|Description||Step 1||Step 2||Step 3||Glossary||References|
A Brief Description
After the headworks removes large non-organic material from the wastewater it enters the primary clarifier (See Figure 1). The primary clarifier slows the water down and removes the solids that settle on the bottom with a rotating sludge raking system. It also removes solids that float to the surface of the tank with its rotating rake skimming system. Thereafter, the wastewater is slowly removed from the tank and delivered to oxidation ponds for the next step in the process. A smaller clarifier is used when incoming wastewater volume exceeds the capacity of the larger clarifier or during maintainance of the larger clarifier. The primary clarifier's role in wastewater treatment is more fully described in the three steps below.