Elevating Water Treatment Standards: The Evolution of Flotation Technology

– advertorial –

A strategic transition toward high-efficiency separation, offering a more compact and energy-conscious alternative to traditional clarification methods.

In the rapidly evolving landscape of industrial and municipal wastewater management, operators across Europe face a dual challenge: meeting increasingly stringent environmental compliance while dramatically reducing energy and operational expenditures. For decades, Dissolved Air Flotation (DAF) has been the industry standard for solid-liquid separation. However, conventional DAF systems often demand high energy inputs, require extensive physical footprints, and struggle with fluctuating hydraulic loads.

To address these systemic inefficiencies, Sigma Equipment Supply & Services (SIGMA ESS) has announced a landmark licensing agreement with Komline-Heron to manufacture the revolutionary, patented Suspended Air® Flotation (SAF®) units. This strategic initiative establishes licensed manufacturing operations directly in Turkey, enabling the company to deliver exceptionally short lead times, optimized regional supply chains, and rapid technical deployment across Turkey and all European environmental markets.

The Micro-Bubble Science of SAF®: Flotation Without Dissolved Air

The core mechanical breakthrough of SAF® technology lies in its complete departure from traditional dissolved air principles. Originally conceptualized in 1975 by Dr. Felix Sebba and masterfully refined through decades of engineering by Heron Innovators, now part of Komline as Komline-Heron, SAF® introduces the science of Colloidal Gas Aphron (CGA) micro-bubbles. While conventional DAF systems must dissolve air under high pressure inside cumbersome saturation vessels, Sigma Equipment Supply & Services introduces an advanced SAF® Generator that creates a uniform, highly stable foam of micro-bubbles ranging precisely between 5 and 25 microns.

The gas aphrons generated by SAF® are double-layered and carry an electrical charge, so they are electrostatically attracted to the oppositely charged suspended solids. Because these colloidal gas aphrons (CGA) do not coalesce, they preserve their small size and high specific surface area over time, a key advantage over conventional bubbles. This non-coalescing behaviour is a defining feature of the technology and is what makes SAF® a reliable separation process.

Suspended Air® Flotation (SAF®) delivers consistent performance, superior results, increased capacity, and substantially lower energy use. It is also UL certified to meet NSF/ANSI 60/61 standards for use in drinking water systems.

This precise bubble-particle dynamic enables SIGMA ESS installations to achieve unprecedented clarification metrics:

• Up to 99% TSS & FOG Removal: Near-total extraction of fats, oils, grease, and total suspended solids from tough primary streams, providing a stable foundation for downstream processes.

• Exceptional BOD Reduction: High-efficiency contaminant floating that regularly lowers Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) to a degree that significantly reduces the organic load on downstream biological treatment, often allowing it to be downsized.

Process Optimization via the ClearMixer® Integration

A primary catalyst behind the technology’s exceptional hydraulic capacity is ClearMixer® in-line mixing chamber. Within this highly engineered flow zone, the externally generated CGA foam is directly injected and smoothly blended into the primary raw influent stream before the fluid even crosses into the flotation cell.

By forcing bubble-particle interactions to occur instantly in-line, the flocculated solids begin rising immediately upon entry. Consequently, SAF® system designs effortlessly support significantly higher hydraulic loading rates and solid flux capacities (exceeding 20 lb/ft²/hr or 97.6 kg/m²/hr) than traditional clarifiers without experiencing any drop-off in output clarity. Once floated, a low-maintenance overhead skimmer transfers the blanket of solids directly into a sludge hopper. When required by specific environmental mandates, these isolated solids can be further dewatered by gravity and directly repurposed as high-grade agricultural fertilizers or organic soil amendments, aligning with circular economy objectives.

Retrofitting the Future: Drastic Footprint and Utility Reductions

For modern treatment facilities operating under strict budget caps or facing physical site layout constraints, the SAF® system provides an incredibly practical and cost-efficient answer for both brand-new plants and existing plant retrofits. SIGMA ESS engineering groups specialize in converting cumbersome, energy-intensive traditional DAF grids into modernized SAF® cells by replacing high-pressure recycle pumps and compression tanks with compact atmospheric generators. This transition provides instant operational relief across key industrial parameters:

• Significantly Reduced Physical Footprint: Because SAF® aphrons carry far more air and sustain a much higher surface area than dissolved-air bubbles, the system achieves the same separation across a dramatically smaller flotation surface area — supporting higher hydraulic and solids loading rates per square metre of float area. Combined with the removal of bulky pressurized saturators and recycle loops, this streamlined configuration makes SAF® an ideal fit for tightly configured or heavily restricted industrial floor spaces where expansion was previously considered impossible.

• Substantially Lower Energy Consumption: Slashing plant electricity bills from day one by eliminating high-pressure saturation vessels and extensive recycle mechanisms entirely.

Total Lifecycle Support and On-Site Wastewater Feasibility Testing

As a multidisciplinary B2B technology partner, SIGMA ESS ensures complete engineering sovereignty through the entire operational lifecycle. Utilizing our advanced regional laboratory and application facility, our specialized engineering teams can conduct comprehensive, data-driven site-specific or laboratory-grade wastewater feasibility testing using a facility’s actual effluent samples. This empirical evaluation allows SIGMA ESS to mathematically demonstrate and project expected separation performance before any field commissioning occurs.

Backed by a secure certified spare parts inventory and rapid-deployment on-site technical support networks across Europe, Sigma Equipment Supply & Services maximized operational uptime, minimized total cost of ownership, and an uncompromised environmental compliance structure.

SAF® Advantages:

• Less equipment: Requires only a SAF® generator and ClearMixer®
• Easier installation and startup: Plumbed, wired, and tested, with flotation and ancillary equipment on a single skid
• Compact footprint: Uses about 1/10th of the space of DAF
• Conversions from DAF: Better separation, increased hydraulic flow and solids loading capacities, dryer skimmed float, reduced costs and cleaner effluent
• Cost savings: Requires fewer chemicals, less energy and less maintenance
• Reliable: Manages changing water conditions and is resilient to load changes

Clarify more. Remove more. Expect more.