Water Treatment System

Dr. K. Pavan Kumar

Associate Professor
SCALE, VIT University
 Preliminary Unit Operations
Screening
 Are used to prevent the entry of small debris, such as sticks, bark,
leaves and fishes.

Pre-sedimentation
 Are used for rivers with high turbidity and coliform count
 The detention time for these basins is from 0.5 to 1.0 hour
 The overflow rate or surface loading is 40 to 122 m3/d-m2
 Can be used for river water with turbidity less than 10000 NTUs
 Turbidity removal of about 65 to 80% can be expected
Aeration
 Aeration may be used for gas stripping (degasification) to remove
unwanted gases, such as CO2 and H2S, and iron and manganese
 Usually aeration is accomplished by cascades, multiple-tray
aerators, spray nozzles, or diffused compressed air tanks

Adsorption
 Activated carbon is a universal adsorbent since it adsorbs nearly
all organic compounds causing taste, odour, or colour problems;
halogens; hydrogen sulphide, iron and manganese ions; and
numerous other dissolved substances
 In water treatment it is useful for removing organic compounds
that cause taste, odour or colour.
 Activated carbon is made from variety of organic materials such
as, ground fruit pits, coconut shells, or saw dust.
 Activated carbon is added at the intake structure or ahead of the
chemical mixing basins
 Dosage varies from 0.24 to 8.4 gm/m3 and the typical dosage
varies from 1.2 to 1.8 gm/m3

Pre-chlorination
 Chlorine solution is added at the suctions of the raw water pumps
or at the mixing basins
 Pre-chlorination may prevent odours and taste compounds from
being produced by bacterial action in the settling basin sludge
 Also pre-chlorination may prevent algal growths on the filter
media which can cause tastes and odours
 Chlorine residual prior to filtration is 0.1 to 0.5 mg/l
 Coagulation and Flocculation
 Coagulation and flocculation consist of adding a floc forming
chemical reagent to a water or wastewater to enmesh or combine
with nonsettleable colloidal solids and slow-settling suspended
solids to produce a rapid settling floc

 Coagulation is the addition and rapid mixing of a coagulant, the

resulting destabilization of the colloidal and fine suspended solids,
and the initial aggregation of the destabilized particles

 Flocculation is the slow stirring or gentle agitation to aggregate the

destabilized particles and form a rapid settling floc

 In water treatment the primary use of coagulation and flocculation

is to agglomerate solids prior to sedimentation and rapid sand
filtration
 Coagulation and flocculation is used for removal of colloidal
particles whose size vary from one milli-micron (10-6 mm) to one
micron (10-3 mm)
 A significant portion of non-settleable matter in sedimentation
process is colloidal particulate
 Colloids have an extremely large surface area per unit volume of
the particles, i.e., a large specific area
 Because of the large surface area, colloids tend to absorb
substances, such as water molecules and ions from the
surrounding water
 Also colloids develop or have an electrostatic charge relative to
the surrounding water
 Colloidal solids in water can be classified as hydrophobic or
hydrophilic
Hydrophilic groups – amino, carboxyl, sulfonic, and hydroxil
Hydrophobic groups – inorganic colloids such as clay
 Effects of Coagulation Treatment on
Water/Wastewater
Primary Effect
• Agglomeration and eventual removal of colloids (primarily
responsible for water/wastewater turbidity).
Secondary Effects
• Precipitation of some chemical species in solution.
• Agglomeration of larger particles in the floc.
 Coagulation vs. Flocculation
• Although the words "coagulation" and "flocculation" are
often used interchangeably they refer to two distinct
processes.
• Coagulation indicates the process through which colloidal
particles and very fine solid suspensions are destabilized
so that they can begin to agglomerate if the conditions are
appropriate.
• Flocculation refers to the process by which destabilized
particles actually conglomerate into larger aggregates so
that they can be separated from the water/wastewater.
 Double Layer Associated with Colloidal Particles
• If a colloidal particle is electrically charged it attracts ions and other
colloidal particles of opposite sign.
• These ions are tightly attached by electrostatic forces to the colloidal
particle forming a first inner layer of charges. This layer is often referred
to as the Stern layer and has a thickness of a single hydrated ionic layer.
• The particle and the attached ions of opposite sign form an electric
double layer (EDL).
• Additional ions of opposite sign to that of the colloidal particle also
accumulate next to the Stern layer. They form the diffuse layer.
• Within the diffuse layer there is typically another layer of ions which are
not so tightly attached to the particle as the Stern layer, but which
cannot be removed by the presence of any external velocity gradient
either.
• These ions bound to the particle even as the particle moves delimit the
shear plane, i.e., the plane of ions which are unaffected by fluid motion.
 Distribution of Charges in a Double Layer

As a result of this EDL there is a net electrostatic repulsion/attraction developed

between colloids.
 Zeta Potential
• The rate of agglomeration of colloids depends on the net
resultant force between colloids. The higher the net
repulsive force the less effective will be the coagulation.
The basic goal of coagulation is to reduce the net repulsive
force.
• When colloids are subjected to an electrical field they will
migrate generally toward the positive electrode of the field .
They move because the inner part of the colloid (with higher
charge density than the overall colloid) will respond to the
field and leave the outer diffuse layer behind. The EDL
actually shears at a plane and the potential (voltage) of the
EDL at this shear plane is called the Zeta Potential, ζ.
 Zeta Potential
• i.e., The zeta potential is defined as the electric potential
difference between the shear plane of a colloidal particle
and the bulk of the solution.
• The zeta potential is an indirect measure of the electrical
charge of the colloidal particle.
• The zeta potential can be experimentally measured (using a
microscope) by determining the velocity of a particle moving
under an electric potential of known intensity.
• Note that there is no way to know what the zeta potential
should be to get effective coagulation, but in general lower
ZP means better coagulation effectiveness.
electrostatic forces- by Coulomb’s law

VR  1
r2

Va  1
r6
Relationship Between Zeta Potential and Coagulation
 Characteristics of Coagulants
The ability of a chemical additive to produce coagulation is in
general dependent on the:
• Electric charge of the ion or molecule used as coagulant: the
larger the charge the more effective the coagulant will be;
• Size of the ion or molecule used as coagulant: the larger the
size of the molecule the more effective the coagulant will
be.
 Common Coagulants
The most common coagulants used in water/wastewater
treatment are:
• Aluminum salts (alum)
• Ferric and ferrous salts
• Lime
• Cationic polymers
• Anionic and non-ionic polymers
Comparison of Common Coagulants
Factors that affect coagulation
• pH
• Mixing effects
• Zeta potential
• Coagulant dosage
• Colloid concentration (turbidity)
• TOC or (color)
• Anions or cations in solution
• Temperature
 Laboratory Coagulation Tests

• The selection of a coagulant and its dosage cannot be

made without carrying out laboratory experiments
• Typically two types of tests are the most effective in the
determination of the optimal dosage of coagulant and
optimal pH for coagulation.
• The are:
- Jar test
- Zeta potential
Jar tests are used to determine
• Type of coagulant
• Coagulant dosage
• If a coagulant aid is required and the dosage of such an
aid
• Determination of an optimum pH
• Determination of point of addition of pH adjustment
chemicals and coagulant aids
• Determination of the dilution of coagulant
• Optimization of mixing energy and time for rapid mix
and slow mix
 Water Softening
 Softening refers to the removal of hardness from the water
 Softening of moderately hard water (50 to 150 mg/l) can be done
by the consumer
 Harder water should be softened at the water treatment plant
 Softening process commonly used are chemical precipitation and
ion exchange
 Home-use softeners are almost exclusively ion-exchange units
 Different species of hardness have different solubility limits
 The least soluble forms are calcium carbonate and magnesium
hydroxide
 Chemical precipitation is accomplished by converting Ca hardness
to CaCO3 and Mg hardness to Mg(OH)2
Lime Soda Ash
 All forms of Ca hardness and Mg non-carbonate hardness can be
converted to the precipitating species by the addition of lime

Limitations of Lime Soda Process

- cannot produce a water at completely free of hardness
- the minimum calcium hardness can be achieved is about 30 mg/L as CaCO3,
and the magnesium hardness is about 10 mg/L as CaCO3
Chemical Equations for Lime Soda Process
As slacked lime is added to water, it will react with any carbon
dioxide present as follows:
Ca(OH)2 + CO2 → CaCO3 ↓ + H2O....(1)

The lime will react with carbonate hardness as follows:

Ca(OH)2 + Ca(HCO3 )2 → 2CaCO3 ↓ + 2H2O.....(2)
Ca(OH)2 + Mg(HCO3 )2 → MgCO3 + CaCO3 ↓ + 2H2O.....(3)

The product magnesium carbonate in equation 3 is soluble. To

remove it, more lime is added:
Ca(OH)2 + MgCO3 → CaCO3↓ + Mg(OH)2↓.....(4)

Also, magnesium non-carbonate hardness, such as magnesium

sulfate, is removed:
Ca(OH)2 + MgSO4 → CaSO4 + Mg(OH)2↓.....(5)
 Lime addition removes only magnesium hardness and calcium
carbonate hardness
 In equation 5 magnesium is precipitated, however, an equivalent
amount of calcium is added.
 The water now contains the original calcium non-carbonate hardness
and the calcium non-carbonate hardness produced in equation 5. Soda
ash (Na2CO3) is added to remove calcium non-carbonate hardness:
Na2CO3 + CaSO4 → Na2SO4 + CaCO3↓.....(6)
 To precipitate CaCO3 requires a pH of about 9.5; to precipitate Mg(OH)2
requires a pH of about 10.8, therefore, an excess lime of about 1.25
meq/l is required to raise the pH

The amount of lime required: lime (meq/l) = carbon dioxide (meq/l) +

carbonate hardness (meq/l) + magnesium ion (meq/l) + 1.25 (meq/l)

The amount of soda ash required: soda ash (meq/l) = non-carbonate

hardness (meq/l)
Recarbonation
 After softening, the water will have high pH and contain the excess
lime and the magnesium hydroxide and the calcium carbonate that
did not precipitate
 Recarbonation (adding carbon dioxide) is used to stabilize the
water
 The excess lime and magnesium hydroxide are stabilized by adding
carbon dioxide, which also reduces pH from 10.8 to 9.5 as the
following:
CO2 + Ca(OH)2 → CaCO3↓ + H2O
CO2 + Mg(OH)2 → MgCO3 + H2O
 Further recarbonation will bring the pH to about 8.5 and stabilize
the calcium carbonate as the following:
CO2 + CaCO3 + H2O → Ca(HCO3)2
 Filtration
Definition
Filtration is a solid-liquid separation in which the liquid passes
through a porous medium or other porous material to remove as
much fine suspended solids as possible.

 It is used in water treatment to filter chemically coagulated and

settled waters to produce a high quality drinking water
 Filters may be classified according to the type of media used as
follows:
Single media filters – these have one type of media usually sand or crushed
anthracite coal
Double-media filters – these have two types of media, usually crushed anthracite
and sand
Multi-media filter – these have three types of media, usually crushed anthracite,
sand and garnet
 Theory of Filtration
Mechanical straining

Flocculation and sedimentation

Biological metabolism

Electrolytic changes
How filter operates
1. Open valve A (this allows influent to flow to filter)
2. Open valve B (this allows water to flow through filters)
3. During filter operation all other valves are closed

How filter is back-washed

1. Close valve A
2. Close valve B when water in filter drop downs to top of overflow
3. Open valve C and D

How to filter to drain

Open valves A and E. All other valves are closed. Effluent is
sometimes filtered to drain for a few minutes after filter has been
washed to condition the filter before it is put into service.
Various Types of Filtration Techniques
(a) Bank filtration—the filtration of water through naturally
permeable formations in groundwater recharge and of
wastewater treated effluents through natural soils in surface or
subsurface irrigation
(b) Slow sand filtration—the slow filtration of water through beds of
sand (either natural deposits or man-made sand beds) that are
cleaned by scraping or are allowed to rest and reaerate between
dosings
(c) Rapid sand filtration—the rapid filtration of water through beds
of sand, coal, or other granules singly or in combinations of
stratified layers, the accumulated impurities being scoured from
the filter by water alone, air followed by water, or water
concurrently with mechanical rakes. The wash water is a by-
product that may be reclaimed or may have to be treated before
discharge into a drainage system, into a receiving body of water,
or onto land
(d) Membrane filtration—filtration through membranes

(e) Cartridge filtration—self-backwashing filters in cartridges and

(f) Diatomaceous earth (DE) filtration—filtration of water through

relatively thin layers of DE that is normally discarded after each filter
run

The four types of pressure-driven membrane filtration processes

based on the pore sizes of membranes:
- Microfiltration
- Ultrafiltration
- Nanofiltration
- Reverse osmosis