UNIT 13 THEORY AND DESIGN OF

FILTRATION
Structure
Introduction
Objectives
Mechanism of Filtration
13.2.1 Flow through Filter Medir
13.2.2 Pomus Bed Hydraulics
Filter Materials
Slow Sand Filters
Rapid Gravity Filters
Pressure Filters
Multi-layer Filters
Horizontal Flow Filtration
Filter Operation and Control
Summary
Key Words
Answers to SAQs

13.1 INTRODUCTION
Filtration follows settlement but sometimes, they are interchangeable also. The .
nore effective settlement, lesser the filters have to do. It is the final process in
Nater clarification. Only in case of underground sources. Where the water is clean,
:t is not resorted to.
Sasically, the process of filtration consists of passing the water through a bed of
;and or other suitable granular medium at low speed. The sand retains suspended
matter while allowing the water to pass and the filtrate being sparkling and clear in
'rppearance. However, there are practical limits to the capacity of filters to achieve
the final degree of clarity.
jMostly two types of filters are used for treating community water supplies. They
iire :
a) The slow sand gravity filters, and
b) The rapid sand gravity filters.
A third type of a rapid sand filters are also used for filtration at an accelerated
speed and they are known as pressure filtzrs.
The slow sand filters is the oldest type of filter. It is the simplest type and works
without coagulants and is mostly used on with reservoir or lake-derived supply in
which case turbidity to be treated is not high. Its filtrate is of excellent quality. It
works well with incoming water having turbidity upto 30 JTU.A weakness with
this type of filter, is that they are not so effective in removing colour.
The filters most commonly found nowadays, are the rapid gravity sand type. They
are normally operated with coagulants and often follow settling basins. They
produce best result with incoming water having turbidity in the range of
10-20 JTU.
Pressure filters have many of the characteristics of the rapid gravity type, but are
enclosed in steel pressure vessels in place of masonry or concrete tasks and are
normallv used where hvdraulic conditions
Water Treatment desirable. They can be installed in the system at any point in a pressure pipe line
without interfering with the hydraulic gradient and eliminate the need for double
pumping. They also depend on coagulants but they do not commonly follow
settling basins.
In addition to the above main three types of filters, some times mixed media filter
is also used which is an improved version of rapid gravity sand filters. Instead of a
bed of sand supported on gravels, various layers consisting of media of different
densities are used. However, the better performance is offset by additional capital
cost.
In this unit, principle of filtration, principles for design of a filtration plant and
details of different types of filtration units will be discussed.
Objectives
After studying this unit, 'you should be able to
0 describe mechanism of flow through filter media and porous hydraulics,
o suggest materials for filter beds,
0 provide details and design procedures for different types of filters, and
0 give a brief account of operation and control of filters.

13.2 MECHANISM OF FILTRATION

The action of a filter is not only that of a strainer. Large particles are removed by
the action of straining but the main function of a filter is to remove bacteria and ,
particles of sediment of microscopic and sub-microscopic size.-In fact, the sand
bed serves as numerous minute sedimentation chambers, which owing to their
small size and low velocity of flow, are quite efficient in the removal of finely
suspended particles including bacteria.
In filtration, in fact purification of water takes place under following four processes.
Mechanical Straining
1
The suspended particles, which are bigger than the size of the voids in the sand of
filter, get arrested in the voids. The water passing the voids will be free from such
particles.
Flocculation and Sedimentation
In fact filters remove particles of size smaller than the size of voids present in the
filter. These voids in fact act like tiny coagulation-sedimentation units. The
colloidal matter arrested in these voids is a gelatinous mass and hence, attracts
other finer particles as well. These finer particles, thus, settle down in the voids .
and get removed.
Biological Metabolism
*The sand bed has been identified as three zones of purification :
a) The surface coating known as "schmutz decke",
b) The 'autotrophic' zone existing a few millimeters below the zone 'a', and
c) The '%eterotrophic" zone, which extends around 300 mm into the bed.
When a new filter is put in commission and raw water is passed, during the first
two weeks the upper layers of sand grains gets coated with a reddish brown sticky
\.
deposit of partly decomposed organic matter together with iron, manganese,
78 aluminium and silica. This coating tends to absorb organic matter existing in the
 , Theory and Design of
colloidal state. After two or three weeks, there exists in the upper-most layer of the
Flltrntion
sand a film of algae, bacteria and protozoa to which are added the finely divided
suspended material, plankton and other organic matter deposited by the raw water.
This skin is called the "schmutzdecke" and it acts as an extremely fine meshed
straining mat.
A few millimeters below the schmutzdecke zone is the zone known as autotrophic
zone. In this zone, the growing plant life breaks down organic matter, decomposes
the plankton and used available nitrogen, phosphates and carbon dioxide providing
oxygen in their place. The filtrate becomes oxidized at this stage.
A few millimeters below the autotrophic zone, the heterotrophic zone extends
around 300 mm into the bed. In this zone, the bacteria multiply to very large
numbers and the breakdown of organic matter is completed and the resulting
effluent consists of simple inorganic substances and unobjectionable salts. The
bacteria act not only to break down organic matter but alw to destroy each other
and so tend to maintain a balance of life native to the filter so that the resulting
filtrate is uniform. This process is predominant in slow sand filters.
Electrolytic Changes
The filter helps in purifying the water by changing the chemical characteristics of
water. Sand grains of filter media and the impurities in water. cany electrical
charges of opposite nature. When these oppositely charged particles come in
contact with each other, they. neutralise ech other, thereby changing the character
of the water and making it more pure. After some time, the electrical charges of
sand grains get exhausted and have to be restored by changing the filter.

132.1 Flow through Filter Media

' Beds of sand are mostly used in water treatment in the form of deep bed filters.
The main purpose of the bed is to remove fine suspended solids. Other forms of
porous uncompacted solids in deep beds are also used to provide adsorption and
ion exchange process.
13.2.2 Porous Bed Hydraulics
The hydraulics of flow through porous beds, which applies to clean filters and to
granular activated carbon and ion exchange beds is usually described by empirical
relationships given by Carman Kozeny.

where, hll = head loss per unit depth of bed

i

F = porosity of bed
S = particle shape factor = AdA
I
t A, = Surface area of sphere volume, V,
, A = Surface area of bed grain volume, V
S = 1 for sphere
I

S = 0.70 to 0.90 for sand grains

v = Filtration rate mls
1 E = [150(1 -,P)/R] + 1.75
1
I
R = Reynold's Number = pvd
i P
p = Kinematic viscosity of fluid
Water Treatment The relationship in Equation 13.1 applies for a bed of uni-size grains and for and
beds, which are usually graded. An arithmetic integration of head loss across sieve
sizes, should be undertaken.
In a bed, which receives suspended matter, the porosity is continually changing due
to the position of the solids and, thus, the head loss behaviour is dynamic. It is
usually assumed that the rate of removal of suspended matter with depth into the
bed is a function of the inlet particle concentration. If all the suspended particles
are retained by the bed, the overall head loss (H) for a unit size medium is thus
made up of the "Clean-bed head loss" (h) as calculated from Equation 13.1, plus
an additional head loss caused by the reduction in porosity due to deposition.

where, Co = Influent suspencied particle concentration

t = duration of filter run

k = a constant depending upon bed-and solids.
The build up of head loss with time can be shown as shown in Figure 13.1, which
illustrates the way in. which negative pressures can be produced in a bed with
detrimental effects on the rate of flow.

s t a t i c pressure

Pressur When filtering

a t Time t. ,t,,t,,t,

Pre ssure
Nagative pressure
region

Figure 13.1 : Head Loss Buiid Up in a Deep Bed Fllter

Dual media beds using sand and anthracite are often used to increase the length of
filter run without affecting filtrate quality. For optimum, operation of a deep bed
filter, it is desirable for the limiting head loss to be reached at about the same time
as the filtrate quality approaches the allowable limit. Such a situation can in theory,
be achieved by selection of appropriate bed depth and filtration rate for a given
water quality and filtrate rate. Such optimisation does, how-, become diffreult to
achieve if the influent quality is not reasonably constant.
Example 13.1
A filter bed is composed of 800 mm of unit-size spherical sand of 0.5 mm
diameter with a porosity of 45%. Calculate the head loss when the clean bed
is operated at rate of 145 m/d. Kinematic viscosity of water at 20°C is
1.01 x lo4 m2/s.

Solution
Filtration rate 145 m/d
= 145/(24 x 60 x 60) m/s

Reynold's number
 Theory and Design of
= 0.832 Flltmtion

E = /150(1 - F)/R] + 1.75

= [150(1-0.45)/0.832] -1- 1.75
= 100.91

S = 1 for spherical particles

Head loss/unit depth as per Equat~on(13.1)
= [E(1- F)t$]v 2/gds
= [100.91(1 - 0.45)/0.45~](1.68x 10")2/(9.81 x 0.5 x x 1)
= (1.7 19 x 10")/(4.905 x 10")
= 0.35

:. Head losstunit depth = 0 350

0 35
:. Head loss in 800 mm deep bed
1000
x 800

=O28m

13.3 FILTER MATERIALS

The media used for filtration is mostly natural silica sand. In addition to this
crushed anthracite (hard) coal, diatomaceous earth, powdered or granular activated
carbon, plastic spheres, rings and granules and metal fabrics are also used as filter
media. In the lower portion of bed well washed gravel are used to support sand
;' layers. Activated carbon is prepared from coal with a special manufacturing
process to make it highly porous with high absorbing capacity. The supporting
gravel layer permits the filtered water to move freely to the under-drains and allow
the wash water to move uniformly upward.
The filter sand obtained from rocks or rivers beds are to have following properties
for smooth hctioning. The sand should be :
a) Free from dirt and other impurities.
b) Uniform in nature and size.
c) Hard and resistant
d) Such as not to loose more than 5% of its weight after being placed in
hydraulic acid for 24 hours.
Important Parameters of Filtering Materials
The geometry, hydraulic behaviour and efficiency of impurity removal are some of
the important parameters, which are taken into consideration while selecting a filter
media for filtration. The parameters of mean and variance in grain size are
expressed by effective size D l 0 and uniformity coefficient U of grains. The
effective size is defined as the size of the sieve in mm through which 10% of the
sample of sand by weight, will pass. The uniformity in size or degree of variation
in slze of particles is expressed by the term uniformity coefficient. The uniformity
co-efficient 1s defined as the ratio of the sieve size in mm through which 60% of
the sand will pass to the effective size of sand is expressed by U = D,dD,,.
In ideal case, the geometry of filter grains, should be spherical. But in practice,
irregular shaped grains with variations are present in the filter sand. For effective
operational and hydraulic properties of filter estimation of actual surface area of
Water Treatment
grains, is essential. As there is no direct method for measurement of surface area
of particles, hence, indirect methods are resolved to. The shape of grain is directly
a measure of the grain-surface area relative to grain volume. And the shape of
grains is identified in terms of sphericity and shape factor. The sphericity @ is
defined as the ratio of the surface area of the equivalent volume sphere to the
actual or true surface of the grain.

where, As = Surface area of sphere = nd2, V, = Volume of sphere = (n/6)(d3),

A, = Actual surface area of grains to sphere, and
V, = Equivalent to sphere volume of grain.

For spherical grains the sphericity is 1.0, hence,

The shape factor (SF) is defined as 619. For different shaped particles 9 has been
estimated by, Carman and for pulverised coal it is 0.73, rounded sand 0.32 and
angular sand 0.73.
The hydraulic properties of a bed of granular material depends on the ratio of
surface area to volume of void space, A p v where Vv is volume of filter bed, the
volume available for flow is equal to the porosity of the bed. The available volume
of flow of the entire filter bed is obtained by multiplying the porosity by the total
volume occupied by the bed. For a bed of perfect spheres of diameter d,

where, N = Number of spheres.

:. Porosity q = Vv /V where Vv is volume of voids and V the total volume.
.. V" = q r = g(Vv + V,)
or Vv(l - q ) = q V g
or Vfl, = - q)
and Vv = Vg. q / ( l - q)
Putting Equation 13.6 in Equation (13.5) for Vv
Ag/Vv = ( 6 1 4 (1 - q)/q ...(13.7)

A J V v is the ratio of the surface area of the grains to the volume of void space,
which is the reciprocal of hydraulic mean radius of a filter bed-
Hydraulic Mean Radius
Cross-sectional Area -- VV v
H.R. =
Wetted Perimeter
-
As
= [?-I/( 1 - q)] (-9 .
A,
Equation (13.8) is used in head loss calculation of a filter bed for shape and shape
varintinnc n f orninc
 - .-
.

Example 13.2 Theory and Design of

Filtration
In a filter bed spherical particles of 0.5 mm size has been used. If there are
40% of voids, calculate the surface area of particles per cubic meter of the
filter bed.
Solution
Volume of solids = Total Volume Pprosity -
= 1 - 0.4 = 0.6 m3 = 0.6 x 1 6 cm3
~ of sand
Assume that particles are spherical

.. Volume of each particle = 5 d 3

6
= zn (0.05)'
Volume of sand
.. Number of sand particles =
Volume of one particle

Surface area of each particle = nd2/4

Total surface area = number of particles x surface area of one
particle

Washing of Filter Sand

Before the filter sand is put in the filter bed, it is to be seen that it is free from
impurities. Hence, it is to be washed to remove fines, grit and organic impurities.
This washing is done in a special type of container known as sand washer. In
Figure 13.2 a typical sand washer has been shown.

Water with Sand to

be washed

Overflow carting
washings of fine
Sand sattling sand.
against rising
water -1 1 1 Water rising to over flow

Water with washed sand

Pressure water
to ejector \--c

Sand washer Additional water

i t needed
T+ w a t e r with washed sand

Figure 13.2 : A Typical Sand Washer

Basically, it is an upward flow settling tank. The raw sand mixed with wat6r is
poured into the tank. From bottom, water at pressure is supplied into the tank.
This enables the sand-water mixer to enter into the ejector provided at the bottom.
Water Treatment The rate of ovefflow is not allowed to exceed the settling velocity of the smallest
particle to be retained. Very fine sand (not required in the filter bed) is also lifted
by rising water to the top of the tank and carried by the overflow water. Grits and
finer particles mostly have less specific gravity, hence, easily float with the outflow
water. The heavy sand particles being washed by the rising water settles down
and reaches the hopper and is taken to the settling tank as shown in Figure 13.3.

Sellling sand Sand separator

J

Overflow water

...........
...:...... Sheor gate
- .. '

Figure 13.3 : Sand Washer with Separator

The settling tank consists of a sloped floor and an outlet with sliding opening.
Settled sand slides down when the gate is opened. Water is removed from an
overflow outlet as shown in Figure 13.3.

13.4 SLOW SAND FILTERS

These are the filters, which were first used in water filtration at treatment plants.
They have got history of more than 170 years. First they were used in London in -
1820 but there are still many cities all over the world where they are preferred to
other types.
It consists of an open rectangular tank made of masonry or concrete. The bed
slopes at around 1 in 100 towards the central drain provided for outlet of filtered
water. Depth of tank varies around 2.5 to 3.5 m. The plan area of the tank varies
from 100 to 2000 sq.m or more which depends on the quantity of water to be
treated. The base material is gravel and the sand layer is supported on this gravel
layer, which is 30 to 75 cm thick of different sizes placed in layers. The coarsest
gravel being placed in the bottom most layer and the finest one on the top. The
bottom most layer of the gravel is having size 40 to 65 mm, the intermediate
layers varying from 20 to 40 mm to 6 to 20 mm (when two intermediate layers
used) and the top most layer having size range of 3 to 6 mm. Size of sand varies
from 0.2 mm to 0.4 mm averaging around 0.3 mm. The sand should be fairly
uniform in size, uniformity co-efficient around 2 to 2.5. If the particles vary greatly
in size, it becomes difficult to wash and much of the finer particles being removed
increasing the effective size. The sand should be of the same grade in all parts of
the same filter in order that frictional resistance and, hence the rate of filtration,
shall be uniform. Chemical composition of sand is also an important factor. A sand
containing considerable amount of lime will increase the hardness of the filtered
water. Presence of aluminous and calcareous materials increase the resistance to the
flow of water. In designing a filter, it should be noted that the sand in fact forms
the filtering medium, the gravel serves simply to collect the filtered water with
little resistance to flow.
The original depth of sand must be sufficient to form an effective filter and to
allow several scrapings without renewal of the sand. The original thickness of sand
84 bed is kept around 90 cm.
 Filtering action mostly takes place at or near the surface of the sand. At the Theory and Design of
Filtration
surface a mat (schmutzdecke as explained earlier) rapidly builds up, the filter
becomes ripe and filtration continues for a period of about a month before
cleaning. As the rate of flow is low, the loss of head is small varying between
i
about 5 cm when the filter is clean to about 90 cm when it is dirty. The increased
head required is provided by adjusting the outlets so as to raise the head available
over the sand. When the filter loses around 90 cm of head, it is taken out of
service and drained and the top 15 mm of sand is scraped off and removed and
washed. The filter is then returned to service slowly in order to permit the
schmutzdecke to re-form. After several scrapings, the sand bed becomes too thin
(around 60 cm) and it has to be restored to its original thickness of 90 cm by
replacement of the sand removed. This is generally the same sand that is removed
after getting dirty and washed and stored near the filter. After a period of several
years of use, the bottom sand in the filter tends to turn black and septic and the
bed is dug out and removed. As cleaning is a lengthy process, not less than three
filter beds should be made, one mostly out of service for cleaning.
L Under-drainage System
i
The base of sand bed consisting of gravels is laid on the top of an under-drainage
system. This consists of a central drain connected with lateral drains as shown in
Figure 13.4. The laterals are open jointed pipe drains placed 3 to 5 m apart at the
floor sloping towards the .main central drain. These laterals collected the filtered
water and discharge it into the main drain which leads the water to the filtered
water reservoir.
Open joint
Lareral
drains

Inlet

drain

a Figure 13.4 : Plan View of an Over Drainage System

An inlet chamber is constructed for admitting the effluent from the sedimentation
I
tank without disturbing the sand layers of the filter, and distributing over the filter
j
bed. At the outlet the filtered water collecting unit is provided on the outlet side to
collect the filtered water coming out of the under-drain. For maintaining a constant
discharge through the filter an adjustable telescopic tube is provided. Inlet and
outlets are generally governed by automatic valves as per requirement. Section
view of a typical slow sand filter is shown in Figure 13.5.
Precaution is taken that coagulant treated water should not be allowed to enter the
slow sand filter. Only water passing through plain sedimentation tank is allowed to
enter the filter. The dirty skin formed by the floc and carried to the filter affects
the economical working of the filter. The cleaning of slow sand filters is not done
by back washing. Cleaning is done by scrapping and removing the top 1.5 to 3 cm
of sand layer. Filter scrapping and cleaning the surface is washed with good water.

r
After each cleaning the filter is again used and raw water admitted into it.
The rate of filtration that is obtained from a normal slow sand filter is around 100
to 200 litres per hour per m2 of filter area. They are highly efficient in removing
-I bacteria and other suspended solids from raw water. The extent of bacteria removal
:I is to the extent of 98 t o 97 per cent. Taste and odours caused by organic
'1 impurities such as algae and plankton are removed but they are less efficient in
Water Treatment

Section at centre TO supply reservoir

Figure 13.5 : Section of Slow Sand Filter

Example 13.3
Design slow sand filter beds for a populzition of 60,000 persons with per
capita demand of 135 litres/head/day. Rate of filtration may be taken as
170 litres/hr/sq.m. Assume maximum demand as 1.8 times the average daily
demand.

Solution
Average daily demand = Population x per capita demand
= 60,000 x 135 l/day = 8.1 x lo6 litres per day.
:. Maximum daily demand = 1.8 x 8.1 x lo6 = 14.58 x lo6 litrestday
Rate of filtration = 170 litres/m2/hr = (170 x 24) litres/m2/day

Maxm.daily demand
:. Total surface area of filters required =
Rate of filtration per day

Let us assume that there will be six units out of them one will be kept as
stand-by .
:. The area of each filter unit = 115 x 3573.5 = 714.7 sq.m.
Let L be the length and B is the breadth of each unit and L = 3B

:. B = 15.4 m, say 16 m

Hence, provide 6 filter units with one unit as standby, each unit of size
48 m x 16 m arranged in series with 3 units on either side.
i
SllQ 1
/
/ a) Draw a cross-section of a slow sand filter bed, giving size and depth of
86 filtering materials used.
 b) Design six slow sand filters bed from the given data. Also show the Theory and Design of
Filtration
arrangement of bed in plan.
i) Population to served : 50,000 persons
ii) Quantity of water to be supplied : 2,000 lpcd
iii) Rate of filteration : 200 litres per m2\h;
iv) Length of each bed is twice it's width.

13.5 RAPID GRAVITY FILTERS

A rapid gravity filter (Figure 13.6) is basically a bed of sand supported in a bed of
gravel embedded in which there is a system of underdrains. The whole is enclosed
in an open concrete chamber. The sand layer has a thickness of around 0.45 to
0.75 m. The sand grains are fairly uniform in size lying between 0.4 mm and 1.2
mm. About 10% of sand may pass an aperture of 0.45 mm and about 60% may
pass an aperture of 0.65 mm. The co-efficient of uniformity should vary between
1.2 and 1.7 and the sand should be sharp, hard, clean and siliceous.
The supporting gravel beds are omitted if porous plate filter bottoms are provided.
When gravel bed is provided, i t should have a thickness of around 45 cm making
total thickness of the filter media around 1 m. The gravels should have size
between 2 mm and 60 mm. The basic requirement for the filter bed is that it
should consist of a large number of orifices, uniformly arranged to collect filtrate
and deliver air and wash water to the filter bed. At the same time, they should
preclude the passage of the filter media.
The filter has four valves to control inlet, outlet, wash water and the drain to
waste. For air to be used with wash water, a fifth valve on the air pipe is
provided.
Each filter has an area around 100 m2 and depending upon amount of water to be
filtered number of units may be evaluated and installed.

out l e t 1

Figure 13.6 : Rapid Gravity Filter

The depth of water above a filter bed is kept around 2 m. The flow of water
through sand is streamline and the loss of head is proportional to the velocity.
Water Treatment Interception of the suspended matter by the sand is a complex process. Most of the
suspended matter is removed by adhesion to the surface of the sand grains. As the
filter becomes dirtier, the pores diminish in size, the velocity in the waterways
increases and suspended matter is camed deeper into the filter bed. The filtering
action in this case proceeds in depth and is influenced by the formation of a film
on the surface of the sand to a limited extent. Till the filter works properly the
sticky floc particles do not find their way through the channels between the sand
grains, which has a quite intricate pattern. In the early part of a filter run the floc
particles was intercepted high in the sand bed but as the top sand gets dirtier, the
floc particles penetrate more deeply and the loss of head increases. If the head loss
in the sand at any instant exceeds the static head of water on the filter, a vacuum
is induced which causes dissolved air to be given off from water and a
phenome~lonknown as air binding results. If due to negligence a filter bed is
allowed to become too dirty, the head loss is excessive and "break-through" occurs
resulting in turbid water to pass to supply. Operation at a required rate of flow is
ensured by fitting some form of controller on the outlet pipe or varying the
available head of water on the filter. When operating normally the inlet and outlet
valves should be opened and wash water and drain valves closed and when back
washing, the wash water and drain valves are opened and inlet as well as outlet
valves closed. On most manually controlled units, they are washed by the day shift
and allowed to run till the next day. The washing of filter takes around 20 to 30
minutes and different units in the battery are washed in turn. The washing process
is mostly done by air followed by water. The action of air being effective in
breaking up the crust which tends to form on the sand surface. Filters should be
washed thoroughly otherwise surface crust may crack and fragments penetrate deep
in the sand and form mud balls which are difficult to wash out. ,
Signs of distress in a filter are surface cracks, the tendency for sand to shrink
away from the concrete wall and non-uhiform surface turbulence during the
washing process. When such signs appear one has to be careful and remedial
measures taken.
For cleaning, the inlet and outlet valves are closed. The drain valve is opened to
lower the level of water to the level of the weir wall that holds the sand bed in
position. The air scour is operated for about 3 minutes. This operation forces air
-
upwards through the sand at a rate of about 1 1.5 m3/min. per m2 under a
pressure of 0.42 kg/cm2. When water over the bed ets thoroughly agitated,
B
upwash water is turned on at a rate of about 0.5 m /minim2 and allowed to run
until it cleans and the sand bed can be seen. Generally, in practice it takes about 5
minutes during which time the wash water get falling over the cross-wall weir and
escapes through the open drain valve. In some filters, air scour and water scour are
applied simultaneoudy. When the filter gets washed the drain, upwash and air
valves are closed and the inlet valve opened to recharge the filter. Nonnal service
is returned by opening the outlet valve slowly to give the filter bed time to settle
down and rid itself of any loose sediment stirred up during the washing process.
Design Criteria of Rapid Sand Filters

i) The number of units at a filter plant is roughly estimated as

N = 1.22 @
where, N = Number of filters
Q = plant capacity in million litres per day.
ii) LengtWidth = 1.25 to 1.33 : Usual size may be upto 9 m wide and 12 m
long. Size is generally limited from considerations of the
difficulty in the maintenance as for the flow over large area,
large quantity of the back wash water required.
iii) Rate of filtration : About 100 litres/m2/min of the surface area of sand bed. Theory and Design of
Filtration
iv) Max. loss of head = 2.5 to 3.0 meters
v) Under drains

a)
Length of lateral
-
Diameter + 60
b) Diameter of perforation is 6 mm to 13 mm at spacing of 7.5 to 20 cm
respectively.
c) Total area of perforations = 0.2% Total filter area
Total area of perforation -
- 0.25 to 0.30 for diameter of
Total area of laterals
perforations as 6 mm and 13 mm
respectively

e) Spacing of laterals -
- 30 cm maximum
f) Total area of manifold -
1.75 to 2 times, the sum of cross-
sectional area of laterals.
vi) Rate of washing :
15 to 90 cm/minute : A figure of 45 cm/min is quite acceptable. The rate can
be provided by a flow of 500 litres per sq.na of bed area per minute.
vii) Amount of wash water : 2 to 4% of the total water filtered.
viii) Time of washing : 10 to 15 minutes, time between washing - 24 to 28 hours.

ix) Pressure at which wash water is supplied = 1 kg/cm2

x) Maximum permissible velocity in manifold to provide the required amount of

wash water = 1.8 to 2.5 m per second

xi) Capacity of unit in even multiple of a fraction of 4.5 x lo6 litreslday to

22.5 x lo6 litredday. It is necessary to have minimum of two units so that
one of them may act as a standby unit.
Cleaning of Filter Beds
In deep beds operating at low flow rates (upto 30 c m h ) such as slow sand filters,
there is little penetration of solids into the bed. However, with flow rates in range
2 - 20 m/h (as common in rapid gravity filters) solids are carried deep into the bed
and penetrate through the full depth causing a deterioration in filtrate quality.
Low-flow rate deep bed units such as slow sand filters are cleaned when necessary
by removing the top few centimeters of medium and washing it. The washed
medium can be replaced on the bed when its depth becomes insufficient.
High flow rate beds (such as rapid gravity filters) can clog in 24 hours or less with
turbid feed waters and solids penetrate deeply into the bed. Cleaning, therefore, is
to be carried out in-situ using the backwash process. This introduces previously
filtered water into the base of the bed to give an upward velocity sufficient to
fluidise the bed and produce an expansion of around 10 to 20 per cent. During
backwashing the bed grains are violently agitated so that trapped and attached
particles are released and carried upwards through the enlarged pores. This
introduction of compressed air immediately prior to or at the same time as the
wash water is common since it provides more effective cleaning. The backwash
water is usually taken to a settling b a i n where the solids are concentrated for
disposal and the water can be retume to the works inlet.
Water Treatment The head loss (h) per unit depth (I,) of an expanded bed during backwashing is
h/le = (G, - 1) (1 - ne) ...(13.10)

where, I, = expanded depth of bed,

n, = expanded bed porosity, and
G, = Specific gravity of particles.
The-expansion which is produced by a given backwash rate is a function of
velociiy of the bed grains and bed porosity.

where, vb = backwash rate (based on superficial area of bed),

v, = bed grain settling velocity,
n = porosity of unexpanded bed,
I = unexpanded depth of bed, and
c = an experiment constant (commonly taken as 0.22).

Example 13.4
A filter unit is 4.5 m x 9 m. The filter is backwashed at a rate of
. 10 l/sq.rn/sec for 15 min after filtering 10,000 cubic meter per day in 24 hour
period. Compute the average filtration rate, quantity and percentage of treated
water used in washing and the rate of wash water flow in each. Assume
4 troughs.

Solution
Area of filter = 4.5 x 9 = 40.5 m2
Filtered quantity in 24 hrs = 10,000 m3/day
Water filtered
:. Area of filter =
Rate of filtration
Water filtered
:. Rate of filtration in l1hrlsq.m =
Area of filter x 24

Taking into account 30 minutes lost in cleaning

Average rate of filtration = lo2" 24 = 10506.89 l/hr/m2

23.5
Amount of water used in cleaning = 10 x (4.5 x 9) x (15 x 60) litres
(10 l/m2/sec for 15 min. as per question)
= 3,64,500 litres.
:. Quantity of wash water expressed as percentage of total filtered water

Wash water discharge through each trough

- Total wash water discharge throughfilter

Nn nf trnilvhs
 Theory and Deaign of
- 10 1/m2/sec x (4.5 x 9) mZ
- = 101.25 l/sec Filtration
4
Example 13.5
Design a rapid gravity sand filter system for 5 million litres per day of
supply. Any data required for design may suitably be assumed.

Solution
Assume that daily 4% of filtered water is required for washing of the filter-
.: Total filtered water requirement = 5 'x 1.04 = 5.2 million litres per day
Assume that 30 minutes is lost everyday in washing the filter
:. Filtered water requirement per hour = 5.2123.5 = 0.221 million litreshr.
Next assume that the rate of filtration be 6000 litreshr1sq.m.

:. Area of filter required = O 221 lo6 = 36.83 m2

6000
Assuming the length of the filter bed (L) as 2 times the width of the filter
bed. Provide two beds.
.. 2 x L.B = 36.83
or 2 x 2B x B = 36.83
or B=303m
.. L = 2B = 6.06 m say 6 m
Use the length of the filter as 6.0 m
36 83
.. B=-=3.07=3
2x6
1m

Here, provide 2 filter units, each of dimension = 6 x 3.1 m

Under-drainage System .
The under drainage system will consists of central manifold pipe with laterals
having perforations at their bottom.
Assume area of perforations to be 0 2% of the total filter area
:. Area of perforabons = 0.2/100 x (6 x 3.1) m2
= 0.0372 rn2

Assume the area of each lateral

= 2 times the area of performation in it.

,' I :. Total area of laterals = 2 x 0.0372 = 0.0744 m2

Next assume that the area of manifold be around twice the area of laterals
.: Area of manifold = 2 x 0.0744 = 0.1488 m2
I
.: Dia of manifold : (d4)d = 0.1488
II
!
.. d = -4x = 0.435 m say 0.45 m

I Hence 45 cm dia manifold pipe will be laid lengthwise at the centre of the filter
bottom. Laterals will run perpendicular to the manifold at spacing of (say) 20 cm.
Water Treatment
:. Number of laterals = -loo - 30 on either side of the manifold
20
:. No. of laterals in each unit = 30 x 2 = 60
width of filter - Dia of manifold
Length of each lateral -
2 2

Adopt 15 mm dia perforations in the laterals

Total area of perforation = 0.0372 m2
= 372 cm2 = n x n14(1.5)~
(n = No. of perforation in all 60 laterals)

.. n=372x-.-- -210.5 say211

7.L (1.5)~
:. No. of perforations in each laterals = 211160 = 3.52 say 4.
:. Area of perforations per lateral = 4[n14 x (1.5)~]= 7.068 cm2
Area of each lateral
= 2 x area of perforations per lateral

:. Dia of each lateral = 414.136 x 4/6 = 4.24 cm say 4.3 cm\

.: Use 60 laterals each of 4.3 cm dia @ 20 cm clc each having 4 perforations of
15 mm size with 45 cm dia manifold.
Wash Water
Assume the rate of washing -of the filter be 0.45 d m i n u t e
0.45 x (6 x 3.1)
The wash water discharge = = 0.1395 m3/sec
60
:. Velocity of flow in the lateral for wash water-

Velocity flow in the manifold :

= 0.877 = 0.88 d s e c
Velocity of flow is less than 1.8 to 2.4 rnlsec (maxm. permissible), hence, design
is acceptable.
Design of Troughs
Wash water troughs are kept around 1.5 to 2 m apart.
:. In a length of 6 m of filter bed provide 3 troughs at 613 = 2.0 m apart
Total wash water discharge of 0.1395 m31sec enters in these 3 troughs
:. Discharge in each trough = 0.139513 = 0.0465 m31sec
92 Dimension of a flat bottom trough is given by the empirical formula
 and

t Q = Discharge in litreslmin

I
!
B ' = Width of trough
I
I h = Water depth in the trough
I
Assume B ' = 20 cm

Keep 5 cm freeboard. Hence, depth of trough = 32.29 + 5 = 37.29 cm = 38 cm

Hence, 3 No. wash water troughs of size 38 cm x 20 cm will be used.
Comparison of Performance of Slow and Rapid Sand Filters
The main characteristics of the two types of filters are summerised in Table 13.1.
Conventional filters use beds of graded sand as the filtration medium and the bed
grain characteristics are usually specified by two parameters : effective size given
by D,, and aperture size given by D,,lD,,. These two parameters give a measure
of the "average" size of the grains and the "width" of the grading. Slow filters
normally use finer grains with a somewhat wider range of sizes than rapid filters
as indicated in Table 13.1.
Slow sand filters are the original form of filtration used in potable water tr~atrnent
and are sometimes felt to be obsolete because of their large size and inability to
deal with highly turbid water. However, for raw water with less than 30 NTU
turbidity, they can provide a very effective form of treatment, which is particularly
good at removing harmfbl micro-organisms. This latter property is of great value in
developing countries, where disinfection using chlorine may not always is
possible. Much of the purification, which takes place in a slow filter is achieved in
the surface layers of the bed and the biological activity, which produces a surface
layer known as the schemultzdeke contributors io the removal of fine particulate
matter and also causes some removal of taste and odour forming organic
compounds. Slow filters usually operate for several months before surface clogging
grows to the point, where the flow rate can no longer be maintained. At this point
surface scrapping, manually or by niachine restores the flow and the bed can be
kept back into service. To prevent disturbance of the bed surface, a depth about
1 m of water above the bed is used and this provides the head required for flow
through the unit.
Rapid filters operate in a down-flow mode although with rapid units, which are
cleaned by backwashing, this does mkan that the influent meets the finer grains at
the top of the bed first. This tends to mean that clogging and possibly
breakthrough of turbidity occurs before the voids in the bed have been fully
utilised. The alternative upflow mode of operation is more logical since the influent
would then pass from coarse to fine grains. However, the hydraulic instability of
upflow beds and their tendency to sudden quality failure have not encouraged their
adoption for potable water treatment. Although operated as gravity units, some
rapid filters are installed in pressure vessel (which will be discussed subsequently)
to avoid loss of head in hilly areas. Although rapid filters can be used in a direct
filter mode with or without the addition of chemical coagulants, many gravity
installations are used following coagulation and sedimentation. In this sequence of
processes, the deep bed provides a "polishing" action to remove fine particulate
matter, which has been removed in the earlier process.
Water Treahnent Table 13.1 : Technical Features of the Slow and Rapid Gravity
Flow Sand Filters

Slow Sand Filters Rapid s ~

Rate of filtration 3m3/m2/d 125 m3/m2/d

I 2 [ ~ i z e ~ obed
f /Large, 200 m2 Small, 200-400 m2 1
Depth of bed 0.3 m of gravel, 1.2 m 0.5 m of gravel, 0.7 m
of sand usually reduced of sand or less, not
to no less than 0.6 m reduced by washing.
by scraping.

Size of sand Effective size 0.25 to 0.45 mm and higher

0.3 to 0.35 mm, uniformity co-eff. 1.5
uniformity coefficient 2 and lower depending
to 2.5 to 3. on underdrainage
system.

Grain size distribution Unstratified Stratified with smallest

of sand in filter or lightest grains at top
and coarsest or heaviest
at bottom.

system Split tile laterals laid in 1) Perforated pipe

coarse stone and laterals discharging into
discharging into tile or pipe mains.
concrete main drain 2) Porous plates above
inlet box
3) Porous blocks with
1 included channels.

7 Loss of head 0.15 m initial to 1 m '0.3 m initial to 2.5 m

final final

8
1 Length of run between
cleanings
20 to 60 days 12 to 72 hours

9 Penetration of Superficial Deep

suspended matter

10 Method of cleaning 1) Scraping off surface Dislodging and

layer of sand and removing suspended
washing and storing matter by upward flow
cleaned sand for or backwashing which
periodic re-sanding fluidises the bed.
of bed. Possible use of water
2) Washing surface or air jets or
sand in place by mechanical rakers to
washer travelling improve scour.
over sand bed.

11 Amount of wash water 0.2 to 6% of water 1 to 4 to 6% of water

used in cleaning sand filtered filtered

12 Preparatory treatment Generally none Coagulation,

1 water
flocculation and
sedimentation
 Theory and Design o f
i SI. No. Item Slow Sand Filters Rapid Sand Filters Filtration

1 13 ( washwater rate ( m h ) I - (10 - 40 1

Supplementary Disinfection Disinfection
treatment of water

Cost of construction Relatively low

Cost of operation Relatively low where ,Relatively high

sand is cleaned in
place or labour cost is
low

Depreciation I~elativelow i ~ e l a t i v e high.

l~

a) Distinguish between slow sand and rapid sand filters with reference to
i) Rate of filtration
ii) Filter media of sand
iii) Period of cleaning
iv) Loss of head
b) Draw a neat sketch of a rapid gravity filter and describe how it works.
What are its advantage over the slow sand filter.
C) Design a set of rapid filters for treating water required for a population
of 50,000, the rate of supply being 180 litres per day. The filters are
rated to work 5,200 litres per sq.ineter h r .

13.6 PRESSURE FILTERS

There is no theoretical difference between the operation of a rapid gravity filter
and the pressure type Rate of flow, criteria for washing and other factors remain
similar. Instead of the filter assembly being housed in an open concrete box, it is
enclosed in a steel pressure cylinder, which permits it to be installed in pipelines
without breaking the hydraulic gradient and, thus, introducing the need for double
pumping. The open rapid gravity filters are preferred on the grounds that it is
possible to see what is going on, but above all because of greater care of
regulating the flow, mixing the coagulants and pre-treating the water. In a typical
pressure filter installation, there is a noticeable absence of pre-treatment and flow
controllers, which makes it inferior to gravity type.
The filter shells in which filter material kept is commonly of 2.4 m diameters and
is installed vertically or horizontally (Figure 13.7).
Horizontal units are preferred in large installations where the small sand area of
around 5 m2 exposed in a vertical shell necessiates too many units. The length of a
horizontal unit is kept around 15 m, therefore, the unit has 2.4 x 15 - 36 m2 of
sand area. Where reservoir water (which is normally cleaner) is transported in long,
Water Treatment fairly steeply inclined pipelines, pressure filters are more common. The water can
be filtered without preliminary treatment in settling tanks and without breaking the
hydraulic gradient.

-Inspec tion Main hole

Raw woier Inlet valve

water
under pressure
--
- .-
Raw--% > i e r z _ I
-- -- - e/
- - . -

.- . .
Inlet valve
ash water
for wash

Main Drain - ./
. ,.4*. - 9,. * :*. ' 'I *hFidered
F i i x e d water

'l
valve
Filtered water

Figure 13.7 (a) : Vertical Pressure Filter

Raw water Under

-- -- -- - . ~~~

Filtered
concrete b o s i
water

Figure 13.7 (b) : Horizontal Pressure Filter

The pressure filters yield filtered water at rates much higher i.e. 2 to 5 times than
rapid gravity filters. Their rate of filtration normally ranges between 6000 to 15000
litres per hour per sq.m, of filter bed area. The lower rates are used for domestic
supplies, medium rates for industrial supplies and higher rates for recirculating
swimming pool supplies.
Pressure filters are less efficient than rapid gravity filters in removing bacteria and
turbidities. The quality of effluent is poorer and they are not generally used for
bigger public supplies. Due to its completeness and easy handling, they are
installed for colonies of a few houses, private estates, swimming pools, railway
stations etc.

SAQ 3
a) Describe the relative merits of Rapid Gravity Filters and Pressure filters
indicating the conditions favourable for the choice of each.
b) Describe the working of any one of them with the aid of a neat sketch.

13.7 MULTI-LAYER FILTERS

Washing of sand filters disturbs the graded beds of sand and gravel and the
capacity of the filter to regain its designed sequence of layers after washing falls
through due to disturbances in the gravel medium. Of course, sand layer remains at Theory and Design of
Filtration
top after washings, which have fine sized and fine pores. The filter with its finest
layer at the surface removes all impurities bigger and smaller.
This is undesirable because sand has to do all the work. At the same time, the void
spaces in the sand are relatively small and there is limited capacity of pores to
store the entrapped impurities hence, filters get dirty rapidly.
The problem can be overcome by two ways.

i) By reversing the flow through the filter so that water passes upwards
and deposits its heaviest impurities in the gravel and in the upper layer
of sand finest particles are caught.

ii) By placing a very lightweight coarse layer on top of the sand in a

normal downward flow filter so that most of the bigger particles are
stopped and stored before reaching the sand layer. Commonly used
materials are anthracite or pumic which are so'light in comparison with
sand that they sink more slowly after washing and remain on top.
Both the methods remove the bulk of the floc before water reaches the sand and
flocs are stored in large voids. Water having turbidity up to 50 JTUs can be
treated and filter runs for longer time with lesser washwater.
In the first method excessive expansion of the filter bed during washing occurs for
removing all the entrapped impurities but sometimes, the expansion is restrained by
a metallic grid on the surface of the sand.
The second method has been found to be quite effective and the multi-layer filters
have been used without settling basins where turbidity is quite high. In advanced
countries, multi-layer filters are becoming more common.
Generally, a layer of anthracite is added to the existing rapid sand installations
where the carrying capacity of the under-drains and outlet pipes is big enough.
Recent advancement is to increase the numbers of layers to three : 10% high
density garnet sand, 30% silica sand and 60% anthracite. Filtration rate upto 12 to
15 m/h has been obtained,

13.8 HORIZONTAL FLOW FILTRATION

With conventional sanc) filters (specially with slow sand) problem is the rapid
clogging which occurs with highly turbid raw water. A solution to this problem,
which is appropriate for low cost construction is the horizontal-flow gravel-bed
filter. This type of unit is shown in Figure 13,8.

I I

-
Inflow

Figure 13.8 : Horizontal Flow Gravel Bed Filter

Water Treatment Its principle in fact is closer to plate settlement than to conventional filtration.
When used as roughing filters prior to conventional slow sand filters, the units are
usually 10 to 12 m long and employs three zones of gravel decreasing in size from
25 mm to about 4 mm. Such beds if loaded at a rate of about 2 m/h on inlet face
area, provide a large storage area for silt particles, which is analogous to the tray
concept in sedimentation. Intermittent removal of deposited solids, can be achieved
by draining down the bed, aided by surface jetting with a hose. At intervals of a
year or more, it becomes necessary to remove the gravel from the bed for more
vigorous washing. Turbidity removal to the extent of around 60% is possible when
raw water turbidity does not exceed 100 NTU.

13.9 FILTER OPERATION AND CONTROL

Owing to the slow building up of head loss, the rate of flow through a slow filter
is mostly controlled by- adjustment
- of the outlet value. Inflow to the bed is
controlled by a float valve arrangement, which ensures that the water level is
maintained.
With rapid filters, the head loss across the bed increases rapidly during a run and
the bed's hydraulic characteristics vary continuously. Manual flow control is not
feasible and many-units have a flow-control module, which compensates for the
increasing bed head loss so that overall head loss, and thus the flow rate, remain
constant. The cost of such flow controllers and the possibility of their failure can
be obviated by adopting a declining rate of filtration or by allowing the influent
water level to rise. Such simple operational modes are very suitable for developing
countries and their principles are illustrated in Figure 13.9.

E
3
CONSTANT FLOW CONSTAW HEAD CONSTANT FLOW
CONSTANT HEAD
Controller
head l o s s
declinin

head
loss

F Low Controller Declining Rate I n c r e a s i n g Head

Figure 13.9 : Filter Control Options

Rapid filter runs can be terminated by one or more number of constrains, which
include-maximum allowable head loss, filtrate quality or time. Maximum allowable
head loss does not exceed around 2.5 m to avoid the establishment of negative
pressures. It is important to appreciate that during the cleaning of a filter, it cannot
produce treated water. It is thus, necessary to provide multiple beds (as discussed
earlier) so that flow can be maintained while one bed is being washed or cleaned.
For small works with rapid filters where multiple units would be impracticable,
. * . . "". . . . - -
The media support and underdrain arrangements for rapid gravity filters play vital Theory and Design of
Filtration
roles in the efficient performance of the unit. Highly turbid raw water fed
directly to filter beds results in the formation of mud balls, which is difficult to
remove during backwashing. Their formation is aided by poor distribution of air
scour and backwash water. Backwash rates, therefore, must be carefully selected
and controlled to ensure the effective cleaning of a bed without excessive
expansions, which tend to cause loss of media and increase operation costs.

SAQ 4
a) Calculate the plan area of a set of filter units to supply filter water for 5
million litres per day. Rate of filtration may be assumed as 4000
litres/hr/m2.
b) What is a horizontal flow filter? What are its merits?

13.10 SUMMARY
After going through this unit, you will be able to know about details of filtration.
The unit deals with mechanism of filtration, details of different types of filters,
materials used in filter units and design criteria for different types of filters.
Study of this unit will give you the design procedure of filter units and you can
design a filter unit for a water supply scheme with known population to be served
by the scheme.

13.11 KEY WORDS

Anthracite Filters A term used for multi-layer in which a top
layer of anthracite rests on a sand layer below.
Sand grains have greater density than
anthracite and after the upheaval of washing
the sand settles more quickly and anthracite
remains on top.
Backwashing It is the standard method of cleaning rapid
sand filters in which water is passed upward
through the filter media to dislodge the dirt
accumulated during filtering process.
Discrete Particle The term applies to a particle, which remains
separate and of constant size, weight and shape
throughout the whole process.
Drag Co-efficient A co-efficient expressed by letter 'C' related
to the resistance to movement of a sphere
through water. It varies with Reynold's number.
Pressure Filter Similar in design and function to a rapid
gravity sand filter except that it is contained
in a steel pressure vessel and can operate
under pressure if hydraulic conditions in the
system require it to do so.
- Water Treatment Rapid Gravity Filter A developed version of the slow sand filter
which works on a somewhat different principle.
It works at high rates and is washed almost
daily. Washing is easy and quick.
Schmutzdecke It is a German word meaning "layer of dirt".
It is a skin, which forms on the surface of a
slow sand filter and acts as a fine strainer.
It is of complex make-up, consisting mainly
of many of the impurities the filter is
removing from the water.
Slow and Filters The oldest form of sand filter. The water is
passed slowly downwards through sand-beds
of around 75 cm thickness.
Uniformity Coefficient A term used to defind the grading of filter
sand. It is the ratio between the aperture
openings passing 60% and 10% by weight
of the sand sample.

13.12 ANSWERS TO SAQs

SAQ 1
a)
Head Loss
1

Under drains L Central drains

Figure 13.10 : Cross-section of a Slow Sand Filter

b) Average daily demand

= population x per capita demand

= 10 x lo6 litreslday
Maximum daily demand
= 1.8 x 10 x lo6 = 18 x lo6 litreslday
Rate of filtration = 300 litrs/sq.m/day
Maximum daily demand
:. Total area required =
Rate of filtration per day

Providing 6 units out of which one will be kept as stand by

The area of each unit = 375015 = 750 sq.m. Theory and Design of
Filtration
Since length is twice the width, hence L x B = 2B x B = 750

Hence, provide 6 filter units with one unit as standby each unit having
a size of 39 m x 20 m.

i) Rate of filtration of slow sand filter is small and varies from 100 to
200 litres per hour per sq.m of filter area whereas filtration rate in
case of rapid sand filter is large and varies from 3000 to 6000 litres
per hour per sq.m. of filter area.

ii) The effice size of the filter sand ranges between 0.2 to 0.4 mm and
uniformity co-efficient between 1.8 f o 3.0 in case of slow sand
filter whereas in case of rapid sand filter effective sized of sand
varies from 0.35 to 0.55 and uniformity co-efficient between 1.2 to
1.8. In case of slow sand filters, the sand layer consists of sand of
all most same size for the whole thickness whereas in case of rapid
filters sand is placed in layers the coarsest size at the bottom and
finest at the top of the sand layer.
iii) Slow sand filters are cleaned at an interval of 1 to 3 months
whereas rapid sand filters are cleaned almost daily or at least at 3
days (when turbidity of raw water is less).

iv) In case of slow sand filters, it is around 10 cm just after cleaning

(initial head loss) but subsequently increases to 80 cm to 120 cm
when cleaning is required. In case of rapid sand filter initial loss
(just after cleaning) is around 30 cm and it increases to 2.5 m to
3.5 m when cleaning is required.
Refer Figure 13.6 and Table 13.1 for details
Total water requirement = 50,000 x 180 = 9 x lo6 litrestday
Maximum water demand = 1.8 x 9 x lo6 = 16.2 x lo6 litrestday
Assuming that daily 4% of filtered water is required for washing the filter-
:. Total water requirement = 16.2 x lo6 x 1.04 = 16.85 x lo6 litrestday
Assuming that 30 minutes is lost everyday in washing for filter
:. Filtered water requirement per hour = 16.85 x 10~123.50= 0.717 x lo6 litreshr.
Rate of filtration 5200 litres/sq.m/hr.

:. Area of filter required = Oe717 lo6= 137.88 m2

5200
Number of Units N = 1.22 @
where Q is the capacity in million litrestday.
Number of Units N = 1.22
=5
It is better to provide units in even numbers.
Hence, provide 6 units.
Water Treatment
137 88
:. Area of each unit = --- = 22.98 m2
6
Let length L be twice the widths
:. L x B = 2B x B = 22.98
:. ~=&CfBE=3.4m
:. L = 3.4 x 2 = 6.8 m
:. Provide 6 units each of 6.8 m x 3.4 m.
SAQ 3
a) Refer Section 13.4 for Rapid Gravity filters and Section 13.5 for
pressure filters.
b) Refer Figure 13.6 and Figure 13.7 (a or b)
SAQ 4
a) Refer SAQ 3(b)
b) Refer Section 13.7