Sedimentation – Principles and

Design of Facilities – Part 2

Pradeep Kumar
S. Sarkar
 ZONE SETTLING AND COMPRESSION SETTLING
Zone settling occurs when a flocculent Type I and II sedimentation
suspensions with high initial concentration
(on the order of 500 mg/L) settles by gravity.
Flocculant forces between particles causes
settling as a matrix (particles remain in a
fixed position relative to each other as they Depth
settle). (Type III settling)
When matrix sedimentation is constrained
from the bottom, the matrix begins to
compress. Such a situation occurs when the
matrix encounters the bottom of tank in Time or Distance Down the Tank
which it is settling. This is called compression
(Type IV) settling. Type III and IV sedimentation
Clarified
water
zone Interface 1
Clarified
Interfacial Interfaces
zone
Vs water
zone meet and
H0 coalesce

Transition
zone
Vc Compaction
Hc Xc zone
Compaction
Interface 2 Hu Xu
zone

t=0 tc>t>0 t=tc t=tu

 ZONE SETTLING AND COMPRESSION SETTLING
Clarified
water
zone Interface 1
Clarified
Interfacial Interfaces
zone
Vs water
zone meet and
H0 coalesce

Transition
zone
Vc Compaction
Hc Xc zone
Compaction
Interface 2 Hu Xu
zone

t=0 tc>t>0 t=tc t=tu

Uniform sludge conc. X0 Beginning of compaction End of compaction
Clarification Process Thickening Process
Below Interface 1, the solids settle at a uniform velocity and the blanket of solids moves at a
constant velocity of Vs. The solids that has reached at the bottom, starts getting compacted
as the water gets squeezed out from the compacted sludge. This compaction zone also has a
uniform concentration. This zone increases in volume over time. The interface 2 moves
upward at a velocity Vc.
The two interfaces meet at a critical time tc and the transition zone fades away. At this time
the settled sludge show an uniform concentration Xc, (critical concentration). Compaction
starts and reaches an ultimate concentration Xu.
 A

Height of
Slope
Interface 1 dh
 vc dh
dh dt 0
Slope  vs C dt
dt
t

0 t1 B
Settling Time, t (min)
Clarified
water
zone Interface 1
Clarified
Interfacial Interfaces
zone
Vs water
meet and
zone
H0 coalesce

Transition
zone
Vc Compaction
Hc Xc zone
Compaction
Interface 2 Hu Xu
zone

t=0 tc>t>0 t=tc t=tu

Sedimentation Tank Mass Balance
Liquid balance,
Influent Effluent
Q0  Qe  Qu
Q0, X0 Qe, Xe
Solids balance,
Q0 X 0  Qe X e  Qu X u
Underflow
Qu, Xu
Q0 ( X u  X 0 )
Qe 
(Xu  Xe)
Qu  Q0  Qe

Protocol for Designing Secondary Clarifier

1. Calculate the minimum surface area required to allow for clarification of sludge

2. Calculate the minimum surface area required to provide for thickening of sludge to
the desired underflow condition.

3. Take the larger of these two area as the design area for clarifier.
 Finding out the Minimum Area for Clarification Purpose

Minimum area required for clarification = Acl

It depends on the velocity vs with which the suspension in the interfacial zone settles
before reaching the critical concentration Xc

Therefore, under continuous flow conditions, velocity of water over the overflow weir
cannot exceed vs if clarification is to take place efficiently.
Qe
Thus, Acl 
vs
Settling velocity can be obtained from the zone
settling curves

dh 0A
vs  
dt 0B
But, the clarifier designed with this criteria
may not necessarily mean that desired
concentration of solid (Xu) shall be achieved
at the underflow
 Zone Settling of Sludge in a Batch Reactor Such as in a Laboratory Column

The capacity of the clarifier for carrying solids downwards at a

Clarified concentration Xi under gravity is given by
water zone
GB  X i vi GB = batch Solids flux, mass/(unit area. Time)
vi Xi= Sludge concentration,
Xi
vi = Zone Settling velocity at Xi
Unlike discrete particle or flocculent Settling, here the zone settling velocity
of sludge gradually decreases over time after the critical concentration is
reached. At this situation, the water needs to be squeezed out in order to
allow for the sludge blanket to settle down. The greater the particle density,
the more difficult is to allow the water to pass through the settling sludge.

As the sludge blanket settles down, Xi

increases, due to water being continuously

Solids Flux
squeezed out. At very high concentrations the
suspension is almost compacted and
approaches vi0, and from the above
equation GB0. On the other hand, at a low GB
concentrations, xi0, then also, GB0. This
suggests that a maximum for GB should occur
at some intermediate value of xi. Xi
Solids Concentration
MASS BALANCE AT A CLARIFIER

Influent Effluent
Q0 , X 0 Qe, Xe

Q0 X 0  Qe X e  Qu X u
Underflow
Ideally, the outlet solids concentration Qu, Xu
should be zero or may be much less than
the concentration at the underflow.
Xe  0 Or, X e  X u
In either case, Q0 X 0  Qu X u
Mass of the solids removed at the underflow, M  Qu X u  Q0 X 0
If the area of the thickener is At, then this mass M should have settled down through this
thickener area. In such a case, M  AGt T
GT  Total Solids Flux through the thickener (unit mass/area)
Q0 X 0
M  At GT  Q0 X 0 At  What is the physical significance of GT?
GT How do we find out GT?
Zone Settling in a Continuous-Flow Clarifier

1. Sludge settles down (corresponds to solids flux Influent Effluent

in batch reactor Q0 , X 0 Qe, Xe
2. Settled Sludge is continuously being taken out
as the underflow

Total Solid flux = Solids flux in Batch reactor + Underflow flux Underflow
Qu, Xu
GT  GB  Gu

At any solids concentration Xi of the settling sludge blanket,

GB  X i vi vi is the sludge velocity due to fall under gravity

Gu  X i vu vu is the sludge velocity due to underflow removal

The total solid flux can be controlled by manipulating vu as it can be controlled by

operating the valve at the outlet or changing the underflow pumping rate.

But, how to ensure that we obtain the target concentration of solids (Xu) at the
underflow?

We need to choose an appropriate area for thickening so that the target solids
concentration at the underflow is achieved.
Finding Thickener Area
Batch-flux curve
Plot Xu on the x-axis
B

Solids Flux
Draw tangent to the Batch-flux
curve from the point Xu and Gu
GT
extend it to meet the y-axis at B T
Underflow velocity, vu 
Qu A
At GB
β α
vu 
Qu X u Q0 X 0
 
M AG G
 t T  T
0
At X u At X u At X u At X u X u
Xi Xu
Solids Concentration
0 B GT 0 A GB
tan     vu tan     vi
0Xu Xu 0Xi Xi
Slope of the tangent provides the underflow velocity (vu) required to achieve the underflow
concentration of Xu

GT  GB  Gu
0 A  GB 0 B  GT AB  Gu

M Q0 X 0
Thickener Area, At  
GT GT
Example:
A laboratory batch thickening experiment with variable solids concentration
produced the following results:

Solids concentration (mg/L) Settling Velocity (m/hr)

900 4.2
1400 3.0
2200 1.85
3000 1.21
3700 0.76
4500 0.45
5200 0.28
6500 0.13
8200 0.089

The influent concentration is MLSS 3000 mg/L, flow Rate is 8000 cum/day. Design a
secondary settling tank that will thicken the solids so that the underflow solids
concentration is 10,000 mg/L.
STEP 1. Calculate the solids flux based on the laboratory column analysis data

Solids Settling Solids Flux

concentration Velocity (kg/sqm.hr)
(mg/L) (m/hr) (col 1 X col 2)
0 0
900 4.2 3.78
1400 3.0 4.2
2200 1.85 4.07
3000 1.21 3.63
3700 0.76 2.80
4500 0.45 2.03
5200 0.28 1.46
6500 0.13 0.90
8200 0.089 0.73

6
mg m mg m 10 mg
1400 X 3 X  4.2 X 103 -3 3 X  4.2
L hr 10 m hr m 2 .hr
 STEP 2. Plot Solids Flux vs. Concentration

GT= 2.4

Gu=1.6
GT

GB=0.8

STEP 3. Draw Tangent to the curve with starting point , Xu = 10,000 mg/L, Find out
the ordinate. This is the solids flux GT. GT = 2.4 kg/sqm.hr
Required area of the clarifier so that it satisfies the thickening requirements,
M Q0 X 0 Q0 X 0 8000 cum/d * 3000 mg/L
At   At    416.7 sq.m.
GT GT GT 2.4 kg/sqm.hr

Check for the thickener clarification ability.

From the data table, the settling velocity of the sludge blanket with concentration of
3000 mg/L is 1.21 m/hr
Q 8000 m 3 / d
ACl    275 m 2
vs 1.21 m/hr
At  ACl
So, area required for thickening will govern the process design. Hence, the surface
area of the clarifier shall be 417 sq m. The Diameter shall be 23 m.