The objective of the thickener tank is to recycle the dirty water generated in mineral process in order to obtain clean water to be reused again in the process in the sand washing and mineral treatment processes. In the tank, a slurry with a high concentration of fines is generated, which is more easily treated in other filtering or pressing equipment.
How a wastewater clarifier works
The operation consists in that the water with fine particles is fed to the tank, in which the solid particles settle to the bottom, while in the upper part there is the clean water that is evacuated by overflow. To increase the performance of the equipment, chemical flocculants are added that accelerate the decantation of the solids.
At the bottom of the tank there is a rotating scraper that drags the sedimented solid particles towards a central cone that feeds the extraction pump of dense sludge. This pump is of high performance, since it pumps a mud with a concentration 500 gr of solid per liter. The scraper has a lifting system to protect it in case of be blocked.
