The distinction between clarifiers and thickeners is subtle because they appear visually identical. Basically, both thickeners and clarifiers are used to settle solids, resulting in the separation of liquids and solids. Thickeners are used to concentrate solids, while clarifiers are used to purify liquids.

A thickener will give you a high density of underflows, and clarifiers do not. The clarifier overflow is usually cleaner or sharper than the thickener overflow. The clarifier depends on the application - it can be used for immediate recovery of reusable process water, as well as the extraction of fines and other materials. Thickening agents can be used by mineral and aggregate producers, or by environmental contractors in wastewater management and other industries.

Depending on the needs of the producer and the industry, the benefits of thickeners may vary from user to user. For example, thickeners can be used in water-scarce or very expensive places to immediately re-use production water back to the factory. They can also be used to reduce the size or possibly eliminate settling ponds. In some industries, they are used as clarifiers to remove minerals and powders from water. Thickeners are often used in thickening equipments in the mining industry.

The feed enters the speed separation box and the excess energy is removed from the slurry before entering the Thickening Equipment feed pipe. The flocculant is added to the feed tube and mixed with the solids to form larger agglomerates, which settle quickly to the bottom of the thickener. The feed well is too large to allow the trapped air contained in the feed slurry to rise and dissipate so it does not enter the main settling zone within the thickener. The flocculated solids settle to the bottom of the thickener and are compacted in the so-called compression zone to form a dense slurry. The thick thickener solid was tilted to the thickener bottom cone and removed by a mud pump through the bottom flow tube. The underflow slurry density can vary depending on the type of material being processed, the size distribution of settled solids, or other process factors. The clean water rises to the top of the thickener and overflows the outer weir into the catch basin. Once collected in the overflow tank, clean water is discharged through a single flange outlet and can flow by gravity into a reservoir or cleanup tank for reuse.