to treat water in an efficient way and meet environmental discharge requirements.