sedimentation tank; settling tank; precipitation tank
Technical term used in water treatment, chemical engineering, and environmental contexts. Refers to a tank where suspended solids settle out of a liquid by gravity.
At water purification plants, impurities in the water are removed in sedimentation tanks.
Compound of 沈殿 (sedimentation, precipitation) + 槽 (tank, vat). The exact historical derivation is uncertain; the spelling is conventionally associated with the meaning.