Shallow-Bed Sand Filter_Sand Filter_Cooling Tower Water Filtration-LANXUN
Shallow-Bed Sand Filter
Accessory Equipment

Shallow-Bed Sand FilterShallow-Bed Sand Filter for Water Systems

Spherical shell with multi-tank series design, filtration velocity up to 40 m/h, automatic backwash, and a compact footprint that saves space.

The shallow-bed sand filter is an efficient water filtration solution introduced by LANXUN Technology, widely used for suspended-solids filtration in industrial circulating water, cooling water, and HVAC water systems. It uses a spherical shell and a combined series/parallel multi-tank design, with a single-tank filtration velocity of up to 40 m/h, greatly reducing the equipment footprint. A unique upper water distributor and lower collector ensure even water distribution through the media layer without short-circuiting. Backwashing uses an automatic control program and the system's own water pressure to reverse-flush the media, requiring no shutdown and no manual intervention. The media are high-quality quartz sand or anthracite with a long service life and low long-term operating and maintenance costs. The shell is made of rubber-lined carbon steel or FRP with excellent corrosion resistance and a design life of over 20 years.

Key Highlights

Compact Footprint

The spherical tank and shallow-bed design achieves a filtration velocity of 40 m/h, so the footprint is only 1/3 to 1/2 that of a conventional sand filter at the same treatment capacity.

Large Filtration Capacity and High Speed

A single tank handles up to 50 m³/h, and multiple tanks in parallel easily scale to several hundred m³/h, suitable for large-flow industrial water systems.

Automatic Backwash

Backwash is triggered by both PLC and differential pressure. The process automatically switches valves and backwashes tanks one by one without interrupting the continuity of system water supply.

Unique Distribution and Collection Design

An upper mushroom-type water distributor plus a lower multi-arm collector distribute water evenly, avoiding short-circuiting and channeling in the media layer for stable filtration efficiency.

High-Quality Filter Media

Carefully selected 0.45–0.85 mm uniformly graded quartz sand with a mud content of <0.5%; anthracite or activated carbon media are also available to suit different water qualities.

Low Long-Term Maintenance Cost

No wearing moving parts, media replacement every 5–8 years, and backwash water consumption of <3% of the treated water, giving extremely low operating costs.

Excellent Corrosion Resistance and Long Life

The tank is available in rubber-lined carbon steel (acid and alkali resistant) or FRP (never rusts), with a design life of over 20 years and high whole-life cost-effectiveness.

Working Principle and Structural Features

The following content is excerpted from the Shallow-Bed Sand Filter product manual

Working Principle

The shallow-bed sand filter uses a nearly spherical shell and a unique internal design to ensure smooth filtration flow, and using multiple tanks in series gives even better filtration. It is suitable for industrial and commercial HVAC systems with large flows and faster filtration rates, among other applications.

During filtration, pressurized water enters the water distribution system from the filter unit inlet and reaches the filter media layer evenly, where suspended solids are intercepted. A precisely slotted collector at the bottom of the filter evenly collects the clean filtered water and discharges it.

As impurities accumulate, the differential pressure rises. When it reaches the set value or the set cleaning time is reached, the system automatically switches to backwash: pressurized water flows through the collector to scour the filter media layer, detaching and discharging the trapped contaminants. After at least 3 minutes the backwash ends and the system automatically returns to the filtration state.

Four Main Components

The unit consists of four parts: tank, piping, control system, and pump. The tank contains a water distributor, filter media, and water caps, and butterfly valves are fitted at all inlet and outlet ends.

Precise Technical Parameters

Inlet turbidity <50 FTU, outlet turbidity <10 FTU, working pressure <0.6 MPa, working temperature 5–60℃, and inlet-outlet differential pressure 0.1–0.15 MPa.

High-Speed, Low-Consumption Filtration

Normal filtration velocity is about 40 m/h and can reach 60 m/h depending on water quality; backwash water consumption is <1% and backwash duration is 2–3 min. Backwash uses product water, so no booster pump or backwash pump is required.

Homogeneous Filter Media

Refined, carefully selected quartz sand or garnet is used as the filter medium, chosen according to water quality; homogeneous media with a minimum particle size of 0.16 mm can be used.

Unique Distribution and Collection Device

The unique water distribution system and evenly arranged collector keep the water flow laminar throughout filtration, so the sand bed surface remains flat and the outlet water quality stays stable.

Intelligent Automatic Backwash

Backwashing is automatically identified and controlled by the intelligent control system. In multi-tank systems, tanks backwash one by one in turn during normal operation, with no manual intervention, automatically adapting to fluctuations in suspended solids.

Technical Specifications

ModelTank Diameter (mm)Single-Tank Flow (m³/h)Filtration Area (m²)Filtration Velocity (m/h)Working Pressure (MPa)Backwash Flow (m³/h)Net Weight (kg)
SFS-600600120.28400.68150
SFS-800800200.50400.614260
SFS-10001000300.79400.620420
SFS-12001200451.13400.630580
SFS-14001400621.54400.640760
SFS-16001600802.01400.652980
SFS-180018001022.54400.6651250
SFS-200020001263.14400.6801580
The standard design filtration velocity is 40 m/h and can be adjusted according to water quality. Parallel multi-tank treatment capacity = single-tank flow × number of tanks. Rubber-lined carbon steel or FRP tanks are available. Recommended inlet SS ≤50 mg/L and outlet SS ≤5 mg/L.

Product Gallery

Images are from the Shallow-Bed Sand Filter product manual

Shallow-Bed Sand Filter——Multi-tank parallel system of shallow-bed sand filters
Multi-tank parallel system of shallow-bed sand filters
Shallow-Bed Sand Filter——Photo of a single shallow-bed sand filter tank
Photo of a single shallow-bed sand filter tank

Applications

Food and beverage process water filtration
Textile dyeing wastewater reuse
Metallurgical circulating water treatment
HVAC water systems (including closed circuit cooling towers)
Industrial feedwater pretreatment

Certifications

CQC China Quality CertificationGB/T National StandardCCTI Cooling Tower AssociationCE EU Safety CertificationUL Electrical SafetyFM Fire Protection CertificationCTI Thermal Performance

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