AguaClara provides clean, safe drinking water to countries that have limited or no access to water purification technology. The plants are built using locally available materials and the treatment process takes advantage of gravity, thus eliminating the need for electricity and promoting sustainable development.
The plants produce clean water by removing suspended particles such as dirt and pathogens. The removal process starts by first adding Aluminum Sulfate (alum) using a semi-automated chemical dosing device. Addition of alum is critical because it causes suspended particles to stick together. The alum and water are blended in a Rapid Mixer.
This water-alum mixture then goes in a tank called a flocculator in which it flows around a series of staggered plates or baffles which causes the particles and alum to collide, stick together, and grow in size. The result is larger particles called flocs, which must be large enough for gravity to make them settle quickly in the next step, sedimentation.
Finally, the flocs and water flow down into the bottom of the sedimentation tank and then up through a series of plates (called plate settlers) which "catch" the flocs and cause them to fall down to the bottom of the tank. The floc-free water then enters pipes at the top of the tank and leaves the plant. The sludge is continuously drained from the bottom. Before being distributed, the clean water is disinfected with Chlorine in order to destroy any harmful microorganisms.