Adding settling media is the cheapest way to get more capacity out of a basin that already exists - and the way most often let down by the parts of the clarifier that were not upgraded with it.
Also searched as: lamella clarifier retrofit · increase clarifier capacity tube settler · retrofit inclined plate media existing basin · clarifier upgrade settling media
Our published figures for settling media are a 3–5× capacity increase over a plain horizontal-flow basin and 2–3× when converting a deep clarifier that currently uses inclined plates. Those are properties of the settling principle at the published loading band, not promises about your basin.
What limits the gain in a retrofit is everything else in the basin:
| Weir loading | The outlet weir was sized for the original flow. Media increases the flow the basin can settle, not the flow the weir can pass without re-entrainment |
| Sludge withdrawal | The hopper and scraper were sized for the original solids load. More settled solids arrive faster |
| Inlet energy | The inlet was designed to dissipate energy for the original flow. At double the flow, the same inlet may not |
| Structural support | The media needs beams at the module footprint and a support design that carries a flooded pack, not just a dry one |
Give us these and the quotation is a design, not a price:
| Basin drawings | Plan and section, with the existing support beams and any constraints on module size |
| Current duty | Design flow, current surface loading, current effluent target and whether it is being met |
| Water data | Solids type and concentration, and the range the plant actually sees |
| Target | The flow or the effluent quality the retrofit has to achieve - ideally both, because they point at different media |
| Access | Crane, manhole, and whether the basin can be drained |
From that we return the module layout, the cell size, the stack height, the fixing detail and the module count - plus, where relevant, a written note on the items above that the retrofit does not fix.
Tube modules are rigid blocks and generally need less support steelwork, which suits a basin with a fixed beam layout. Plate packs are a stack of sheets and can be lifted and cleaned individually, which suits a plant that maintains its packs by hand. Both are supplied in polypropylene and ethylene-propylene copolymer, with published service lives of 3–4 and 8–10 years respectively.
Compare the two properly: tube settler vs inclined plate media · tube settler media · inclined plate media · installation and commissioning.
Our published figures are 3-5 times the capacity of a horizontal-flow basin, and 2-3 times for a deep clarifier converted from inclined plates. Whether your basin achieves the upper end depends on the weir, the sludge system and the inlet, which is why we ask for the drawings rather than quoting a factor.
No - the basin has to be isolated and drained for the support work and the module installation. What can be planned is the outage: modules delivered to the module count per pass so the installation is not waiting on deliveries.
Only if the failure is a settling area limitation. If the effluent fails because of sludge blanket carry-over, an overloaded weir or an inlet short-circuit, media will not fix it and may make the symptoms worse by increasing the flow through a weir that cannot take it.
Modules to the layout we agree, the fixing detail, the module count per course and the installation sequence sheet. Support steelwork is normally by others, and we will state clearly what we assume about it in the quotation.
You get the module layout, cell size, stack height and a written note on what the retrofit does not fix.
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