Design of Mixing and Flocculating Basins

Author(s): H. E. Hudson Jr. and J. P. Wolfner

Source: Journal (American Water Works Association), Vol. 59, No. 10 (OCTOBER 1967), pp. 1257-
1267
Published by: American Water Works Association
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41264992
Accessed: 02-10-2015 03:07 UTC

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at http://www.jstor.org/page/
info/about/policies/terms.jsp

JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content
in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship.
For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

American Water Works Association is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Journal (American
Water Works Association).

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 146.201.208.22 on Fri, 02 Oct 2015 03:07:44 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
 Design of Mixing and Flocculating Basins

H. E. Hudson Jr. and J. P. WoUner

A contribution to theJournal on Jul.21, 1967,by H. E.
submitted
HudsonJr.,Partner,and J. P. Wolfner,
Assoc.,Hazen and Sawyer,
Engrs.,New York.

usual criteriafordesignof mix- of the water is over-treatedwith co-

THEing and flocculatingfacilitiesfor agulant, while other parts are under-
waterclarification have longbeenbased treatedor not treatedat all. Mixing
on limitingvelocitiesand theoreticde- needs may be gaged by two observa-
tention times.1 In current practice, tions: coagulantshydrolyzeand begin
theseconceptsare being supplemented to polymerizea fractionof a second
by the use of "velocitygradient"cri- afterbeingadded to water,and,a milli-
teriaand by designto bringactual de- literof water containsmore than 10,-
tentiontimecloserto thetheoretictime 000,000 particles to be coagulated.
of retention. Practice in designhas been to use not
Effectivemixingand flocculationis more than 30 sec in a rapid mix, with
of criticalimportancefor the efficient relativelyhigh-powered mixingdevices.
functioning of sedimentation basinsand The in-line "blender" is coming into
filters.This articledescribesand evalu- use forthispurpose. A 24-in.unitcan
ates certainfactorsthatare involvedin apply 10 hp to 20 mgd in a fractionof
the design and operationof pretreat- a second, during which time the co-
ment,and illustratestheeffectsof these agulantis introduced.
factorson filtered-water quality,using
data assembled by field testing and Flocculating Criteria
Flocculation- which consists of the
compiled from operating records of
nine water clarification plants. groupingand compactingof coagulated
particlesinto largerassemblagescalled
Rapid Mixing floeparticles- can be made moreeffec-
Coagulation can be defined as the tive by prolongingthetimeof agitation.
processof chemicalreactionof the co- Flocculationtime should ordinarilybe
agulant in water. The functionof a in excess of 30 min; some waters re-
rapid-mixchamberis to insure com- quire flocculation for60 min or longer.
pletelyhomogeneouscoagulation. To The time of flocculation
and the in-
accomplishthisrequiresintensemixing tensity of mixing required may be
to distributethe coagulatingagentuni- checkedby runningjar testsat various
formlythroughoutthe water, so that speeds.2 Mixing intensityis described
it makes contactwith suspendedpar- in terms of the velocitygradient G,
ticlesbeforethe reactionis completed. whichis derivedfromthemeanamount
In the absence of intensemixing,part of work applied per unit of time to a
1257

This content downloaded from 146.201.208.22 on Fri, 02 Oct 2015 03:07:44 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
1258 H. E. HUDSONJR. & J. P. WOLFNER Jour.AWWA

unit volume of fluidat a definitevis- der to speed agglomerationand com-

cosity.3 For best results,the flocculat- pact the floe. A practical limit is
ing equipmentshouldbe capable of im- reached, however, when the shear
partingthe maximumacceptableveloc- forcesexceed the cohesion strengthof
ity gradientduringthe process,in or- the floe particles,and break them up.
This may impairsedimentation, though
it should not have any other adverse
TABLE 1 effecton filtered-waterquality.
Temperature Corrections Field checks of velocity gradients
indicate that, toward the end of the
values
Multiply obtainedfromaccompanyinggraphs flocculationprocess,tolerableG values
for
4°Cbytemperaturecorrection
factorstated
belowtodetermine orvelocity
horsepower
atanyother may be as low as 7 fps/ftforwatersin
gradient temperature the Piedmontarea, and as high as 100
CorrectionFactor for Great Lakes waters. Trials of the
Temperature
WaterTemp. water to be tested,or checkingof re-
°C sults in
hppermgd G, sec.'1 nearbyplants treatingsimilar
waters,are, therefore, desirable.
0 1.14 0.937 The chemicalcharacteristics of most
1 1.11 0.948
2 1.07 0.966 waters vary, which requires changes
3 1.03 0.985 in chemicaldosages and mixinginten-
4 1.00 1.00 sity. In addition,new coagulantsand
flocculationaids are being used in-
5 0.971 1.02
6 0.940 1.03 creasingly. They enable floe to toler-
7 0.914 1.05 ate highermixingintensities. It seems
8 0.889 1.06 prudent,therefore, to design flocculat-
9 0.863 1.08 ing and mixing equipmentwith over-
sized variable-speeddrives,so thatthe
10 0.838 1.09
11 0.811 1.11 mixing intensitycan be adjusted to
12 0.794 1.12 suit changingconditions. The velocity
13 0.774 1.14 gradient varies as the three-halves
14 0.748 1.16 powerof the drivespeed,so thata 3 : 1
15 0.729 1.17 speed range will give a 5:1 velocity
16 0.716 1.18 gradient range. Even wider ranges
17 0.696 1.20 are desirable and available.
18 0.678 1.21 Nearlyall mixingunitsimpartmuch
19 0.669 1.22
higher G values near their tips than
20 0.646 1.24 theaveragein theflocculating chamber,
21 0.629 1.26 but these maximum point values are
22 0.615 1.28 not presentlyknown. For the present,
23 0.600 1.29 it seems prudentto be guided by the
24 0.586 1.31
traditionalmaximumtip speed values
25 0.572 1.32 of 2 fps where floeis weak, and 4 fps
26 0.559 1.34 wherefloeis strong.
27 0.547 1.35
28 0.535 1.37 Handling Flocculated Water
29 0.523 1.39
30 0.512 1.40 Conduitsand pipes conveyingfloccu-
lated waterto settlingbasins may have

This content downloaded from 146.201.208.22 on Fri, 02 Oct 2015 03:07:44 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
Oct.1967 MIXINGAND FLOCCULATION
DESIGN 1259

internalvelocitygradientssufficientlymm sand at 2 gpm/sqftis 120 fps/ft;

high to break up the floe particles. it increases as the filter becomes
Distribution baffles
handlingflocculated clogged. Removalof suspendedmatter
water may also break up floe. The by filtration improvesas media size is
maximumvelocitygradienttolerablein reduced, while velocity gradientsin-
such conduitsvaries greatlyfromone crease.
installationto another. It is safe to
assume that most waters will be able Velocity Gradients
to tolerate a velocitygradientof 10
fps/ft. The velocitygradientin the Camp has providedthe basic equa-
tions for calculatingvelocitygradients
last flocculatingcompartmentcan be
in mixing chambersand pipes.8 The
used as the upperlimitforthe velocity
authorshave condensedthese into the
gradientin conduits,ports,and baffles. :
Detailed design of permeablebaffles followingexpressions
for distributionof flows into settling Mechanical Agitation:
basins involves contradictory criteria.
First, the velocitygradientshould not C, 25
(iff)'
exceed the safe value. Next, the ports
should be as numerousas possible to Ports,Conduits:
speed the downstreammergerof their
jets. Finally, head loss should be C-,72(i)Vl
large, relativeto the velocityhead of Baffled
Chambers :
the water approachingthe baffle,if
uniform flow distributionis to be
attained.
High velocitiesthroughthe orifices in whichhpw is the water horsepower
result in undesirably high velocity per mil gal daily flow rate, G is the
gradients. For a given port velocity, root-mean-squarevelocitygradientin
a small size openinghas a highermix- fps/ft,t is theoreticdetentiontime in
ing intensitythan a large one. These min,D is diameterin ft,V is velocity
requirements usuallylead the designer in fps,H is head loss in feetof water,
to compromiseport size and spacing, and f is the Darcy-Weisbachfriction
and minimizethe velocityapproaching factorbased on a roughnessheightof
thebaffle. 0.00085 ft.4 The viscosityof water at
Many believe it importantnot to 4 °C of 3.273 X 10-5ftlb/sec/cuftwas
breakup any floeremainingaftersedi- used in the formulaand for preparing
mentation,prior to filtration. Yet Figs. 1-4; conversionfactorsforother
thereare manyplantsin whichsettled temperatures are in Table 1.
water is subjectedto intenseagitation Figure 1 is intendedfor rapid mix
by spilling over weirs or pumping. design,and Fig. 2 is forflocculatorde-
That theyperformwell is evidencethat sign. Figures 3 and 4 are for sizing
thereis littleneed forfearaboutbreak- portsand conduitsforhandlingfloccu-
ing up floe aftersettling. Because of latedwater. Figures 3 and 4 are based
the small passages throughthe filter on shear frictiononly,and do not take
media, floe encountersvery high ve- entranceand exit losses into account,
locity gradients. For example, the because they are dissipatedin an in-
velocitygradientin a clean bed of 0.5 determinate volumeof the liquid.

This content downloaded from 146.201.208.22 on Fri, 02 Oct 2015 03:07:44 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
1260 H. E. HUDSONJR. & J. P. WOLFNER Jour.
AW WA

Field tests of water horsepowerare ing transmissionunit, such as a hy-

made by operatingthe equipmentand draulic or magneticspeed variator is
checking power requirements,both desirable to minimizeoverloadingthe
with and withoutthe underwateragi- drivein startup.
tators. Even here, adjustmentof the
data for changes in efficiency of drive Short-Circuiting in Chambers
componentswill be necessarybecause Figure 5 has been derivedfromthe
of the two load conditions. For this,it data of McMullen and Weber 5 which
is necessaryto obtaindata frommanu- are similarto those derivedby Camp.3
facturerson drive efficiency.It would It is based on the followingassump-
be morehelpfulto obtaincertifiedshop tions: completemixing,no dead space,
testsof theunder-water agitatorsshow- and no plug flow. This figureshows
ing their horespowerrequirementsat that,in a single-compartment floccula-
tion basin, 40 per cent of the input is
retainedless than half of the nominal
detentiontime of the basin. On the
otherhand,if theflocculating basin has
five successive compartments, only 12
"MIMV
/ // / / / / per cent of the water escapes in less
/ §/// ////r'°- thanhalfthenominaldetentiontime. A
,0 -/- / I maximumof successivecompartmenta-
_ V /£-$/
>^ / / //
/ /// u tion is to help to
important,therefore,
insureample detentiontimeforfloccu-
1 I
/J/ff ////A lation.
i Comparisonsof jar test and plant
data are difficultfor several reasons,
///MJ most importantbeing that thereis no
J / / '
' short-circuiting in a jar test. The wa-
ter and reactantsare retained in the
/T77k" J :: jar completelythroughoutthe testing
time. In contrast,some of the water
" goes througha plantflocculating cham-
_ ///// / ber rapidly,while another fractionis
0.050.1 I - 10 100 held back forextendedperiods.
Time
Detention Sec
The effectsof flocculatorshort-cir-
Fig. 1. PowerRequiredforRapidMixing cuiting are shown in Fig. 6, which
at 4°0 containslaboratoryand plantdata from
a 30 mgd plant having a single-com-
appropriatespeeds. Field tests would partmentflocculating chamberwithno
thendeterminetheloadingon thedrive rapid mix. Settled-waterturbidities
equipment. fromthe jar testswere in the orderof
Drive equipment must, of course, 1.5 JU, while those produced by the
have powercapabilitiesgreaterthanthe plant sedimentationbasin averaged
waterhorsepower. In addition,a ser- about 6 JU. Unsatisfactory operation
vice factor (ratio of rated capacityof oftheplantis further shownby filtered-
the drive train to motorrating) of at water turbidities, which were approxi-
least 1.25 is desirable. A torque-limit- mately the same as the settled-water

This content downloaded from 146.201.208.22 on Fri, 02 Oct 2015 03:07:44 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
Oct.1967 MIXINGAND FLOCCULATION
DESIGN 1261

qualityobtainedin jar tests. The use Chlorineis nota good tracer; too much
of a higher coagulant dosage might may be lost to chlorinedemand. The
have been helpfulto offsetdeficiencies dosage must be administeredfor sev-
in timeor intensityof flocculation,
but eral minutes,and accompaniedby in-
coagulantdosages were establishedby tense mixingto disperse the slug and
jar tests and applied withoutadjust- attemptto preventdensitycurrentef-
mentto the plant. fects. Otherwise,the slug will lurk in
a pocketor on the basin floor,the ma-
Short-Circuiting Control terialbalancecannotbe completed,and
In order to controlshort-circuitingtheresultswillbe invalid.
in mechanicalflocculators, at least three Figure 7 shows short-circuiting test
successivecompartments are desirable. data for two tri-compartment floccula-
In addition,special attentionmust be tionbasinsequippedwithreel-typeagi-
tators. The Indianapolis basin6 had
its agitatoraxle parallel to flow,was
Si f i i 1 1 / ' 1 XL,'w
, Velocity
Gradient_ / / fittedwithconcentricportsin the baf-
6-se°r' r / /7/y fles around the axle, and had circular
targetbafflesmountedto prevent"cor-
ing" of the flow along the axle. The
= axle was driven a V-belt
'>=^y~zz^£'9L^~A
6 - by runningin
y-'- s and out of the water. The basin at
Danville had threeaxles transverseto
! I
the directionof flow,separatedby baf-
fles that hung from above the water
surfaceto 18 in. above the flocculator
08 /VVV// ?~/ S 4 -1 floor. Its axles extended into a
06 dry
04^^7/ / 1 well, where they were chain driven.
y///7~7 7"" 2 Both drive systemsgave two decades
of satisfactoryservice. Figure 7 indi-
cates that the Indianapolisdesign had
#z'=7z-
I 3 4 6 8 10 -20 30 50 80100 better detention characteristicsthan
TimeMin
Detention the arrangementused at Danville, Va.
Fig. 2. PowerRequiredfor Flocculation The upper part of Fig. 8 shows
at 4°0 longitudinalsludge deposit thickness
profilesforsettlingbasins in two plants
given to the ports between compart- in the same city. One representsthe
mentsto suppressshort-circuiting fur- resultsattainedwith good flocculation
ther. Short-circuiting can be evalu- priorto sedimentation, while the other
ated quantitatively by measuringefflu- shows the effectsof poor flocculation
entconcentrations of tracersubstances. priorto sedimentation.Good pretreat-
The tracermay be a slug of salt solu- ment produces a heavy rapid-settling
tion,or a change in coagulantdosage, floe,the bulk of which deposits near
evaluatedby titrationof alkalinity. thebasin inlet. In thecase of theplant
If a slug dose of traceris used, the having poor facilities,flocculationwas
quantityof materialmustbe sufficient so incompleteat theinletof the settling
to yieldaccuratelymeasurableconcen- basin thatit proceededfora long time
tration changes in the basin outlet. after the water enteredthe basin, so

This content downloaded from 146.201.208.22 on Fri, 02 Oct 2015 03:07:44 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
1262 H. E. HUDSONJR. & J. P. WOLFNER Jour.
AW WA

thatthethickestdepositsoccurredmid- short-circuiting.Mechanical agitators

way along the basin, ratherthan near
the inlet.
The lower part of Fig. 8 shows
settlingvelocitydistribution
curvesde-
rived fromthe settledsludge thickness
profiles. Settlingvelocitycurves may
also be preparedfromlaboratorytests,
and can be brought into reasonable
agreement with those derived from
sludge thicknessdata by appropriate
choice of mixing and settlingcondi-
tions. Examination of sludge deposit
thicknesscontoursor the sludge marks
may be classed as rotaryor recipro-
cating. The formerinclude reel-type
units, assorted paddle designs, axial
flowimpellers,and radialflowimpellers
(turbines). Reciprocating units in-
clude walking-beam,reciprocatingagi-
tatorsusing eitherrigid blades or me-
tallicribbons,and rotatingpaddles.
Reciprocatingand vertical-shaft ro-
tary unitsare usuallyfree from under-
water bearings and do not require a
dry well. Both types ordinarilyre-
quire support above the flow line,

1000 1000

'
f //A/ f* //>
'

.01 0.1 1.0 1.0

10
Flow
PerOpening-
mgd Flow-
mgd
Pig. 3. VelocityGradientsin Small Cir- Fig. 4. VelocityGradientsin Large Cir-
cularOpeningsat 4°C cularOpeningsat 4°C

in basin walls is ofteninformativeas which can complicate the structure.

to basin inletconditions. A persistent Horizontal-shaftrotaryunitshave un-
cloud of floe at one part of a settlingder-water bearings which require
basin is commonly accompanied by maintenance. Such units may be
drivenby equipmentin a drywell,with
greatersludge thicknessbeneath it. the shaftpassingintothebasin through
a stuffingbox. Stuffingboxes usually
Types of Flocculators
leak, causing the dry well to become
Two general categoriesof floccula- damp.
tors are mechanically-agitated units, Alternately, horizontal-shaftunits
and chambersin whichbafflesprovide may be drivenfromoverheadby chain
the agitation. Mechanical flocculators or V-belt drives. Chains require fre-
usuallyincludesome bafflingto control quent replacement. V-belts have been

This content downloaded from 146.201.208.22 on Fri, 02 Oct 2015 03:07:44 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
Oct.1967 MIXINGAND FLOCCULATION
DESIGN 1263

knownto last two decades or more,de- be designed for a specificmixing in-

spitetheirpoor appearance. They are tensity. Mixing intensitycan also be
subject to slippage caused by sheave reducedin successivecompartments to
icingin low temperatures, and may re- yield decreasing velocity gradients.
quire heat to preventthis. This typeofbasin is noteasilymodified
A horizontalshaftunit can accom- when mixing intensityrequirements
modate multipleagitators,which can change.
be compartmented readilywhenaligned Where baffledbasins are indicated,
with axis parallel to flow. Instead of the around-the-endtype is preferable
one drive unit for each compartment, because it is easier to drain and clean
as withverticalrotaryunits,one drive and, as the head loss throughthe unit
may handlefiveor six compartments. is proportionateto the square of the
Tapered flocculationhas long been flow,it can be designedto maintaina
used. In many instances,it makes
sense to designforits provisionusing,
for example, maximumvalues for G
of 90, 50, and 20 fps/ftfor the first,
second, and third flocculatorpasses.
Tapered flocculationallows a maxi-
mum of mixing,followedby a period
of agglomerationintended to build j*
larger fast-settlingfloe particles. I 2#3 - Number
5-. ofCompartments
Solids-contactreactorsoftenemploy % 2 / /// inSeries
variable-speed turbine-typeagitators.
They frequentlyhave rapid-mixand 'M I 0 Retention I
time-
ratio
2
ofactual
totheoretic
3
mildagitationzones. The average de-
sign velocity gradient for the com- Fig. 5. Short-Circuiting in MixingCom-
binedzones is 100 fps/ft.Agitationin partments
the rapid mix zone may reach values Use of severalcompartments helpsto as-
as high as 300 fps/ft,while reaction sureampledetention timeforflocculation.
zone values may vary from100 fps/ft
near the entranceto verylow values at uniformwork input for a
the settlingzone boundary. A solids- reasonably
wide range of flows. This is done by
contactunit has a single mixingcom-
designinga substantialhead loss into
partmentsubject to short-circuiting.the basin, so that depth of flow in-
Effectsofthisshort-circuitingare over-
creaseswithquantityof flow. In many
come apparentlyby the acceleratedre- water treatment
action caused by the contactof water plants,baffledfloccu-
lating basins continuegiving excellent
withslurryduringthe reaction. results after decades of maintenance-
Baffledbasins, combinedwith over- freeservice.
and-under basins or around-the-end
baffles,have frequentlybeen used for Effecton Water
flocculation.Their advantagesare the Quality
absence of complicated mechanical Water treatment operatorsjudge the
equipmentand freedom from short- flocculationprocess primarilyby the
circuiting.By varyingthespacingand appearance of the floe. The goal is
configuration a basin can large floewithclear waterbetweenthe
of thebaffles,

This content downloaded from 146.201.208.22 on Fri, 02 Oct 2015 03:07:44 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
1264 H. E. HUDSONJR. & J. P. WOLFNER Jour.AWWA

particles. As the eye is insensitiveto other hand, turbidimeters sensitiveto

turbiditiesbelow one JacksonUnit in 0.01 JacksonUnit are available today,
a beaker,this is a crude test. On the but theirbest use is in checkingfiltered
water quality.
71 1 1 1 1 Proofof the effectiveness of mixing,
and chemicalpretreatment
settling, pro-
cesses is in the quality of the filtered
water,not theappearanceof thefloccu-
° lated water. In many instances, a
/
inPlant
Settled
5- ' relativelysmall-sizedfloe,producedby
high-intensityflocculation has pro-
duced betterfilteredwaterqualitythan
!a 4- the large bulkyfloeproducedby gentle
£ stirring.
Figure 9 shows the effectof surge
|o 3 - inJar
Settled Tests amplitudeon filteredwater quality,as
- > measuredby cotton-plug filters. These
=2 X,' data, from pilot scale filtersin the
1" .-"!'■ ChicagoExperimentalFiltrationPlant,
-i- show resultsforboth weak and strong
*-7 flocculation. Baylis concluded that
I_ inPlant
Filtered

01 1 1 1 1 GoodFlocculation
0 100 200 300 400 500
Raw Water
Turbidity o> / 1
-• Direction
ofFlow / 1
Fig. 6. Effectof InadequateFlocculation
onPlantEffluent Quality £ Poor
Flocculationv '
a. 1
100
1
- ^Danville, Va. Outlet Inlet
g-80- /~Nv
I /
g f jX ' V^^.Indianapolis, Ind. 100
1
^u 60- / / // ''''
" 1 / '' ^ Poor
Flocculation^^ /
- I '
I 40 j I '
£
o I / ' '*, !
II
1 / / /
uO ««
20 I I V'N §■
^« I / / V.
'v * / ^ ^ GoodFlocculation
O I i
6 I /j ol -
l/t
0 l./i- 1- 1 1- 1- 1- 1 - Velocity-
Settling
0 12 3
Ratio Time
ofArrival toNominal Time
Detention Fig. 8. Effectof Flocculation
on Settling
Fig. 7. Effectof Compartmentation on
FlowsThrough Upperpartshowslongitudinal
Flocculators sludgede-
positthickness forsettlingbasins
profiles
The Indianapolisdesignhad betterdeten- in twoplants. Lowerpartshowssettling
thanthearrangementvelocitydistribution
tioncharacteristics curvesderivedfrom
at Danville. thesettledsludgethickness .
profiles

This content downloaded from 146.201.208.22 on Fri, 02 Oct 2015 03:07:44 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
Oct.1967 MIXINGAND FLOCCULATION
DESIGN 1265

41 1- 1 1 1 1 1 1 -p 50 5f- - - i 1 1

z
40 5 4 -
.3
<• /
>/' ^Weak j
£ Flocculation
a. oo -
a>.2- J30!3^0
S ■«"O
5 □ □
il p
o»
_2
CL |20-|2- 0
| ■ s 1 Count
Plate a
£ 0 - o
" A Flocculation ^ _ - co|g- - A-
^Strong io 1 . f, :
^ £ A
nl . . . . .
0 2 4 6 8
- Percentage
Amplitude
Surge ofHeadLoss 0*- 0> -J- 1
0 5 10 15 20
Coating - Percentage
onSand byVolume
Fig. 9. Effect
of SurgesonFilteredWater
Quality Fig. 11. RelationBetweenFilterBed Con-
ditionandFilteredWaterQuality
This is thesummary
ofa year'soperating
datafroma 50-mgdfiltration
plant.
010. . 1 . .
E 4!
a
008• 10 1.0
1 i .
I3
£ 0.06■
a>
8 -08 ^Color
.- V
^ 0.04■ / .
Q.
- 1
| 0.02
oo 6 o6 /* I/
0' ' ' ' w 5 *
S Turbidity-^/
i : &- / >
6 i i 1/ i 4 § Residual
£ 0 ^ Alumina-"V /
o 5 . X
0 Oj/o
/ 1 ^ /
^ 4 ■ / ^
3.1,.
1 y*
I 3 Average
1960-63
t*
0 /
X 0 0'6 ' 1
- 7 8 9 10
1
o I pHofApplied
Water
0 1 4 5 Fig. 12. Effectof Additionof LimeAfter
0 2 - 3
Filtration ft
Rategpm/sq Flocculation
butBeforeFiltration
Bates on Fil- This is a summaryof 2 year'soperating
Fig. 10. Effectof Filtration
teredWaterQuality datafroma 60-mgdfiltration
plant.

This content downloaded from 146.201.208.22 on Fri, 02 Oct 2015 03:07:44 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
1266 H. E. HUDSONJR. & J. P. WOLFNER Jour.
A WIVA

surgeshave an adverseeffecton water usually added to the water where it

quality.7 Ideal conditions(zero surge can mix well. Figure 12 summarizes
amplitude) showed some material 2 year's operating data from a 60-
passingthroughthefilterforbothweak mgd filtration plant in whichlime was
and strongflocculation. added to the settledwater prior to fil-
Figure 10 shows similardata cover- tration. Distributionwas uneven; sub-
ing both cotton-plugfilterresultsand sequentdivisionof the water into four
coliformorganismsfor filtersoperated groups of filterspermittedsegregation
at different filtrationrates. The coli- of the operatingdata. High pH had
formdata are fromthe Experimental an adverse effectupon settled water
Filtration Plant, using filtershaving thathad been flocculatedwith alum at
10 sq ftof area, but the cotton-plugfil- a pH below 7. This is in accord with
ter data are forthe 10 years of opera- the known solubilitycharacteristicsof
tion of the 4 mgd filtersin the South aluminum hydroxide. The relatively
District FiltrationPlant at Chicago.8 high residual aluminumvalues noted
In both cases, an unremovableinter- indicatethata fairamountof floewas
cept is indicated. passing throughthe filterseven at the
Figure 11 summarizesa year's oper- lowest pH. Adverse effectsare re-
ating data from a 50-mgd filtration flectedin all three parametersmea-
plant,includingcoliform concentrations, sured: residualalumina,turbidity, and
turbidity, total bacteria (plate count), color.
and color. These four parameters
have been plottedagainstthe condition Conclusion
of the filterbed, as measured by the In all examples,a residual concen-
coatingon the sand expressed in per- trationof turbidity,suspendedmatter,
centage by volume. For this work, bacteria, color, or residual alum re-
five differentfull-sized plant filters mainedin the waterafterfiltration un-
were used. The sand filtermedia were der bestconditions. Othershave noted
not all the same size, and the washing a similareffect.9 The conclusionthat
proceduresvaried. Some had effective preparationof water for filtrationcan
surfacewashes, others had none, and have a greatereffecton filteredwater
still othersused air wash. There was quality than variables in the filtration
no moundingin thesefilters,nor were process is inescapable. Deficienciesin
cloggedplaces or mud balls found,but coagulantdosage or improperchemical
the filter media cracked and pulled treatment,insufficient mixing or floc-
away fromthe sidewalls duringoper- culating time or intensity,failure to
ation, because of accumulatedcoating. disperse the coagulant rapidly before
Here again it is seen that,even with hydrolysis and polymerization,and
the cleanest filters,unremovedresid- short-circuiting in mixingand floccula-
uals remained. This plant had single- tion chambers can all produce this
compartment flocculating chambers result.
withmechanicalagitators. Each factor is a matterof design,
In many plants, operators like to exceptforchemicaltreatment, whichis
apply lime for corrosioncontrolpur- in the hands of the operator. Design
poses prior to filtration. This avoids deficienciesin existingplantscan often
the problemof grit depositionin the be correctedby alteringthe point of
filteredwater reservoir. The lime is applicationof the coagulant,eitherby

This content downloaded from 146.201.208.22 on Fri, 02 Oct 2015 03:07:44 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
Oct.1967 MIXINGANDFLOCCULATION
DESIGN 1267

compartmenting flocculatingchambers surge amplitudes,filtration rates,filter

into series operationto reduce short- bed condition,and pH, these data in-
circuiting, in-
or increasingflocculating dicate that variationsin design or op-
tensityor time. Settlingbasin short- erationof pretreatment cause a greater
circuitingcan also be reduced by the effecton filteredwater quality than
installation of effective permeable- do variables in the filtrationprocess.
baffleinlets.
References
Summary 1. Anon. Recommended Standards forWa-
In the clarification of water by co- ter Work. New York State Health
Dept.Bulletin 42 (Jan.1962).
agulation, flocculation,sedimentation, 2. Hudson, H. E. Jr. PhysicalAspectsof
and filtration,it is importantto attain Flocculation.Jour.AWWA, 57:885
speedy,thoroughdispersionof the co- (Jul.1965).
agulant in order to obtain effective 3. Camp,T. R. Flocculation and Floccula-
Thereafter, tion Basins. Trans. ASCE, 120:1
coagulation. protracted (1955).
agitationat controlledmixingintensi- 4. King-BraterHandbookof Hydraulics.
ties is needed to agglomeratefloepar- (FourthEd.) McGraw-Hill 1954.
ticles. Criteriafor design and opera- 5. McMullen,R. B. & Weber,M. Deter-
tion are stated,and graphic solutions mining EfficiencyofContinuous Mixers
for computationof velocitygradients and Reactors.Chem.& Met.Engrg.,
42:254(May1935).
are presented,togetherwith illustra- 6. Calvert,C. K. Raw WaterPreparation
tive data on the measurementand ef- forFiltration.WaterWorksandSew-
fects of short-circuiting.Character- eraae,vol.88 (Jun.1939).
istics of flocculatingdevices are re- 7. Baylis, J. R. Surgesin the Flow of
WaterThroughFilters. Pure Water,
viewed. 10:77(May1958).
Effectivenessof flocculationis ap- 8. Baylis,J.R. A Ten-YearTeston High-
praised by the quality of water pro- Rate Filtration.Pure Water, 11:6
duced by filters,as measuredby bac- (1959).
terialconcentrations, 9. Robeck,G. G. Discussion of Integration
cotton-plug filter of theClarificationProcessby W. R.
determinations, turbidity, color,and re- Conley. Jour.AWWA, 58:95 (Jan.
sidual alumina. Correlated against 1966).

This content downloaded from 146.201.208.22 on Fri, 02 Oct 2015 03:07:44 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions