This process combines a softening tank where sotening chemicals are added upstream of the conventional Actiflo treatment. A contact time of 5 to 20 minutes is required in the softening tank prior to Actiflo clarification depending on the level of bicarbonate removal to be obtained.

The sand ballasted flocculation system is used in a variety of municipal and industrial applications for high rate clarification within a small footprint.

The softening of calcium/magnesium/silica based influent is achieved by addition of lime and/or caustic soda and/or sodium carbonate.

• Compact treatment
• Large flow capacity
• High operating flexibility
• Quick start up
• Excellent quality and stability of the treated water
• Low sensitivity to changes of temperature and water quality

In order to meet the needs of municipal and industrial clients for fast and high quality treatment solutions, Veolia Water Solutions & Technologies has developed and launched a new exclusive technology: Actiflo Softening.

Designed to further enhance water quality, Actiflo Softening combines in a single compact treatment unit both clarification and softening operations to remove constituents such as calcium, silica, heavy metals, fluorides, suspended solids, while improving properties such as alkalinity, hardness and turbidity. Rapid and efficient, Actiflo Softening produces very high quality water for both industrial and municipal applications.

• Very small footprint: Actiflo Softening is up to 10 times smaller than conventional softening processes
• High rise rate: up to 120 m/h
• Retrofit: can be easily implemented into existing tanks
• Enhanced chemical precipitation with TurbomixTM reaction tank
• Minimises coagulant demand due to solids precipitation with calcium carbonates
• Sludge characteristics: up to 8% dry solids; can be easily thickened and dewatered
• Easy start-up: within few minutes
• Plant-wide automation: Actiflo Softening can be fully automated and integrated into existing plants

• Industrial applications
• Water pre-treatment to avoid potential scaling of membranes
• Water production for cooling tower make-up
• Water recycling for cooling tower side stream
• Treatment of produced water for Oil & Gas
• Very small footprint: Actiflo Softening is up to 10 times smaller than conventional softening processes
• High rise rate: up to 120 m/h
• Retrofit: can be easily implemented into existing tanks
• Enhanced chemical precipitation with TurbomixTM reaction tank
• Minimises coagulant demand due to solids precipitation with calcium carbonates
• Sludge characteristics: up to 8% dry solids; can be easily thickened and dewatered
• Easy start-up: within few minutes
• Plant-wide automation: Actiflo Softening can be fully automated and integrated into existing plants
• SAGD (Steam Assisted Gravity Drainage) water treatment for reuse
• Wastewater treatment of flue gas desulfurization and acid mine drainage
• Wastewater reuse in the steel and metal industry
• Phosphorus co-precipitation

Municipal applications

• Surface and ground water softening for drinking water production

• A softening tank equipped with TurbomixTM in which softening chemicals (lime, soda) are injected to form insoluble compounds
• A coagulation tank designed to create rapid mixing conditions to destabilize anions
• A dynamic flocculation tank that allows rapid development of large settleable flocs
• A settling tank with lamella and scraper
• A recirculation line with “MA” hydrocyclone for the recovery of clean microsand, the return of carbonates sludge back into the softening tank and the blow down of excess sludge out of the process

• Inlet Hardness 150 – 1,000 mg/l as CaCO3
• Rise Rate Up to 120 m/h
• Clarified Water < 35 mg/l Calcium as CaCO3, < 50 mg/l Magnesium as CaCO3
• Clarified Water TSS < 3 mg/l
• Clarified Water Turbidity < 1 NTU