Tube Settler Systems for Clarification

Tube settlers use multiple tubular channels sloped at an angle of 60° and adjacent to each other, which combine to form an increased effective settling area. This provides for a particle settling depth that is significantly less than the settling depth of a conventional clarifier, reducing settling times.

Tube settlers capture the settleable fine floc that escapes the clarification zone beneath the tube settlers and allows the larger floc to travel to the tank bottom in a more settleable form. The tube settler’s channel collects solids into a compact mass which promotes the solids to slide down the tube channel.

Why Tube Settlers?

Tube settlers offer an inexpensive method of upgrading existing water treatment plant clarifiers and sedimentation basins to improve performance. They can also reduce the tankage/footprint required in new installations or improve the performance of existing settling basins by reducing the solids loading on downstream filters.

Made of lightweight PVC, tube settlers can be easily supported with minimal structures that often incorporate the effluent trough supports. They are available in a variety of module sizes and tube lengths to fit any tank geometry, with custom design and engineering offered by the manufacturer.

Advantages of Tube Settlers
The advantages of tube settlers can be applied to new or existing clarifiers/basins of any size:

• Clarifiers/basins equipped with tube settlers can operate at 2 to 4 times the normal rate of clarifiers/basins without tube settlers.
• It is possible to cut coagulant dosage by up to half while maintaining a lower influent turbidity to the treatment plant filters.
• Less filter backwashing equates to significant operating cost savings for both water and electricity.
• New installations using tube settlers can be designed smaller because of increased flow capability.
• Flow of existing water treatment plants can be increased through the addition of tube settlers.
• Tube settlers increase allowable flow capacity by expanding settling capacity and increasing the solids removal rate in settling tanks.