12/5/2019 Sedimentation Tanks

Name: Tanveer Khan

Reg No: 1355
Submitted To: Mam Naheed Akhtar

TANVEER KHAN
ABASYN UNIVERSITY ISLAMABAD
1 Objective of Waste Water Treatment:

The objective of municipal and industrial waste water treatment is to extract pollutants, remove
toxicants, neutralise coarse particles, kill pathogens so that quality of discharged water is improved
to reach the permissible level of water to be discharged into water bodies or for agricultural land.

Treatment of water thus aims at reduction of BOD, COD, eutrophication etc. of receiving water
bodies and prevention of bio-magnification of toxic substances in food chain.

1.1 Steps Involved in Waste Water Treatment:

Various steps involved in treatment of waste water are as follows:

1.2 Preliminary Treatment.

1.3 Screening:

In this treatment debris, gross solids, grit, oil and grease are removed by passing waste water
through screens, grit chambers and skimming tanks.

1.4 Primary Treatment:

Primary treatment of sewage removes 60% suspended solids, 30% COD, 35% BOD, 10% P and
20% total nitrogen.

It includes the following processes:

1.4.1 Sedimentation:

About 50% suspended solids can be removed by gravitational settling under quiescent conditions.

1.4.2 Mechanical Flocculation and Coagulation:

Fine suspended solids and colloidal particles are removed by passing waste water through
clariflocculator and using coagulants like alum and poly-electrolytes.

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1.4.3 Neutralisation:

Highly acidic and alkaline waste waters are neutralised by lime slurry or NaOH and H2SO4 or
CO2 respectively.

1.5 Secondary (Biological) Treatment:

The dissolved and colloidal organic matter in waste water/sewage is removed by aerobic or
anaerobic processes. The effluent from primary sedimentation tank is first subjected to aerobic
oxidation in processes such as aerated lagoons, trickling filters, activated sludge units, oxidation
ponds etc.

Then the sludge obtained in these aerobic processes, together with that obtained in the primary
sedimentation tank, is subjected to anaerobic digestion in the sludge digester (Fig. 2). Secondary
treatment removes about 80% COD, 90% BOD, 30% P, 50% total N and oil, grease, phenol, grit,
scum etc.

1.6 Tertiary Treatment:

Tertiary treatment is the final treatment meant for abolishing the secondary effluents and removal
of fine suspended solids, traces of organics and bacteria. The sewage effluent from secondary

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treatment plant is introduced into a flocculation tank where lime is added to eliminate calcium
phosphate.

The solution then enters the NH3 stripping tower. Nitrogen present in waste water exists as NH+4
which is converted to gaseous ammonium ion at high pH(ll). Phosphorus is removed by adding
ferric chloride or aluminium sulphate. The remaining organic materials are removed by
desalination, ion exchange and finally chlorination is used for disinfection.

The toxic, non-biodegradable chemicals in industrial waste water can be removed by adsorption
(on activated charcoal), ion exchange, ultra-filtration, reverse osmosis and electrodialysis.

2 Sedimentation

The process of sedimentation is designed to remove large particles of contamination from water
and wastewater.

Sedimentation tanks can be installed before or after water and wastewater completes the treatment
process.

Sedimentation tanks are also known as settling tanks or wastewater clarifiers.

2.1 Types of Sedimentation Tanks

 Rectangular Tanks
 Circular Tanks
 Hopper Bottom Tanks

2.1.1 Rectangular Tanks:

These are rectangular in plan and consist of large number of baffle walls. The function of baffle
walls is to reduce the velocity of incoming water to increase the effective length of travel of the
particle and prevent the short- circuiting.

These tanks are generally provided with channel type inlet and outlet extending on the full width.
The floor between two baffles is made like a hopper sloping towards centre where sludge-pipe is

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provided. The sludge is taken out through sludge outlet under hydrostatic force by operating the
gate-valve.

2.1.2 Circular Tanks:

These are generally not used in plain sedimentation, but are mostly used in sedimentation with
coagulation.

There are two types of circular sedimentation tanks classified on the basis of flow of water
inside it:

2.1.2.1 Radial Flow Circular Tank:

The section through a typical type of radial flow circular tank has been shown in Fig. 11.7. The
water enters in this tank through the central inlet pipe placed in-side the deflector box.

The deflector box deflects the water down wards and then it goes out through the holes provided
in the bottom sides of the deflector box as shown in Fig 11.7. The water flows radially from the
deflector box towards the circumference of the tank, where an outlet is provided on the full
periphery as shown. All the suspended on the sloppy floor and clear water goes through the outlet.

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The sludge is removed by scrapper (known as raking arm) which continuously moves around the
floor at a very small velocity. The maximum velocity of raking arm does not exceed 4.5
meters/hour.

2.1.2.2 Circumferential Flow Circular Tank:

Fig. 11.8 shows the plan of a circumferential flow circular tank. Water enters in the tank through
two or three vertical slits. There is one rotating arm in the tank, which allows the water to move
along the circumference of the tank.

Water while moving at very low velocity allows its suspended impurities to settle in the tank,
which can be removed from sludge outlet. The clear water is drawn over a small weir type outlet
shown in Fig. 11.8. The length of this outlet weir should not exceed 1/8th circumference of the
tank.

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2.1.3 Hopper Bottom Tanks:

These are vertical flow tanks, because water flows upward and downward in these tanks. The water
enters in these tanks from the top into deflector box. After flowing downward inside the deflector
box, the water reverses its direction and starts flowing upward around the deflector box as shown
by arrows in Fig. 11.9.

The suspended particles having specific gravity more than one, cannot follow the water at the time
of reversing its direction, and settle in the bottom, from where they are removed through sludge
outlet pipe under hydrostatic pressure.

Rows of decanting channels are provided at the top to collect the clear water. The water after
flowing in the channel is taken out from the outlet channel provided on one side of the tank. The
sectional elevation of a typical type of hopper-bottom settling tank is shown in Fig. 11.9. These
tanks are mostly used in sedimentation with co-angulation process.

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