Gravity thickener P

for wastewater treatment plants

Overview
Thickeners are industrial solids–liquid separation systems used to increase solids concentration by settling and removing water from slurry. Typical applications include product densification for downstream processing, countercurrent decantation (CCD) washing, clarifying wastewater streams, and tailings management in mining and aggregates. Depending on the process, the valuable product can be the clarified overflow or the thickened underflow.

How they work
Thickeners consist of a circular tank, feed piping and feedwell, a rotating rake mechanism (with pickets where applicable), a bridge containing the rake drive, and chemical dosing systems. Slurry is fed to the feedwell (often via a deaeration/surge tank); flocculants or coagulants are added to promote aggregation into larger particles that settle rapidly. Settled solids are conveyed by the rotating rakes toward a central discharge cone for underflow pumping, while the clarified liquid overflows a peripheral weir and is recovered.

Key components

• Tank and overflow weir
• Engineered feedwell for uniform feed distribution
• Rotating rake with pickets to convey settled solids
• Bridge and rake drive
• Chemical dosing system (flocculant/coagulant)
• Underflow cone/discharge and pumping arrangement
• Optional surge/deaeration tanks and level/density instruments

Features and benefits

• Modern feedwell designs to optimize floc distribution and reduce polymer requirements
• Auto‑dilution options to increase settling rate and reduce equipment footprint
• Advanced automation and remote monitoring for bed level, underflow density and rake control
• Density monitoring and automated rake lifts for optimized underflow control
• High liquid recovery rates (typically ≥85%) producing a low‑solids overflow for reuse
• Reduces waste volume and lowers load on downstream equipment such as filter presses

Types / Product series

• Elevated High‑Rate Thickeners – HR Series: elevated floor designs for improved underflow pumping access and rapid reuse of process water
• Paste Thickeners – P Series: designed to achieve very high solids concentration and maximum process water recovery

Common applications / industries

• Mining and mineral processing (including tailings management)
• Aggregates
• Wastewater treatment and process clarification
• Chemicals
• Food & beverage
• Battery and PET recycling

Operation notes
Proper thickener performance relies on correct feed preparation (including deaeration), appropriate chemical dosing and floc formation, effective feedwell design and continuous rake operation/automation to maintain bed profile and underflow density.

Characteristics / technical specifications

• Main components: tank, feedwell, rake/pickets, bridge and drive, chemical dosing system
• Control & instrumentation: density monitoring, automated rake lift, level control, remote monitoring/automation packages
• Performance targets: high overflow clarity with liquid recovery often ≥85%, configurable underflow density
• Design tools: CFD modelling and lab/pilot testing to size and configure the thickener for feed characteristics
• Available configurations: elevated tanks (HR Series), paste thickeners (P Series), various underflow pump arrangements