Experiment No.

- 3

SEDIMENTATION
Aim:
1) To study the settling behavior of slurry.
2) To plot the curve between height Vs time and velocity Vs concentration.

Introduction:
Sedimentation is the separation of a suspension or a slurry into a clear liquid,
lying above a solid residue, i.e., liquid is essentially free from particles. It consists
of a thick sludge containing a high concentration of solids. Therefore, it is a
process of phase separation.
Sedimentation is effectively used in water treatment process where suspended
solids from water is removed using gravity. Solid particles entrained by the
turbulence of moving water may be removed naturally by sedimentation in the
still water of lakes and oceans.

Theory:
Sedimentation is the process in which particles heavier than liquid medium settle
to the bottom of a liquid and form sediment (or concentrated slurry). In the gravity
settling, two main forces acting on particles: the apparent mass such as gravity
and a drag force that is due to particle motion in fluid. As many particles are
settling, the motion of the particles can be considered as hindered settling. The
hindering effects are strongly dependent on the volumetric concentration of
solids, Cv, and the relative motion of particles can be determined by Richardson
and Zaki relation given in 1954, provided the terminal velocity of the settling
particles is known,

vth = vt (1 − Cv ) m
Where,
vth is the hindered settling velocity of the solid particle
vt is the terminal velocity of the solid particle
Cv is the volumetric concentration of the solids

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 m is the empirical exponent related to the particle Reynolds number Rep,
and Wallis (1969) proposed the following correlation to find m,

4.7(1 + 0.15Re0.687 )
m= p

1 + 0.253Re0.687
p

Where, Rep is the Particle Reynolds number (v is the kinematic viscosity) as

defined below,

vt d
Re p =
v
At the beginning of a batch sedimentation process, the solid is uniformly
distributed in the liquid with a total suspension depth of H0 (Fig.1). After a short
while, the solids have settled to give a zone of clear liquid, zone A and a zone D
of settled solids. Above zone D is a thin transition layer, zone C, in which the
solids content varies from that in the original pulp to that in zone D. Above zone
C is zone B where the concentration is uniform and equal to the original
concentration. The boundaries between zones D and C and between C and B
are not clear, but the boundary between zones A and B is usually sharp. The
depth of zones D and A increase as settling continues. The depth of zone C
remains nearly constant, and that of zone B decreases. Eventually zone B
disappears and solids are all in zones C and D. Finally, the sedimentation
process stop when there are only two distinct zones, A and D.

Fig .1: Batch Sedimentation

Experimentally one can easily determine the height of the interface of clear liquid
and slurry from the bottom of the flask at different time. The settling rate can be
shown on a plot of this interface height (between zone A and B) vs. time. In the

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beginning, the settling rate is almost constant. When zone B disappears, the
settling rate decreases and steadily drops until the ultimate height is reached. In
some cases, the interface height keep decreasing for long hours, and the
ultimate height can only be estimated.

Experimental Setup:
The experimental setup consist of three measuring cylinders of 500 ml. Light
sources are mounted on the board to see the height of layers clearly. Weighing
machine is provided to measure the weight of CaCO3 powder. Beakers and glass
rods are provided to mix the CaCO3 on water. A Stopwatch is provided to take
the readings of time corresponding to height.

Procedure:
1. Determine bulk density of the powder
2. Prepare suspension of three different concentration (vol%) of in water: one in
the range 0-5 vol%, 2nd in the range 5-10 vol% and third 10-15 vol%.
3. Calculate accurate amount of material and water required to prepare the
slurry.
4. Shake the 3 cylinders upside down closing the top with hand to obtain a
uniform concentration of the slurry.
5. Let the solids settle undisturbed. Note down the time required for the interface
of slurry – clear water (you need good adjustment of your eye) to move down
the cylinder until no further level fall is noticed.
6. Take data until liquid–solid interface remains steady.
7. Plot height(H) Vs time(t) graph.
8. Calculate velocity (Ups) and concentration(C).
9. Convert the above height vs time curve to velocity vs concentration.

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 Precautions:
1) All the weight taken in measuring cylinders should be accurate.
2) CaCO3 powder should be well mixed into water.
3) Take the reading of height of interface (slurry-clear water) from top to
bottom.
4) Add little amount of KMnO4 if interface is not visible.

Observations:
Bulk Density of CaCO3 = …..

Observation Table-1: Sample preparation

Vol. fraction C Vol. of CaCO3 Weight of CaCO3 Water taken

Sample 1
Sample 2
Sample 3

Observation Table-2: Height vs time data

Sample- Time Height Sample- Time Height Sample- Time Height
1 2 3

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Calculations:
Estimation of Bulk density of powder:
Empty weight of 10 ml measuring cylinder = Wo
Volume occupied by the powder = V
Weight of the jar + powder = Wp
The bulk density of the Powder is given by

bs =
(W p – Wo )
V
Velocity of particle Ups = ΔH/Δt
Concentration at any height C = CoHo/H
Here Co is initial concentration of sample and Ho is initial height

Results:
Plot the curve between height(H) Vs time(t) and velocity(U) Vs concentration(C).

Sources of errors:
Report the possible sources of error found in the experiment and the
observations. Discuss exactly how these affect the experimental data (i.e. will
the readings be larger or will they be smaller due to the presence of a particular
source).

Discussions:
1) Discuss the role of terminal velocity and Reynolds number.
2) What is the difference between terminal velocity and hindered velocity?
3) Discuss the settling behavior of particles.

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