Paris, 28th November 2007 - Veolia Water is pleased to announce that its subsidiary, Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies (VWS) has developed the new generation of clarifier for potable and process water. Referred to as the ultimate of all clarifiers, Actiflo™ Turbo incorporates the best in water clarification performance and is compact, quick and flexible, making it suitable for the needs of industrial companies in terms of process water, and for municipalities.
Since its introduction by Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies (VWS) in 1989, Actiflo™ benefits from constant improvements in order to optimise its performance and applications. With more than 410 installations in the world, VWS benefits from unequalled experience which has enabled the Company to develop and exclusively patent a new generation : Actiflo™ Turbo.
The process covers numerous applications and can be integrated into many treatment chains to produce high quality treated water. It is also an innovative solution for the production and recycling of industrial process water through technological combinations.
The system is equipped with a coagulation tank, a flocculation tank which contains a Turbomix™ to enhance flocculation by installing a draft tube around the mixer impeller. This enables optimisation of agitation and thus the flocculation process. After these two tanks, there is a lamellar settling tank with a sludge scraper, lamellas and collection launders.
A centrifugal pump draws the sludge and microsand towards a hydrocyclone which separates and recovers the microsand.
The Treatment (Step-by Step)
After straining, which separates large-size debris, the treatment can begin. In the first tank a coagulant such as an iron or aluminium salt is injected to the raw water to destabilize the particles in suspension which will form microflocs. The coagulated water is then channelled to the flocculation tank where microsand and polymer are added. The microflocs formed during the coagulation stage are ballasted by the agglomeration of microsand.
In the flocculation tank the water is vigorously mixed by the Turbomix™ which causes the microflocs to swell and mature. The microsand has a large contact surface and thus improves flocculation.
Finally, the water reaches the settling tank. While the flocs slide down into the settling tank, the clarified water rises up along the lamellas and is collected by overflow into launders. The mixture of sludge and microsand are collected by a scraper before being pumped to hydrocyclones for separation. The hydrocyclone separates the sludge from the microsand by centrifugal effect. The recycling microsand is re-injected back to the flocculation tank and the sludge is discharged by gravity for further treatment.
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Thanks to improvements of the flocculation by the Turbomix™, Actiflo™ Turbo has become more compact while providing the same treatment performance with reduced energy consumption and lower construction costs.
The contact time in the maturation tank has been reduced from 6 minutes to 3 minutes, the injection tank has been eliminated (previous time required by the tank was 2 minutes), the rise rate in the settling tank has risen from 40-60m/hr to 80m/hr thus resulting in a smaller footprint of the clarifier, and water loss has been reduced by 10-20 times to less than 0.5% of the influent flow, thereby increasing the thickness of the sludge allowing it to be fed directly to the centrifuge or press.
Simple and rapid operation makes ACTIFLO® TURBO the ultimate clarifier.
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Veolia Water, the water division of Veolia Environnement, is the world leader in water and wastewater services. Specialized in outsourcing services for municipal authorities, as well as industrial and service companies, it is also one of the world's major designers of technological solutions and constructor of facilities needed in water and wastewater services. Veolia Water serves 108 million people worldwide. With 70,700 employees, its 2006 revenues amounted to €10,08 billion. Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies (VWS) is the technology subsidiary of Veolia Water. The company specializes in the engineering, design and construction of turnkey facilities, and creates technological solutions that are integral to these units. www.veoliawater.com.
Veolia Environnement (Paris Euronext: VIE and NYSE: VE) is world leader in environmental services. With more than 300,000 employees the company has operations all around the world and provides tailored solutions to meet the needs of municipal and industrial customers in four complementary segments: water management, waste management, energy management and freight and passenger transportation. Veolia Environnement recorded revenue of €28.6 billion in 2006. www.veolia.com