Environmental Engineering 1

Lecture 4-Engineered Systems for Water Purification

•Historical Overview
•Aeration
•Solid Separation
 Why Treat Water Before Use?
• An adequate supply of pure water is
absolutely essential to human existence
• Consequences of untreated water can be
illustrated in Europe during the industrial
revolution from seepage of human waste
into wells
• This resulted in several major outbreaks of
mahor waterborne diseases
 Why Treat Water Before Use?
• The development of effective water-
treatment methods have virtually
eliminated major waterborne epidemics
throughout the world
• However, in developing countries where
treated water is not available there are
outbreaks of typhoid and cholera e.g. Haiti
after earthquake in 2010
 Why Treat Water Before Use?
• These outbreaks are not limited to
developing countries, in the USA
outbreaks of the gastrointestinal illness are
noted
• In recent time chemical contamination has
become a concern with the effects of the
chemicals unknown in small dosages due
to lack of data
 Historical Overview of Water
Treatment
• Treatment of water intended for human
consumption is a very old practice
• Often dating back to 2000 B.C. with references
in the Sanskrit Literature
• Siphons used to transfer one vessel to another
to remove suspended impurities were often
depicted in early Egyptian drawings in the
thirteenth century
• Others include Greek and Roman literature and
Hippocrates (father of med. 460-354 BC)
 Historical Overview of Water
Treatment
• As opposed to present day early water
treatment systems were limited to
households rather than community based
• Some Roman aqueducts had settling
basins at the head works and incorporated
“pebble catchers” in the aqueduct channel
• IN Venice where no freshwater was
available, water was drained from roofs
and courtyards into elaborate cisterns
 Historical Overview of Water
Treatment
• In middle ages water treatment began to lag and
by the eighteenth century there was a renewed
interest
• It was not until the beginning of the nineteenth
century that treatment of public supplies was
attempted at a large scale
• The city of Paisley, Scotland attributed to the fist
treatment system which consisted of settling
operations followed by filtration and eventually
spread throughout Europe
 Historical Overview of Water
Treatment
• In the West, water treatment lagged behind
Europe with first attempts of filtration in
Richmond, Virginia (1832)
• This first attempt failed and the use of the slow
sand filter as in Europe followed
• However, suspended solids differences in
streams rendered this process as ineffective in
America until the introduction of the hydraulically
cleaned rapid sand filter
 Historical Overview of Water
Treatment
• During the first two thirds of the nineteenth
century filtration was practiced to improve
the aesthetic quality of drinking water
• The added benefit of microorganism and
pathogen removal was unknown
• When this became known in the last
quarter of the century there was a spur of
filter plants throughout Europe and
America
 Historical Overview of Water
Treatment
• The acceptance of the germ theory of
disease transmittal lead to disinfection of
water supplies
• First in a temporary basis, bleach and
hypochlorite was used in isolated cases
• The first permanent installation for
chlorinating water was made in Belgium in
1902
• Disinfection lead to a reduction in deaths
 Historical Overview of Water
Treatment
• Other water-treatment processes
developed more slowly and less
dramatically
• Coagulation as an adjunct to settling was
developed along with the rapid sand filter
in America
• Softening-Europe in 19th century and
spread in 20th century
• The use of activated charcoal is recent
 Water Treatment Processes
• The processes selected for the treatment
of potable water depend on the quality of
the raw water supply
• For e.g. the treatment processes for hard
groundwater and surface water with
organics are often variable
• Most groundwaters are clear and
pathogen-free
 Water Treatment Processes
• In addition groundwaters do not contain a
significant amount of organics
• Therefore, in groundwater treatment a
minimal dose of chlorine is required to
prevent contamination
• Other groundwaters may contain large
quantities of dissolved solids and gases
• Chemical and physical treatment
processes required
 Water Treatment Processes
• Surface waters often contain a wider variety of
contaminants than groundwater
• Most surface water contain excess turbidity in
excess of drinking-water standards
• Chemical coagulation is often required for
sediment removal
• Adsorption onto surface active material is
necessary for low levels of color and other
organic material
• Treatment for pathogens and other
microorganisms is also a major requirement
 Aeration
• Aeration is a process sometimes used in
preparing potable water
• This process may be used to remove
undesirable gases dissolved in water
(degasification)
• Or to add oxygen to water to convert
undesirable substances to a more
manageable form (oxidation)
 Aeration
• This process is more often used to treat
groundwater as most surface water are in
contact with air for a sufficient period of time
• Groundwater may contain appreciable quantities
of gases such as carbon dioxide and hydrogen
sulfide
• These gases are biological waste products from
bacterial decomposition or by products from
reduction of sulphur from mineral deposits
 Aeration
• The removal of carbon dioxide is necessary as
high concentration results in a corrosive water
and may also interfere with other treatment
processes
• Hydrogen sulphide imparts an unpleasant taste
and odor even in low concentrations
• Although slightly soluble at atmospheric
conditions these gases are supersaturated in
groundwater due the pressures found in deep
aquifers
 Aeration
• Although volatile liquids such a humic
acids and phenols can be removed by
water by aeration, the removal rates are
too slow to be practical
• However, in extreme cases where there
are excessive levels, aeration can be used
to reduced to more manageable levels
 Aeration
• In addition to gas and volatile liquid removal
aeration can also be used to remove common
elements in groundwater such as iron and
manganese
• In the absence of oxidizing agents, both iron and
manganese are soluble in water
• Forming compounds with other soluble ions,
both iron and manganese are soluble in
significant quantities in the +2 oxidation state
 Aeration
• Upon contact with oxygen, ferrous iron
and manganese are oxidized to higher
valences
• This forms new ionic complexes that are
not soluble to any appreciable extent
• Therefore, iron and manganese may be
removed as a precipitate after aeration
 Aeration
• Iron and manganese are found in appreciable
amounts only in groundwater as well as, from
stratified lakes where anaerobic conditions exist
• Aeration therefore, provides the necessary
oxygen to convert both these elements to the
insoluble form
• Chemical oxidants such as potassium
permanganate can also be used
• Additional treatment after aeration is necessary
to remove precipitated solids
 Aeration
• Both gasification and oxidation are
governed by the principles of gas transfer
• The use of liquid-gas contact systems are
designed to achieve aeration
• These systems are designed to drive the
water-gas mixture toward equilibrium as
quickly as possible for degasification
purposes and to provide super saturation
of oxygen for oxidation
 Aeration
• These goals of aeration can be achieved by
either dispersing water into air of by dispersing
air into water
• When water is dispersed in air the interfacial
area per volume of water is maximized by
minimizing the drop size
• This will increase the desorption rate for
supersaturated solutions and increase the
absorption rate for under saturated solutions
 Aeration: Water-in-air systems
• In water purification plants, water-in-air
systems may consist of fountains, cascade
towers or tray towers
• Fountains consists of a piping grid
suspended over a catch basin
• Nozzles are located at the intersection of
the pipes are fixed to direct the flow of
water upward
 Aeration: Water-in-air systems
• Once its kinetic energy is dissipated, the water
falls back into the catch basin where it is
recovered, portions of the flow is recycled
• Cascade towers consist of a series of waterfalls
that drop into small pools
• In this case water is not dispersed as droplets
but is exposed to the atmosphere in thin sheets
as it cascades down each step
 Aeration: Water-in-air systems
• Each step in the cascade towers is usually
about 0.3m in height and as many as 10
steps may be employed
• The number of steps determines the
contact time between the water and the air
• The cascades can be arranged
longitudinally like stair steps or in a circle
with steps extending concentrically
outward from top to bottom
 Aeration: Water-in-air systems
• Tray towers are similar in nature to
cascade towers in that the water is lifted
and allowed to fall to a lower elevation
• Instead of being intercepted in pools, the
flow of tray towers is intercepted by solid
surfaces over which the water must pass
in its downward journey
• Solid surfaces: series of bottom trays
containing stones/ceramic spheres
 Aeration: Water-in-air systems
• Tray material provides large surface areas
over which the flow is spread in thing films
• Porosity of the system must be sufficient
to ensure circulation of air around the
surfaces
• Tray towers are most often used in the
oxidation of Fe and Mn with tray towers
being packed with large chunks of coke
 Aeration: Air-in-water systems
• Air-in-water systems most often consists
of tanks from 2.5-5.0m deep through
which water flows
• Air is injected through the porous bottom
or through spargers near the bottom
• This type of aeration device has found
greater use in wastewater treatment than
potable water treatment
 Solids Separation
• This involves the physical separation of
sold material from water
• Separation may occur by flotation if the
water is denser than the solid matter
• In the preparation of potable water virtually
all of the solids requiring removal are
heavier than water
• Therefore, sedimentation with gravity is
common
 Solids Separation
• Sedimentation may be classified into
various types depending on the
characteristics of the concentrations of
suspended materials
• Particles whose surface properties such a
size, shape and specific gravity do not
change with time are referred to as
discrete particles
 Solids Separation
• Particles whose surface properties aggregate, or
coalesce with other particles contact thus
changing size, shape, and perhaps specific
gravity on contact are called flocculating
particles
• Suspensions in which the concentration of
particles is not sufficient to cause significant
displacement of water as they settle or in which
particles will not be close enough for velocity
field interference to occur is termed dilute
suspensions
 Solids Separation
• Suspensions in which the concentration of
particles is too great to meet these
conditions are termed concentrated
suspensions
• The differences described result in
significantly different settling patterns
hence, providing a range of scenarios and
therefore, require separate analysis
 Solids Separation
• Settling
Solid liquid separation process in which a
suspension is separated into two phases –
• Clarified supernatant leaving the top of the
sedimentation tank (overflow).
• Concentrated sludge leaving the bottom of
the sedimentation tank (underflow
 Solids Separation
• Purpose of Settling
• To remove coarse dispersed phase.
• To remove coagulated and flocculated
impurities.
• To remove precipitated impurities after
chemical treatment.
• To settle the sludge (biomass) after
activated sludge process / tricking filters.
 Solids Separation
• Principle of Settling
• Suspended solids present in water having
specific gravity greater than that of water tend to
settle down by gravity as soon as the turbulence
is retarded by offering storage.
• Basin in which the flow is retarded is called
settling tank.
• Theoretical average time for which the water is
detained in the settling tank is called the
detention period.
 Solids Separation
• Types of Settling
• Type I: Discrete particle settling -
Particles settle individually without
interaction with neighboring particles.
Type II: Flocculent Particles –
Flocculation causes the particles to
increase in mass and settle at a faster
rate.
• Type III: Hindered or Zone settling –The
mass of particles tends to settle as a unit
with individual particles remaining in fixed
positions with respect to each other.
Type IV: Compression – The
concentration of particles is so high that
sedimentation can only occur through
compaction of the structure.
 Solids Separation
• Type I Settling
• Size, shape and specific gravity of the
particles do not change with time.
• Settling velocity remains constant.
• If a particle is suspended in water, it
initially has two forces acting upon it:
(1) force of gravity: Fg=rpgVp
(2) the buoyant force quantified by
Archimedes as: Fb=rgVp
 Solids Separation
• If the density of the particle differs from
that of the water, a net force is exerted
and the particle is accelerated in the
direction of the force:
Fnet=(rp-r)gVp
This net force becomes the driving force.
Once the motion has been initiated, a third
force is created due to viscous friction.
 Solids Separation
• This force, called the drag force, is quantified
by:
Fd=CDAprv2/2
CD= drag coefficient.
Ap = projected area of the particle.
• Because the drag force acts in the opposite direction to
the driving force and increases as the square of the
velocity, accelaration occurs at a decreasing rate until a
steady velocity is reached at a point where the drag
force equals the driving force:
 Solids Separation
• (rp-r)gVp = CDAprv2/2
For spherical particles,
Vp=pd3/6 and Ap=pd2/4
Thus, v2= 4g(rp-r)d
3 CDr
 Solids Separation
• Expressions for CD change with
characteristics of different flow regimes.
For laminar, transition, and turbulent flow,
the values of CD are:
CD = 24 (laminar)
Re
CD= 24 + 3 +0.34 (transition)
Re Re1/2
CD= 0.4 (turbulent)
 Solids Separation
• where Re is the Reynolds number:
• Re=rvd
m
Reynolds number less than 1.0 indicate
laminar flow, while values greater than 10
indicate turbulent flow. Intermediate values
indicate transitional flow.
 Solids Separation
• Stokes Flow
• For laminar flow, terminal settling velocity
equation becomes:
v= (rp-r)gd2
18m
which is known as the stokes equation.
 Solids Separation
• Transition Flow
Need to solve non-linear equations:

v2= 4g(rp-r)d
3 CDr
CD= 24 + 3 +0.34
Re Re1/2
Re=rvd
m
 References
• Peavy et al. 1985. Water Resources and
Environmental Engineering. McGraw-Hill