High rate thickener and eductors therefor

A process for dewatering fluids which contain a fraction of solids in the form of a slurry, said process comprising:

• introducing ingress slurry having sediment particles into a thickener vessel having a top portion, a central well, a bottom cone-shaped portion, and a center longitudinal axis;
• feeding a mixture of said ingress slurry and clear fluid into at least two eductors through an inlet nozzle and mixing tube in each of said at least two eductors, wherein said inlet nozzle of each of said at least two eductors includes an ingress port for receiving said slurry and an egress port for transporting said ingress slurry away from said at least two eductors, wherein each of said mixing tubes circumferentially houses said inlet nozzle, each of said mixing tubes having an egress port and an ingress port, said ingress port for receiving clear fluid relative to said ingress slurry;
• and
• streaming at least two counter directional fluids at one another from said at least two eductors egress ports to promote collision and turbulence in said central well generating a resultant disturbed fluid;
• wherein each of said at least two eductors includes an adjustable circular opening located at each of said mixing tubes' egress port, said adjustable opening having an open state where a maximum amount of clear fluid flows from said mixing tube egress port, a closed state where approximately no clear fluid flows from said mixing tube egress port, and a partially open state where a regulated amount of clear liquid flows from said mixing tube egress port.

A water treatment system process comprising:

• directing fluid from at least one equalization tank into at least one flocculation tank designed to receive and mix polymers;
• dividing output of said at least one flocculation tank into separate primary clarifiers;
• removing settled sludge from said primary clarifiers;
• feeding clarified output of said primary clarifiers into reaction tanks;
• treating fluid in said reaction tanks with a flocculant coagulant, forming a first resultant fluid;
• dividing said first resultant fluid into tertiary clarifiers where each output of said tertiary clarifiers is subject to further treatment forming a second resultant fluid;
• and
• filtering said second resultant fluid and storing in a treated effluent tank.