Can you take over a DAF project another supplier started?

Yes. The most common version is a unit already installed and underperforming. We start with measured recycle flow, actual water temperature, nozzle condition, a jar test against current chemistry, and filtered COD. In most cases the problem is diagnosable and the fix costs a fraction of replacement.

DAFAFRICAWater clarity, sustainable future

Services

Q: Do you supply DAF systems outside Africa?

Our focus is Africa, and the design conventions are built around African operating conditions including ambient temperature, grid reliability, chemical availability and port logistics. We will quote elsewhere, but the value added is specific to this continent.

Process design, equipment supply and commissioning support for dissolved air flotation across Africa. Stated plainly, including what we do not do.

Direct answer

We size the plant against your effluent and your discharge consent, specify the chemical regime, supply the equipment CIF to your nominated African port, and support commissioning and operator handover. We are an independent specification and supply desk working through vetted manufacturing partners — not a manufacturer. Installation is executed by a local contractor to our drawings, which is faster and cheaper than mobilising a foreign crew. Typical timeline from enquiry to commissioned plant is four to seven months.

What we do

Process sizing and designFlow, solids and FOG loading, air-to-solids ratio, recycle and saturator duty, flotation area and chemical regime — calculated against your effluent at your design temperature, not against a European default.

Compliance framingWe size to the limit your regulator will actually enforce, and we tell you plainly when flotation alone cannot reach it. A filtered COD test at the start prevents most disappointments.

Jar testing and chemical selectionCoagulant and polymer type, dose, pH window and mixing regime confirmed against a real composite sample before anything is manufactured.

Equipment supplyPackaged units 2–150 m³/h, high-rate cells 200–1,200 m³/h, containerised plant, saturators and dosing skids. Delivered CIF to any African port.

DocumentationGeneral arrangement, P&ID, foundation loading, electrical schedule, O&M manual and commissioning procedure — sufficient for a local contractor to install without us on site.

Commissioning and trainingStart-up, dose optimisation against the real stream, and operator handover covering jar testing, dose control, skimmer setting and routine maintenance.

Spares and consumablesNozzles, skimmer flights and chain, dosing pump heads and diaphragms, instrumentation. Held against agreed critical-spares lists.

Troubleshooting existing plantIncluding plant we did not supply. Most underperforming DAF units have a diagnosable cause and a cheaper fix than replacement.

What we deliberately do not do

We are not a manufacturer. We are an independent specification and supply desk working through vetted manufacturing partners. That is stated plainly because you will find it out anyway, and a supplier who is vague about it at the enquiry stage is a supplier who will be vague later.

We do not sell flotation where flotation is the wrong answer. If your solids settle readily and you have the land, a clarifier costs less to buy and less to run. If your COD is largely soluble, a DAF will not meet a COD consent on its own and we will say so in the proposal rather than after commissioning.

We do not quote a price before we understand the stream. A number produced without knowing your TSS, FOG, temperature and discharge target is a number that will change.

We do not execute civil works or installation. Local contractors do this better and cheaper. We provide drawings detailed enough that they can.

How a project runs

Stage	What happens	What we need from you	Duration
1. Enquiry	Initial feasibility and indicative sizing	Flow, industry, any effluent data, discharge target	1 – 2 days
2. Sampling	Composite sampling protocol issued if no data exists	Site sampling over a full production cycle	1 – 3 weeks
3. Sizing	Air demand, recycle duty, flotation area at your design temperature; chemical regime proposed	Confirmation of design flow and temperature	3 – 7 days
4. Proposal	Capacity, footprint, materials, scope, lead time, CIF price to your port	Review and questions	1 week
5. Jar test	Coagulant and polymer type and dose confirmed against a real sample	A fresh composite sample, couriered	1 – 2 weeks
6. Manufacture	Fabrication, assembly, factory test	Approval of GA and P&ID	8 – 20 weeks
7. Delivery	CIF to nominated port	Customs clearance, inland transport	3 – 7 weeks
8. Installation	Local contractor to our drawings	Slab, balance tank, power, pipework	1 – 3 weeks
9. Commissioning	Start-up, dose optimisation, operator handover	Operators available for training	3 – 5 days

Four to seven months from first enquiry to a commissioned plant is realistic. The two stages most often compressed — sampling and jar testing — are the two that most often cause problems when they are skipped.

What to send with an enquiry

If you have all of this, we can size accurately. If you have only the first two, send those and we will tell you what to sample.

Industry and process description, and the production rate
Effluent flow: average m³/day, peak m³/h, and the hours per day the plant operates
Effluent analysis: TSS, FOG, total COD, filtered COD, pH range, temperature
The discharge consent — the actual document, not a recollection of it
Whether discharge is to sewer, to environment, or to reuse
Existing treatment, if any, and what it is failing to do
Available space, and whether civil works are possible
Nominated port of delivery

Request a proposal → or email office@ai-spares.com.

Frequently asked questions

Do you supply outside Africa?

Our focus is Africa, and the site, the data and the design conventions here are built around African operating conditions — ambient temperature, grid reliability, chemical availability and port logistics. We will quote elsewhere, but the value we add is specific to this continent.

Can you take over a project another supplier started?

Yes, and we do it regularly. The most common version is a unit already installed and underperforming. We start with a data review and a site assessment: measured recycle flow, actual water temperature, nozzle condition, jar test against current chemistry, and the filtered COD. In a majority of cases the problem is diagnosable and the fix costs a fraction of replacement.

What warranty applies?

Standard equipment warranty is 12 months from commissioning or 18 months from delivery, whichever falls first, covering materials and workmanship. Process performance is warranted against the influent characteristics stated in the proposal — which is why the sampling and jar-testing stages matter, and why we will not warrant performance against a stream we have never seen analysed.

Do you provide operator training?

Yes, as part of commissioning. It covers jar testing and dose adjustment, reading the float, skimmer speed setting, saturator checks, nozzle cleaning, chemical make-up and the daily log. An operator who can run a jar test and interpret it is worth more to plant performance than any instrumentation package.