Rectangular Clarifier Systems
Ready to discover how these rectangular clarifier systems remove suspended solids from industrial process fluids through gravity sedimentation, giving heavier particles time to settle out before the fluid moves downstream?
Also called rectangular settling tanks, each unit is engineered to your specific flow rate and fluid type rather than sold as a fixed-size product, so the tank matches your process instead of forcing your process to fit the tank.
A chain and flight conveyor runs continuously along the tank bottom, moving settled solids to a single discharge point without interrupting fluid flow through the system.
Rectangular clarifiers run as a stand-alone solids removal step or as a pre-filtration stage ahead of other equipment in our Metal Cutting Filtration line.
How a Rectangular Clarifier Works
A rectangular clarifier separates solids from liquid through sedimentation. Dirty fluid enters through a top inlet, and as it travels the length of the tank, gravity pulls suspended solids toward the bottom while clarified fluid continues on to the outlet.
Applications engineers size the tank's length, width, and retention time to your flow rate and the settling characteristics of the solids in your fluid, since a tank sized too short for the flow rate won't give particles enough time to settle before the fluid exits.
Once solids settle, a continuous chain and flight assembly, a looped chain fitted with flights that drag along the tank floor, moves the accumulated solids to a single collection point at one end of the tank.
Because the conveyor runs continuously, the clarifier keeps removing solids without an operator manually clearing the tank floor, and the mechanism doesn't stop fluid flow through the system while it works.
Rectangular vs. Circular Clarifiers
Clarifiers come in two basic tank shapes, rectangular and circular, and the right choice usually comes down to your site rather than your process.
Rectangular tanks share common walls when a project needs more than one unit, which uses floor space more efficiently where room is tight, and their straight-line flow path suits sites where several tanks need to sit in a row along one process line.
Circular clarifiers use a rotating rake instead of a chain-and-flight conveyor and show up more often in municipal wastewater treatment, where a single large-diameter tank fits the available site better than several rectangular ones.
Rectangular units are recommended and manufactured because that footprint and flow pattern fit the majority of industrial process fluid applications in the field.
Rectangular clarifiers are rarely manufactured as a single fixed model.
Tank length, width, depth, and chain and flight speed are set by your flow rate, fluid type, and the solids you need to remove, and these application engineers work directly with you to size the unit before it's built.
Where Rectangular Clarifiers Fit in Our Central Filtration Line
A rectangular clarifier is one of several central filtration methods built for metal cutting and industrial process fluid, and it often works best as the first stage ahead of a finer filtration step rather than as the only piece of equipment in the system.
Once heavier solids settle out in the clarifier, the same fluid can move on for polishing before it returns to your process.
- If your process needs finer particulate removal after settling, a vacuum filtration systems pull remaining fines and sludge from the fluid under vacuum pressure.
- Where tramp oil is mixed into the same fluid stream, a magnetic filtration systems remove ferrous fines alongside the clarifier stage.
- High-volume lines running continuous chip loads often pair a clarifier with rotary drum filtration for belt-fed separation downstream.
- Shops running a single machine or a smaller line typically start with individual machine filtration instead of a central clarifier system.
Features and Benefits
Beyond removing suspended solids, a rectangular clarifier does double duty in a filtration line built around more than one piece of equipment.
- Pre-filtration stage. Runs as a stand-alone system or ahead of other Filtra filtration equipment, cutting the solids load before fluid reaches a finer filtration stage.
- Continuous solids removal. The chain and flight assembly manages and removes heavier solids without stopping fluid flow through the tank.
- Custom design. Our applications engineers size and configure the tank around your fluid type, flow rate, and solids load rather than a standard model.
Industries and Applications We Serve
Rectangular clarifiers support the same industrial and manufacturing operations as the rest of the Metal Cutting Filtration line, most often as the settling stage in a central coolant system serving OEM machine tool and automotive operations.
The design engineering team reviews your process and configures the clarifier, and any filtration equipment downstream of it, before you commit to a system.
Not sure what type of filtration you need or have questions about your equipment? Instead of a generic quote, an applications engineer reviews your process and recommends what actually fits your business.
Frequently Asked Questions
A rectangular clarifier, also called a rectangular settling tank, is a tank that removes suspended solids from process fluid through sedimentation.
Fluid enters at one end, moves along the length of the tank while heavier solids settle to the bottom, and a chain-and-flight conveyor moves the settled solids to a single discharge point.
A continuous chain and flight assembly, a looped chain fitted with crossbars called flights, drags along the tank floor to move settled solids to a collection point while the tank keeps taking in fluid.
The mechanism runs on its own once installed and doesn't need an operator to manually clear the tank floor.
Rectangular clarifiers use a chain and flight conveyor and a straight-line flow path, which uses floor space efficiently when a project needs more than one tank.
Circular clarifiers use a rotating rake and a single large-diameter tank, and they're more common in municipal wastewater treatment, where that footprint fits the site.
Yes. A rectangular clarifier runs as a stand-alone solids removal system or as the first stage ahead of other Filtra filtration equipment, cutting the solids load before fluid reaches a finer filtration step.
It depends on your flow rate and the settling characteristics of your process fluid. There is no fixed size.
Applications engineers typically size the tank length, width, and retention time for your process before the unit is built.
Submit a request through our quote form or contact our applications engineering team directly, and we'll review your flow rate and fluid type before recommending a configuration.
Industry Applications
Our Rectangular Clarifier Systems can be used in a variety of different applications including:
Not sure what type of filtration you need or have questions about your equipment?
Let our team of experienced applications engineers review your process to access your needs and make a recommendation that will be best for your business.
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