The Pre-treatment Area of The Wastewater in The Air Flotation Machine

Beneath our cities and deep within numerous factories lies a critical "battlefield" for environmental protection, often invisible to the naked eye—the sewage treatment zone. In recent years, with increasing environmental requirements and technological advancements, a high-efficiency water treatment device called the Air Flotation Machine has become a notable "star" and "magician" in this area, quietly transforming the traditional landscape of sewage purification.

Traditional sewage treatment often relies on gravity sedimentation, allowing impurities to slowly settle at the bottom of a tank. However, when dealing with lightweight pollutants, fine suspended particles, or even oils, sedimentation methods are often time-consuming, inefficient, and less effective. Air flotation technology takes a different approach, utilizing the principle of "buoyancy."

Simply put, an air flotation machine functions like a precise "bubble generator" and "separator." Its core working area, the sewage treatment zone, is where the "magic" happens. Here, pre-treated sewage (e.g., with coagulants and flocculants added) is thoroughly mixed with countless microfine bubbles (only 10-30 microns in diameter) produced by a special device. These micro-bubbles act like efficient "carriers," quickly attaching to flocs, oils, colloids, and other impurity particles in the sewage, forming "bubble-particle" aggregates. The overall density of these aggregates is less than that of water, causing them to rapidly float to the surface within the treatment zone, forming a thick layer of scum. This scum is regularly removed by a skimming device, while the clarified treated water flows out from the bottom or sides, completing the crucial process of solid-liquid or liquid-liquid separation.

The "sewage treatment zone" of an air flotation machine is not merely a simple tank but a space designed with precision fluid dynamics calculations. Depending on the air flotation method (e.g., Dissolved Air Flotation (DAF), Induced Air Flotation (IAF), or shallow air flotation), its internal structure varies, but the goal remains the same: to create optimal conditions for maximum contact and adhesion between bubbles and pollutant particles.

Take the widely used shallow air flotation machine as an example. Its treatment zone design is particularly ingenious. It employs a "zero velocity" or "shallow tank" principle, where the sewage enters a relatively quiescent separation environment with minimal water flow disturbance. This creates extremely stable conditions for micro-bubbles carrying impurities to float upward, significantly shortening separation time and increasing treatment capacity per unit area. The entire zone functions like a high-speed, orderly "purification stage," continuously performing the separation process where "impurities float, and clear water sinks."

Technical Advantages: Fast, Economical, Effective

Compared to traditional sedimentation processes, the air flotation machine's treatment zone offers significant technical advantages:

1.Fast Processing Speed:Short separation time, typically only tens of minutes, requires less equipment footprint, making it especially suitable for space-constrained sites or situations requiring rapid treatment.

2.Excellent Treatment Efficiency: High removal rates for suspended solids (SS), oils, colloidal substances, algae, etc., resulting in clear effluent quality and providing a good foundation for subsequent advanced treatment.

3.Flexible Operation: Quick startup, strong resistance to shock loads, and adaptability to fluctuations in water quality and quantity.

4.High Sludge Concentration:The surface scum has a relatively low moisture content, facilitating further sludge thickening and treatment, thereby reducing sludge disposal costs.

Thanks to these advantages, the air flotation machine and its core treatment zone are active in numerous fields:

Industrial Wastewater Treatment:Widely used in petroleum/chemical, food processing, papermaking, printing/dyeing, electroplating, and other industries to effectively remove oils, fibers, dyes, heavy metal ions, etc.

Municipal Sewage Treatment: Used in pre-treatment to remove some suspended solids and oils, or in advanced treatment for further purification.

Source Water Pre-treatment: Helps remove algae and organic colloids from raw water in reservoirs and lakes, ensuring water supply safety.

Material Recovery:In some industrial processes, it can be used to recover useful suspended materials from wastewater.

The "sewage treatment zone" of the air flotation machine, though just one component of the entire water treatment system, represents the concept and technological innovation of efficient separation. It is powerfully driving the wastewater treatment industry toward greater efficiency, energy savings, and compactness. Like a silent yet highly efficient "water purification magician," it continuously contributes to our clean environment on the unseen underwater stage. With the ongoing advancement of environmental technology, this "treatment zone" will gain more intelligent and precise features in the future, safeguarding our clear waters and green mountains.