AQUAZUR® — Turnkey Water Solutions
AQUAZUR® Technology
Clarification Technology

Sludge Blanket Clarifier

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Design-and-build potable water treatment facilities and plant upgrades.

Engineering & Process Design

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Automation & Controls

Instrumentation and control systems for reliable, monitored operation.

Operational Management

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Sludge Blanket Clarifier

A sludge blanket clarifier carries out coagulation, flocculation and clarification within a single structure. Coagulated raw water is fed in at the base and rises through a suspended bed of floc — the sludge blanket — where incoming particles are captured on contact, so that only clarified water reaches the collection troughs at the surface.

In the pulsed type, the bed is held in gentle expansion by a regular pulsing action rather than by flow alone. Keeping the floc evenly fluidised gives a stable, forgiving settling rate and lets the unit absorb swings in raw-water quality, flow and temperature — including very cold water — while keeping energy and reagent use low.

Sludge Blanket Clarifier — header image

How it works

The clarifier runs on a repeating two-phase cycle that keeps the sludge bed in suspension:

  • Charge: a vacuum chamber above the inlet is slowly evacuated, drawing the water level upward; as the through-flow eases during this phase, the bed settles gently under gravity.
  • Pulse: once the chamber reaches its upper level, a vacuum-break valve opens and the stored water is released rapidly through the distribution manifolds, lifting and re-expanding the bed.
  • Capture: coagulated water entering from below passes up through the expanded blanket, where fresh floc collides with and attaches to the bed, and clarified water draws off from above into the troughs.
  • Sludge management: surplus floc produced by the process overflows into concentrators, where it thickens and is drawn off to waste at set intervals.

Repeating this cycle keeps the bed live and evenly distributed, which is what gives the technology its steady settling rate and its tolerance of variable conditions. Laminar tube or plate settling modules can be fitted in the upper zone or within the bed to raise the rated throughput.

Features & benefits

  • coagulation, flocculation and clarification combined in one compact basin;
  • a pulsed, expanded sludge bed that gives a stable, forgiving settling rate;
  • reliable performance across wide variations in raw-water turbidity, flow and temperature, including very cold water;
  • low energy and reagent consumption;
  • an extended sludge-contact zone that improves removal of organic matter and supports powdered-activated-carbon dosing for taste, odour and micro-pollutant control;
  • continuous, automatic sludge removal through concentrators;
  • well suited as clarification ahead of rapid gravity filtration in drinking-water and municipal treatment plants.