Determination of the required surface area of a final clarifier for an activated-sludge system

A generic methodology for determining the required surface area of a final clarifier is presented. Clarification and thickening requirements are integrated to form a unified procedure for final clarifier design. The new method is based on results obtained by Yuen (2002) on the solids flux theory for a secondary clarifier; it does not require the specification of recycle rate, which is computed as an output of the method. The author shows that there is a minimum required surface area (A(m)) for a final clarifier under the thickening requirement when the designed recycle rate is set at the maximum allowable value (FR)m (at the critical state). The designed surface area and the return activated sludge pumping capacity can be determined by applying a safety factor to A(m) and (FR)m, respectively. The method is shown to conform to conventional design criteria under typical design conditions.