DAF: a new era for strategic water treatment Xylem Africa has launched a new dissolved air flotation (DAF) water treatment solution.This compact and convenient industrial wastewater pre-treatment system is now available in South Africa for permanent and rental use, backed by expert skills and customisation options.
I n a recent event hosted at Xylem Africa's headquarters in Kempton Park, Johannesburg, Xylem Africa unveiled its dissolved air flotation (DAF) water treat - ment equipment and services, which offers reliable wastewater treatment to key sectors such as mining, municipalities, agriculture, aqua- culture, food & beverage, paper & pulp, chemical manufacturers and pharmaceutical companies. DAF is a critical pre-treatment and solids- separation system within broader wastewater treatment systems. It can operate as a stand- alone solids-separation step or complement downstream biological filtration or reuse sys - tems to help achieve site-specific compliance and reuse objectives. The compact and modular design enables deployment in constricted and crowded sites. Xylem also offers excellent DAF rental options for smaller and seasonal projects. "We are very excited to bring cutting-edge DAF solutions to our local customers. Xylem has introduced our DAF solutions to several other markets, where they have become a big hit among companies of various sizes. They ap- preciate the logistical benefits of DAF's compact designs and convenient deployment, supported by our expert technicians. South African organ- isations in the private and public sectors can now also leverage DAF to expand their choices for water treatment and recycling," says Chetan Mistry, Strategy and Marketing Manager at Xylem WSS (AMETI). Xylem’s DAF systems use Hellbender™ pumps to release microscopic air bubbles into wastewater, which, following appropriate co- agulation and flocculation, attach to suspended and destabilised colloidal particles, enabling their separation from the water phase and their floatation to the surface, from where they can be skimmed away. The DAF technique efficiently removes total suspended solids (TSS), fats, oils, and greases (FOG), and particulate-associated biochemi- cal oxygen demand (BOD) from wastewater streams. These systems offer an effective solu- tion for a wide range of applications, including: • Thickening of biosolids. • Product recovery from wastewater. • Treatment of industrial wastewater to meet site discharge limits. • Polishing of biological treatment effluent (algae and phosphorus removal). • Pretreatment to reduce loading on down- stream biological treatment systems. • Clarification of biosolids downstream of
The compact and efficient DAF water clarification system is available for permanent and rental use, backed by expert skills and customisation options.
AF water treatment efficiently removes total suspended solids (TSS); fats, oils, and greases (FOG); and particulate-associated biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) from wastewater streams.
Bringing DAF's advantages to Africa Xylem's DAF solutions and services enable more producers to manage wastewater strategically without excessive investment in wastewater infrastructure. As part of a phased and modular treatment strategy, DAF is often deployed as an entry point into integrated wastewater and reuse solu- tions, enabling future expansion with biological treatment, filtration and advanced polishing technologies. Xylem's DAF units provide efficient waste - water pre-treatment and solids separation, with three DAF models in the Xylem RT DAF series: the RT-50, RT-100, and RT-240, which offer flow rates from 100 to 1 000 GPM. Key
aerobic and anaerobic treatment. • Removal of fats, oils and greases (FOG). • Temporary treatment of biosolids during harvest seasons. • Removal of metals and fines. • Recovery of proteins from slaughterhouse wastewater. DAF systems are also remarkably compact, often requiring significantly less footprint and depth than conventional sedimentation tanks, depending on design and loading rates. Its combination of convenient sizes and broad applications makes it attractive to numerous industries that clean water for reuse, extract materials from water or prepare water for com- pliant discharge into the environment.
22 ¦ MechChem Africa • May-June 2026
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