CMS SOUTH ASIA Technical Communication: All About Jar Testing

All about Jar Testing…

What is Jar Test:
The standard laboratory simulation for wastewater and influent clarification is termed as jar test. This procedure simulates
liquid/solids separation for in-line filtration, clarification or flotation applications.

Objectives of Jar Test:

• Desired treated water quality

• Product selection for Treatment program

• Right combination of products

• Optimum dosage & pH condition

• Cost of Treatment Optimization

• Hazards reduction: EHS

• Minimization of waste generation like sludge, used chemical drums…

• Sludge Dewatering/ Thickening Test

Sample Collection for Jar Testing (Effluent/ Raw Water to be evaluated):

Ensure a representative sample is collected. This may be harder than you think, carefully audit system with a knowledgeable customer
representative to understand the best place for sample collection. Be especially cognizant of mixing of several component streams and
of injection points of existing chemicals. Understand whether you are jar testing samples with or without other treatment chemicals.

• Understand the variations in the Influent (Waste Water to ETP or Raw Water at Inlet of the Treatment Plant) with the
Customer, talk to Operators at ground level
• Always accompany Plant Operators/ Helpers to ensure you are performing the analysis on the desired Stream
• Ensure the sample collection lines are flushed properly before sample collection
• Never take grab samples from top of the tanks/ manholes – always prefer to collect samples from drain points of running pipe
lines without stagnation or pump discharge/ minimum circulation line.
• If there are variations in the Influent:

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CMS SOUTH ASIA Technical Communication: All About Jar Testing
o Conduct the Jar Test at different times covering all the variations
o Take composite samples if needed – take samples on hourly basis for 24 hours (depending on variations) and then
conducting Jar Test with this representative sample
o Correlate how the holding capacity for incoming effluent in Plant like holding tank, will impact the operations in terms
of Influent variations
• Best Practice is to test fresh samples: Track pH, Temperature and collect fresh sample if either change significantly. Another
method to track changes in sample is to repeat optimum treatment from time to time (or control).
• With high suspended solids (TSS, Oil) substrates, keep sample well mixed or separation will take place. Dosages needed will
gradually fall if TSS/O&G separates and your jars contain lower levels of these contaminants.

Preparation of stock Coagulant and Flocculant Solution:

• Coagulants are most often diluted to 1% by volume for jar testing, but concentrations up to 10% are also used. 1 ml of neat
product added to 99 ml of water is equal to 1% solution strength – volume/volume (v/v). 1 ml of this 1% solution treating 1000
ml of water equals 10 ppm (volumetric or v. ppm) treatment.
• Emulsion flocculants are typically made to a 0.5%, by volume, solution prior to testing (an acceptable range is 0.25- 0.75%).
Further dilution of this stock solution to no less than 0.1% is sometimes done. 0.5 ml of neat product added to 99.5 ml of water
is equal to 0.5% solution. 1 ml of this 0.5% solution treating 1000 ml of water equals 5 v. ppm treatment.
• Always add neat flocculant to water and NEVER the other way around.
• When making down emulsion flocculants avoid letting neat product touch sides of dilution bottle and start shaking vigorously
as soon as practically possible. Be consistent in shaking time for flocculants, and Best Practice is to shake for 5 minutes.
• For powder flocculants, if magnetic stirrer is available, then with measured volume of water in a flask vortex must be created
by turning on the magnet in which the powder must be poured very slowly. Else procedure similar to the emulsion polymers
indicated above must be deployed. No lumps should be formed, solution must be crystal clear. Once the solution is made, 1 ml
of a 0.1% solution treating 1000 ml of water equals 1 ppm treatment. Note that these dosages are weight based.
• Good quality tap water is recommended for use as dilution water (not deionized water). If the plant is using other process water
for polymer make down, that can be used to evaluate the impact on product performance.
• Maturation time of 30 minutes must be given to flocculant solutions before dosing to ensure best performance
• To repeat the jar Tests on next day, fresh Samples must be taken and Product Solutions must be checked based on the Shelf
life listed in the table mentioned below.

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Product Dilution Shelf Life (Indicative) Mixing Energy (RPM)

PAC/ FeCl3/ FeSO4/ Lime/ Dolomite 10% > 1 Week 100 – 150
Anionic Powders (AP) for Flocculation 0.05% to 0.1% 4 Hours to 8 Hours 20 - 35
Anionic Emulsion (AE) for 0.25% to 0.75% 12 to 24 Hours 20 - 35
Flocculation/ Dewatering
Anionic Powders (AP) for Dewatering 0.1 to 0.2 % 8 Hours to 16 Hours Mixing for uniformly
distributing the Polymer
within sludge to act
Cationic Powders (CP) for Flocculation 0.05% to 0.1% 4 Hours to 8 Hours 20 - 35
Cationic Emulsion (CE) for 0.25% to 0.75% 12 to 24 Hours 20 - 35
Flocculation/ Dewatering
Cationic Powders (CP) for Dewatering 0.1 to 0.2 % 8 Hours to 16 Hours Mixing for uniformly
distributing the Polymer
within sludge to act
Custom Developed Polymers (CDP) 10 % to no dilution 24 Hours to 6 Months 100 - 150
Products and PC1217, PC1227

Dosing the Products Appropriately:

• The dosage range used for coagulant evaluation should bracket the expected demand. If this is not known, a good practice is
to start by doubling coagulant dosage in each successive jar and then zero in on a smaller range in subsequent test rounds.
E.g. 10, 20, 40 and 80 ppm in the first 4 jars. Nucleation of particles is key to observe for coagulation, immediate observation
on appearance of small particles.
• Flocculant dosages are usually in the 1 to 10 ppm range for emulsions and 0.1 – 1.0 ppm for powders. Evaluate only one
variable per set of tests. Growth of flocs is important observation to select right dosages, avoid overdosages.
S1V1 = S2V2 (all values for S to be taken in ppm & V in ml)
S1 = Strength of stock solution (1% = 10,000 ppm, take accordingly)
V1 = Volume of sample to be taken to attain S2 Strength in V2 Volume of Jar to be tested
S2 = Targeted dosage in ppm
V2 = Volume of Jar Taken required to be tested

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• Syringes used for neat coagulant products and those used for diluted solutions of both coagulants and flocculants can be
rinsed and reused, if you have a shortage of syringes. However, never try to clean and reuse for another product, the
syringes used for neat emulsion flocculant withdrawal. If a calculated mixing regime is not available, the default protocol for
jar testing is: Add Coagulant, Rapid Mix for 1-2 minutes @ 100 rpm, add Flocculant, then slow mix for 5 minutes @ 35 rpm,
followed by 5- 10 minutes of settling time. Be consistent throughout testing, unless the effect of mixing times is being
evaluated. Refer to the Water & Wastewater Reference Manual for more information (Section 6). Coagulants usually thrive
with more mixing energy, whereas Flocculants usually perform best with gentle mixing.
• To avoid mixing some jars more than others, it is recommended to inject the first product being tested (often the coagulant),
before the mixer is turned on. That way little reaction takes place until all jars have been dosed. If a flocculant is being dosed
as a second product, the mixers can be turned off briefly, or as shown in the video, pre-loaded syringes can be rapidly dosed
during the end of the fast mix cycle, and then reducing mixer speed to the Slow Mix rpm (this is better if you have a colleague
assisting). The viscous flocculant solution can benefit from a BRIEF period of fast mix, to get complete dissolution, before the
gentle flocculation mixing is started.
• During product addition keep the syringe above the water level and away from the mixer paddle and shaft
• Vary only one parameter at a time when testing
• Jar test comparing "chemical families" first, then optimize product selection within the best-looking family
• For Potable applications use only product names ending with “P” NSF Approved

Parameters to be Measured:
Depending upon the requirement any, few or all the following may be needed to for testing, analysis must be done immediately:

• pH
• Turbidity – Instant & quick
• TSS
• Alkalinity
• COD
• Oil & Grease
• Hardness & Silica in case of
• Metals like Al or Fe

Dosage finalization:
Ensure repeatability 2 to 3 times before concluding the dosages covering all kind of variations until consistent results can be seen.

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Calculations:
Product Requirement = Flow rates in m3/hr X ppm concluded from Jar Tests
1000
• Inorganics’ and CDP’s density > than water
• Organics’ and emulsion flocculants’ density slightly higher than water
• Jar test both the same (volumetric ppm)
• X mLs of 1% per 1L jar (coagulants)
• Convert the Liters used to Kgs when done then multiply by price = use cost

Report Preparation:
• Correlate with the present treatment, also perform Jar Tests with Current Treatment scheme
• Get the testing validated by key Customer representative and take his feedback and conclude with mutual agreement.
• Compare current Treatment V/s Proposed by Jar testing
o Cost of Treatment
o Effectiveness of Proposed Solution in terms of KPI compliance
o Reduction in Sludge Generation
o Reduction in Product Quantity handling
o Improving the workers safety in handling of Products
o Reduction in failure of Product Handling pumps/ tanks etc.
o Minimizing the changes in Effluent quality with these products addition: alkalinity, TDS etc..
• Prepare a comprehensive jar testing report which covers materials and methods along with maximum data points and all the
tangible & intangible benefits.
• Most importantly capture the field observations like Operational Challenges, efficiency of Sludge Removal System,
Hydraulics, dosing system adequacy, flash mixer/ flocculator availability and compare the same with design to follow MOC
(Mechanical Chemical Operation) Approach to generate a complete solution.

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