POLLUTION CONTROL

SEDIMENTATION

Sedimentation
Sedimentation is the tendency for particles in suspension or
molecules in solution to settle out of the fluid in which they
are entrained, and come to rest against a wall. This is due to
their motion through the fluid in response to the forces acting
on them: these forces can be due to gravity, centrifugal
acceleration or electromagnetism

Sedimentation basin

Usually rectangular or circular with either a

radial or upward water flow pattern

Can be divided into 4 zones: inlet, settling,
outlet and sludge storage

SETTLING ZONE

INLET
ZONE

SLUDGE
ZONE

OUTLET
ZONE

Horizontal flow clarifier

OUTLET
ZONE
SETTLING
ZONE
INLET
ZONE

SLUDGE
ZONE

Inlet zone

Purpose : to evenly distribute the flow and

suspended particles across the cross section of

the settling zone

Consists of a series of inlet pipes and baffles
placed about 1m into the tank and extending the
full depth of the tank

End of inlet zone: when the flow pattern is
evenly distributed and the water velocity slowed
to the design velocity of the sedimentation zone

Settling zone

In an accurate design, the inlet and settling zones are each

designed separately and their lengths added together

After passing through the inlet zone, water enters the settling
zone where water velocity is greatly reduced.

This is where the bulk of settling occurs and this zone will
make up the largest volume of the sedimentation basin.

For optimal performance, the settling zone requires a slow,
even flow of water. The settling zone may be simply a large
area of open water.

Outlet zone

To remove the settled water from the basin without

carrying away any of the floc particles

controls the amount of water flowing out of the
sedimentation basin

A fundamental property of water is that the velocity of
flowing water is proportional to the flow rate divided by
the area through which the water flows, that is:
=
where = water velocity, m/s
Q = water flow, m3/s
Ac = cross-sectional area, m2

Sludge storage zone

Depends upon the method of cleaning, the frequency of

cleaning and the quantity of sludge estimated to be produced

The sludge zone is found across the bottom of the
sedimentation basin where the sludge is collected
temporarily . Velocity in this zone should be very slow to
prevent resuspension of sludge.

A drain at the bottom of the basin allows the sludge to be
easily removed from the tank. The tank bottom should slope
toward the drains to further facilitate sludge removal. In
some plants, sludge removal is achieved continuously using
automated equipment. In other plants, sludge must be
removed manually.
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Scouring

Within the sedimentation tank, the flow is going

through a very large area, consequently the

velocity is slow

To remove the water from the basin quickly, it is
desirable to direct the water into a pipe or small
channel for easy transport, which significantly
produce higher velocity

Scouring which is a phenomenon of washing out
the floc will happen if a pipe were to be placed at
the end of the sedimentation basin ( velocity)

It is desirable to first put a series of troughs,
called weirs, which provide a large area for the
water to flow through and minimize the velocity
near the outlet zone

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Weir

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Weir

The length of weir required is a function of the

type of solids

The heavier the solids, the harder it is to scour
them and the higher the allowable outlet
velocity

Heavier particles require a shorter length of weir
than do light particles

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Sedimentation concept


2 important term:

the particle (floc) settling velocity, vs

Overflow rate, vo

If vs > vo, 100% removal of particle

If vs < vo, 0% removal

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Overflow rate: the water is flowing over the top

of the tank into the weir system.

vo = volume/ time = (depth)(surface area) = depth
surface area
vo = V/ = (h)(As) = h
As ()(As)

(time)(surface area)

time

The particle removal is independent of the

depth of the sedimentation tank

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3 assumptions of an ideal horizontal

sedimentation tank:
Particle and velocity vectors are evenly
distributed across the tank cross section. This
is the function of the inlet zone
2. The liquid moves an ideal slug down the length
of the tank
3. Any particle hitting the bottom of the tank is
removed
1.

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Horizontal sedimentation tank

Some particle with vs less than vo will removed

Percentage of particle removed, P

P = 100 vs
vo

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Example

Remove particle that have vs 0.1 mm/s, 0.2 mm/s

and 1 mm/s with vo =17 m3/d.m2

0.1 mm/s
17 m3/d.m2 = 17 m/d (1000 mm/m) = 0.2mm/s
(86400 s/d)
Vs < Vo . So, some particle will be removed.

0.2 mm/s
Vs = Vo . Ideally will be 100% removed.

1 mm/s

Vs > Vo. 100% of the particle easily removed.

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Determination of vs

1. Ideally: vs > vo
2. Determine vs , then set vo to be smaller than
vs
3. Vs varies with type of particle, classified
according to settling properties.

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Type 1 Sedimentation

Particle settle discretely at constant settling velocity.

Settle as individual, do not flocculate or stick to other

particles.

Example: sand and grit material.

Application: 1) removal of sand prior to
coagulation
2) In grit chamber
3) Settling of sand particle
during cleaning of rapid sand
filter

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Type 2 Sedimentation

Particle that flocculate during sedimentation.

Constant change in size and settling velocity.

Generally vs increasing.

Example: Alum and iron

Application: 1) Primary sedimentation

2) Settling tank in trickling

filtration

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Type 3 Sedimentation

Particles are at high concentration (> 1000

mg/L)

Settle as mass with distinct clear zone and
sludge zone.

Application: 1) Lime softening
sedimentation
2) Activated sludge
sedimentation
3) Sludge thickeners

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Determination of vo
for type 1 sedimentation

FD

FB

Particle

FG

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FG = gravitational force
FB = buoyancy force
FD = drag force
FG = gravitational force
S = density of particle, kg/m3
= density of fluid, kg/m3
g = accelaration due to gravity, m/s2
Vp = volume of particle, m3
CD = drag coefficient
Ap = cross sectional area of particle, m2
v = velocity of particle, m/s
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Driving force for accelaration of particle

Drag force is equal to the driving force, the

particle velocity reaches constant value called
terminal settling velocity

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For spherical particles with a diameter = d,

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For spherical particles with a diameter = d,

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Determining CD
CD depend on flow regime surrounding particle:

Laminar: fluid moves in layer or gliding smoothly above
adjacent layer with only molecular interchange of momentum

Turbulent: fluid motion is erratic with violent transverse
interchange of momentum.
Flow is describe using dimensionless ratio,
Reynold No, R

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Determining R
For sphere moving through a liquid:

R= Reynold number
d = diameter of sphere, m
vS = density of sphere, kg/m3
v = kinematic viscosity, m2/s = /
= density of fluid, kg/m3
= dynamic viscosity, Pa.s (appendix A)

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Relation of CD with R

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No

Reynold Number

CD

R > 104

Around 0.4

R < 0.5

CD = 24/R

0.5<R< 104

CD = 24/R+ 3/R1/2 + 0.34

Stokes Law

= dynamic viscosity, Pa.s (appendix A)

Only applied to spherical particle falling under

laminar conditions.

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Derivation
of
Stokes
Law
F = (4/3)r g
(1a)
g

FA = (4/3)r3fg,
Fr = Fg FA = (4/3)r3g(

(1b)
p

f.)

(2)

As soon as the sphere starts moving there is a third force, the frictional
force Ff of the fluid. Its direction is opposite to the direction of motion.
The total resulting force is:
Ftot = Fr, Ff.
(3)
As long as Ftot is positive, the velocity increases. However, Ff is
dependent on the velocity. Over a large range of velocities The frictional
force is proportional to the velocity (v):
Ff = 6rv
(4)
where is the dynamic fluid viscosity

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Derivation of Stokes Law

After some time the velocity does not increase anymore but becomes
constant. Then equilibrium is reached. In other words, Fr is canceled
by Ff and so Ftot = 0. From now on the particle has a constant velocity.
The equilibrium or setting velocity vs can be calculated from (2), (3)
and (4) with Ftot = Fr, Ff = 0. The result is:
vs = (2/9)r2g(p f)/

(5).

= dynamic viscosity, Pa.s (appendix A)

This equation only holds under ideal conditions, such as a very large
fluid medium, a very smooth surface of the sphere and a small radius.

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Now that we have determine vs, we can set vo

Vo is recommended to be set at 0.33 to 0.7 times

depending upon efficiency desired.

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Flocullant Sedimentation Lab or Pilot

Data

The Stokes equation cannot be used because the

flocculating are continually changing in size and

shape, and when water is entrapped in the floc,
in specific gravity.

The concentration of suspended solids is
determined for each sample and the percent
removal is calculated:

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Ct
(100 %)
R% = 1
Co

Where
R% = percent removal at one depth and
time, %
Ct = concentration at time, t, and given
depth
Co = initial concentration, mg/L

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Each intersection point of an isoconcentration line and the

bottom of the column defines an overflow rate (vo ):

H
o =
ti
where H = height of column, m
ti = time defined by intersection of isoconcentration line
and bottom of column (x-axis) where the subscript, i, refers to
the first, second, third, etc., intersection points, d

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RTa = Ra + H1 (Rb - Ra) + H2 (Rc - Rb) + .

H
H
where
RTa = total fraction removed for settling time, ta
Ra, Rb, Rc = isoconcentration fractions a, b, c, etc.
H1 ,H2 = the midpoints between isoconcentration
lines used to calculate the fraction of solids
removed.
Note : Eckenfelder (1980) recommends that scale-up factors of 0.65 for
overflow rate and 1.75 for detention time be used to design the
tank.
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EXAMPLE 4-23

The city of Urbana is planning to install a new

water treatment plant. Design a settling tank to

remove 65% of the influent suspended solids
from their design flow of 0.5m3/s. A batchsettling test using a 2.0 m column and
coagulated water from their existing plant
yielded the following data :

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Percent removal as a function of time and depth

Sampling Time, min

Depth, m

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10

20
20

40
40

60

90

120

0.5

41

50

60

67

72

73

76

1.0

19

33

45

58

62

70

74

2.0

15

31

38
38

54
54

59

63

71

SOLUTION

The plot is shown in Figure 4-40.

Calculate the overflow rate for each intersection

point.

For example, for the 50% line,

(1440 min/d) = 82.3 m/d

Interpolation based on table

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The corresponding removal fraction is

RT50 = 50 + 1.5 (55-50) + 0.85 (60-55) +
2.0
2.0
0.60 (65-60) + 0.40 (70 - 65) +
2.0
2.0
0.20 (75 - 70) + 0.05 (100 -75)
2.0
2.0
= 59.5 or 60%
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This calculation is repeated for each

isoconcentration line that intersects the x-axis

except the last ones for which data are too
sparse (30, 40, 50, 55, 60 and 65%)

Using those calculation, construct two graphs
(Figures 4-41 and 4-42)

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4
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From those graphs (65 percent removal),

bench-scale detention time = 54 min

overflow rate = 50 m/d

Applying the scale-up factors yields
to = (54 min)(1.75) = 94.5 or 95 min
o = (50 m/d)(0.65) = 32.5 m/d

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Zone Sedimentation Lab Data

The design overflow is again set at about 0.5-0.7

the lab value.

A technique has been developed to determine
settling velocities of coagulant flocs from jar
test data (Hudson, 1981)

Typical detention times for waters coagulated
with alum or iron salts are on the order of 2-8
hours. In lime-soda softening plants, the
detention times range from 4-8 hours (Reynolds
and Richards, 1996)
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EXAMPLE 4-24
Determine the surface area of a settling tank
for the city of Urbanas 0.5 m3/s design
overflow rate found in Example 4-23. Compare
this surface area with that which results from
assuming a typical overflow rate of 20 m3/d.
Find the depth of the clarifier for the overflow
rate and detention time found in Example 4-23.

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SOLUTION
a) Find the surface area.

First change the flow rate to compatible

units :
(0.5 m3/s) (86400 s/d) = 43200 m3/d
The surface area :
As = 43200 m3/d = 1329.23 or 1330 m2
32.5 m3/d.m2
Using the overflow rate from Example 4-23.

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OR
As = 43200 m3/d = 2160 m2
20 m3/d.m2
Using the conservative value given
Note: the use of conservative data would, in this case
result in 60% overdesign of the tank area

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Common length-to-width ratios for settling are between

2:1 and 5:1, and lengths seldom exceed 100m. A
minimum of two tanks is always provided.
Assuming 2 tanks, each with a width of 12 m, a total
surface area of 1330m2 would imply a tank length of
1330 m 2
Length =
= 55.4 or 55 m
(2 tanks)(12 m wide)

this meets our length-to-width ratio 5:1

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b)

Find the tank depth.

First, find the total volume tank from Eqn 2-27 using the
detention time of 95 mins from Example 4-23 :
V = (0.5 m3/s) (95 min) (60 s/min)= 2850 m3
This would be divided into 2 tanks as
noted above.
Depth = 2850 m3 = 2.1428 or 2 m
1330 m2

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