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February 2014

Innovative Multi-Media Filter – Continuous Backwash Filter

Boris Liberman, Ph.D.; CTO Membrane Technology, Vice President, borisl@ide-tech.com ;
Vitaly Levitin, Research & Development Engineer, vitally@ide-tech.com
Gal Greenberg Research & Development Engineer, galg@ide-tech.com
IDE Technologies ltd.

The disadvantages of conventional MMF based pretreatment

Conventional pretreatment is based on multimedia filters (MMF) implemented in large scale
desalination plants. Although this filtration method is well proven and provides reliable
filtration efficiency, it conceals an inherent drawback, the disadvantages of which relate
mainly to the backwashing mechanism.
The pretreatment includes several filters that are backwashed in sequence, and additional
filters are required to compensate for those in backwash. The division of the filtration area for
several filters means more concrete walls and backwash channels.
The hydraulic resistance of each filter changes continuously during the filtration cycle,
necessitating instrumentation to measurement and control the flow for each filter.
Backwash (BW) of one MMF filter requires large amounts of water and air, as described in
the following example. The area of a typical chamber in a large scale desalination plant is
approximately 120 m2. The flow rate of the BW water is approximately 6600 m3/hr, and the
required volume for each BW is approximately 1000 m3. Taking availability requirements
into consideration, the BW water tank size can reach 2000 m3 and more. Each pretreatment
requires two air blowers (one standby) that provide air at a flow rate of about 6000 m3/hr.
Water and air backwashing systems require large diameter pipes and large valves, as well as
measurement instruments. A large volume of backwash water (approximately 1000 m3 per
BW) has to be evacuated and stored, prior to treatment or discharge to the sea.
The standard MMF underdrain is designed to collect the filtrated water, as well as to
withstand the BW water coming from the BW water tank and the air coming from the blower
during the backwash procedure. As the BW flow is five times stronger than the normal
filtration flow, and the air is distributed equally to the entire filter area, the underdrain
structure is larger and more complicated.
The height of water above the media in MMF includes height for media expansion during
BW. This additional height is a ratio of 40% of the MMF filtration height. An additional 20%
water height is taken as a safety margin.
The driving force for filtration is the height of the water above media. In conventional gravity
MMF minimum 2.5 meter of water required above media for all pressure losses till filtrated
water pumps.
Meeting all the requirements related to the method of BW and driving force brings the height
of the standard pretreatment unit to approximately 5 m. This height requires thick concrete
walls and complicated foundations.
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Continuous Backwash Filter

The filtration in the continuous backwash filter relies on standard media - sand and anthracite
- and standard filtration efficiency. The configuration is one common filtration area, not
divided to chambers, with continuous filtration and a continuous backwash system. Spot
cleaners provide non-stop automatic backwash across the entire filtration area.

Figure 1: Scheme of MMF with Spot Cleaner

The Continuous Backwash Filter consists of Precast concrete elements, including underdrain
media support, filtration media and a channel for the collection of filtrated water.
The Spot Cleaner (SC) comprises a compartment installed on a gantry that is able to move in
an X-Y coordinate across the entire filtration area. The SC is equipped with an air blower and
an air pipe with an air distribution nozzle. Penetration to, and rising in, the media is
performed by an actuator-operated screw jack equipped with a positioner.
The underdrain consist of a porous plate resting on an FRP support structure, which provides
a free flow of filtrated water flow to water collectors. The media lying on the porous plate
prevents leakage of sand.
A self-priming pump installed in the above cleaning compartment actually provides the
backwash activity.
The following are the main characteristics of the Spot Cleaner:
 The SC can cover each point of the filter media every 24 hours.
 Each cleaning cycle cleans an area of about 1 m2.
 The source of the BW is filtrated water.
 The backwash is performed by blowing air and pumping water through the section of
media included in the range of the SC.
 The underdrain plate is backwashed together with the media.
The Spot Cleaner moves in X-Y horizontal coordinates across the entire filtration area and
descends in the Z vertical coordinate, cutting through the media.
During the backwash procedure the up-flow of filtrated water fluidizes the media, causing it
to expand by 40%. The height of the spot cleaner above the media allows the media to expand
and includes spare place to avoid media carry over from the spot cleaner to the backwash
water channel.
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The SC takes water for the BW directly from the underdrain. This eliminates the need for the
construction of storage tanks for use before and after BW, and the related pumps and pipes.
The air blower system required is also relatively small. The BW flow is small and
continuous.

As the filter is in constant operation with steady state fouling conditions, control of the flow is
not necessary. The filtrated water pumps takes the flow required for the RO plant at any time,
thus avoiding the need to install instruments to measure and control the filtrated water flow.
The backwash sequence includes the following steps:
 Positioning of SC by horizontal movement in X-Y horizontal direction
 Media penetration to the level of the porous underdrain plate
 Air backwash by blowing air through the media
 Water backwash by pumping water from the underdrain through the media to the
backwash water collection channel
 Raising and moving the spot cleaner to the next position
The duration of a full cleaning cycle is approximately 10 minutes. In 24 hours one SC is able
to cover approximately 140 m^2 of media. Although the SC can cover the entire filter area in
24 hours, the actual BW frequency is between 70 and 90 hours.
Several spot cleaners working in parallel can be installed on the same bridge, and several
bridges can serve a large filtration area.
A pilot test was conducted in the existing MMF of the Hadera Desalination Plant in Israel.
SDI was measure hourly in the spot where the SC finished the BW activity. As can be seen,
the SDI in the cleaned spot improved more quickly than that of the standard MMF.

Figure 2: SDI in the spot after cleaning by SC

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Step 1: Motion in horizontal direction Step 2: Penetration in media

Step 3: Air Back Wash Step 4: Water Back Wash

Step 5: Lifting Step 6: Motion to next position

Figure 3: Steps of Operation of SC

The following are the main advantages of the Continuous Backwash Filter:
 The height of the pretreatment is less than 3m
 Filtrated water pump can be connected directly to common underdrain, saving about
two miters of water level above filtration media
 The underdrain system is simple
 There is a low load on the ground, requiring simple foundations
 Small backwash collection channels
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 No need for the construction of BW tanks for water, including the related pumps and
piping, before and after backwash
 No need for the installation of instruments to measure and control the filtrated water
flow
 The maximal capacity of a single unit is 42,000 m3/h.
 No stand-by filter required to compensate for the filter in backwash.