Clarifier Processes Revealed: Get the Most from Your Clarifier
Authors:
- Alonso Griborio, Paul Pitt - Hazen and Sawyer
- John Alex McCorquodale - Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of New Orleans
Clarifier performance depends on several interrelated factors. Hydrodynamics, settling properties, turbulence, flocculation, and solids rheology all have an impact, as do atmospheric conditions, tank
geometry, internal features, and loading conditions. While the traditional clarifier design process does not account for all of these factors, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) can.
CFD is an advanced technique for clarifier design, troubleshooting, and optimization. It uses mathematical methods — and billions of calculations— to analyze systems that involve fluid motion, mass transfer, heat transfer, and associated phenomena, such as chemical and biological reactions. Today, it is one of the most advanced and accurate ways to simulate clarifier performance…
