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Treatment of Spent Filter Backwash Water Using Dissolved Air Flotation
Treatment of Spent Filter Backwash Water Using Dissolved Air Flotation
Treatment of Spent Filter Backwash Water Using Dissolved Air Flotation
Abstract There is increasing interest in treating recovered spent filter backwash water in the drinking water
industry. In the USA the Filter Backwash Recycling Rule will come into effect in the near future. The purpose
of the Rule is to prevent the concentrated pathogenic agents, potentially in the filter backwash water, from
being returned to the head of the water treatment works without some form of treatment or dilution. By
treating this flow both public health and financial liability can be better managed by the operating utility.
Dissolved Air Flotation (DAF) was investigated as a possible technology alternative to simple or advanced
sedimentation techniques. This application is not widespread but sits somewhere in between the two normal
applications of DAF as a high solids sludge thickener and a low turbidity clarification system. Given this a
pilot plant program, supported by jar testing, was undertaken to determine the process capability and the
design parameters for this application.
DAF proved to be very suitable for backwash water recovery. DAF effluent turbidities of <1.0 NTU could
be easily obtained, when raw water turbidities were in excess of 50 NTU. Chemical requirements were low
with only a single low dose of polymer required to bind the floc particles to form a solids matrix suitable for
flotation. Flocculation contact times ranged from 010 minutes depending on the nature of the raw water.
Recycle rates as low as 5% performed satisfactorily with no significant improvement when increased to
20%. Sludge solids of 3.59.6% dry solids were found and very low volumes of sludge, <0.1% of the
incoming flow make the DAF solids handling system very compact.
Keywords Filter backwash water; DAF; flocculation; sludge; recycle; chemistry
Introduction
The practice of recycling the spent filter backwash water generated from rapid gravity fil-
ters on a water treatment plant (WTP) has long been regarded as acceptable. Many different
methods are employed in this practice, some plants have state-of-the-art membrane units
treating the water to finished water quality; however the general treatment step is simple
storage in lagoons or ponds and then direct return to the head of the plant with only minimal
or no treatment. Increasing awareness of the risks posed to the integrity of the WTP in
removing pathogens and their vectors, by recycling the filter backwash water without treat-
ment, has resulted in many studies being undertaken and regulations developed to control
this risk. (USEPA, 2000). A complete technology study has been undertaken by the
American Water Works Research Foundation (AWWARF) to evaluate various treatment
options and technologies for this application along with estimated costs (AWWARF, in
print). This study formed in part the evaluation of the DAF technology for filter backwash
recovery, and the major experimental findings are presented from the pilot plant program,
along with some back-up information from jar testing studies.
Methods
The pilot plant used in the program was the Leopold Mobile DAF WTP. This has variable
coagulation chemistry, flocculation time/energy, DAF loading rate, sludge removal sys-
tem, and two gravity flow 10 ft (3 m) tall, 1 sqft (0.1 m2) filter columns. On-line data is
recorded every 5 minutes 24 h a day creating a large data set from which the process 59
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A.Eades et al.
performance can be understood. A schematic of the pilot plant is given in Figure 1. Sludge
samples were taken from a full desludge holding tank to get representative data on solids
quality and quantity.
On-line turbidity measurements were made using the HACH 1720C low range turbidity
meters, particle counts were by HACH 19OOWPC units, with constant supervision for cor-
rect operation. All instruments were calibrated in accordance with manufacturers instruc-
tions or factory calibrated prior to study commencement. Electromagnetic flow meters
were checked using a rise test where possible to verify rate of flow and hence loading rates
and recycle rates. Iron and manganese concentrations were determined on-board the pilot
plant using the HACH 2010 Spectrophotometer and standard test kits. Suspended solids
and sludge dry solids results were obtained using standard methods.
For high range turbidities experienced in some of the pilot plant studies (>100 NTU) a
HACH ratio turbidity meter was required. Specific volumetric dilutions were used on high
iron and manganese waters to get meaningful data.
Results
Filter backwash water quality
When a rapid gravity filter is washed the quality of the water changes with time. The initial
effluent quality is heavy in solids from the surface filtration load on the filter and the major-
ity of the displaced turbidity in the depth of the filter. This gives a very large spike in a tur-
bidity versus time trace for a backwash water; however this tends to die-off quickly to a
background low level, depending on the type of filter wash regime. An example of a typical
turbidity curve is given in Figure 2.
When dealing with backwash waters from pressure filters the peak turbidity can be as
high as 2500 NTU and can be very extensive in duration, but with a rapid die-off phase of
only a few minutes.
High turbidity peaks are often associated with high iron and manganese events also. This
needs to be carefully considered when returning the backwash untreated as the concentra-
tion effect of the filters may overload the WTP if the backwash is delivered as a slug. Table
1 gives data on turbidity, iron and manganese concentrations from 5 studies in the USA.
The pH of the backwash water tended to be stable at 7.0 pH, and in the range of the
treated finished water. Washing with chlorinated backwash did change the pH but not
60 significantly.
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A.Eades et al
Figure 2 Typical filter backwash profile for rapid gravity filter
Table 1 Backwash water quality for 5 studies in be USA . PP = pilot plant; JT=jar testing
Table 3 Effect of polymer dose on DAF performance. All values NTU except where stated
Iron removal
Post filtration iron is almost 100% oxidized and is in particulate form. This allows the DAF
system to remove high percentages as evidenced in Table 4. Post DAF iron residuals are typi-
cally less than the 0.3 mg/l MAC for fmished water and so pose no load on the main WTP.
Manganese removal
Due to their being no appreciable additional oxidation in the DAF process, any manganese
removal observed in the DAF process is associated with the particulate manganese only.
This can be seen in the Betasso CO data in Table 5. The DAF system removed the majority
of the particulate manganese from the backwash water, the filters removing little after the
62 DAF, leaving dissolved manganese in place.
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In most studies the DAF system kept Mn levels below the 0.05 mg/l MAC for finished
water.
A.Eades et al
used on all pilot plant studies, after suitable treatment had been achieved. Figure 5 illus-
trates a data set for the Durham NC study, which was mirrored in results in Cleveland OH
and Betasso CO.
0 0 97 96 99
5 1 97 98
10 1 98 94
15 2 99 95
20 2 99 99 98
25 2 99
30 2 99
A.Eades et al
Clearly the recycle rate has an effect on DAF performance; however it is only marginal in
context of the raw water turbidity. A study range of 525% yielded very sirnilar results giving
rise to the possibility of a low cost recycle operation for the DAF system in this application.
ability of the DAF system to produce a low volume of high solids sludge, which maximizes
the recycle flow to the head of the plant and minimizes the amount of residuals that need
subsequent treatment and disposal.
Discussion
It is evident from the data in the results section that the DAF system is capable of treating
A.Eades et al
the spent filter backwash water to a high degree. The. level of required treatment is always
going to be site specific; however there are probably two likely water qualities that are
operationally acceptable: raw water quality and clarified water quality. The latter is favored
as it allows for a high quality return to the head of the works, and in the event a non-
optimized unit process, there is a safety factor built in. Raw water quality is acceptable, and
in some ways more appropriate as the WTP chemistry then only needs to be flow paced to
maintain good performance, and no account of backwash flow quality needs managing.
However if the target is raw water quality in terms of turbidity then data needs collecting on
the removal of the pathogenic organisms in conjunction with turbidity, as one does not evi-
dence the other. Also, should the unit process go out of optimized operation, what effect is
there going to be on the main plant? The advantages of using DAF in the filter backwash
recycle mode are related to water quality and overall system footprint. Loading rates are
high at 57 gpm/sqft giving a small footprint for the DAF; however as a full system design
there is little space required for sludge management and disposal. This factor is unique to
DAF which produces very low volumes of sludge and high dry solids, which can be de-
watered directly without recourse to additional thickening systems. The cost of operation
of the DAF is in large associated with the recycle system and polymer usage. At 510%
required recycle for a specific water quality, and only <0.3 mg/l polymer required, the DAF
can be a very cost effective unit process for backwash recovery.
Conclusions
DAF is capable of treating a wide range of spent filter backwash water qualities to
clarified or raw water quality in the range of 1 3 NW.
Typical loading rates for design would be 57 gpm/sqft
Typical polymer dose required is 0.10.5 mg/l, with polymer type being site specific.
Flocculation contact time required is in the range 010 minutes with energy inputs being
low to medium for floc build.
Sludge solids were found to be site specific but in the range of 37% dry solids and
consequently very low volumes in the order of <0.1% of the incoming flow to the DAF.
Recycle rate did not significantly affect the DAF performance in a range of 525%.
DAF can be cost effective in operation when recovering spent filter backwash water.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to acknowledge the efforts and thank all of the individuals and
organizations involved in carrying out the 5 studies presented in this paper. In particular the
author would like to thank the staff of Betasso WTP CO, Williams WTP Durham NC,
Morgan WTP, Cleveland OH, Wanaque WTP NJ, and the Camden WTP NJ for considering
DAF as a process option for the treatment of their backwash water. Many thanks are due to
F.B. Leopold Company Inc for developing the program for using DAF for this application
and supporting the research and development of the equipment involved.
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References
MacPhee, M.J., Comwell, D. and McTigue, N. (in press). Treatment Options or Removal of Giardia,
Cryptosporidium and other Contaminants in Recycled Backwash Water. AWWARF Denver, Colorado.
USEPA (1999). Preliminary Draft Long Term 1 Enhanced Surface Water Treatment and Filter Backwash
Rule; Preamble. http://www.epa.gov
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