WATER TREATMENT PROCESSES AND

TREATMENT UNITS
INTRODUCTION- ANDAL

Clean, safe water is vital for everyday life. Water is essential for health, hygiene and the productivity of
our community.

The water treatment process may vary slightly at different locations, depending on the technology of the
plant and the water it needs to process, but the basic principles are largely the same. This section
describes standard water treatment processes.

Water Treatment is the process of making water suitable or acceptable for an end-use.

Objectives of Water Treatment

Is to produce:

 Water that is safe for human consumption.

 Water that is appealing aesthetically to the consumers.
 Water at a reasonable cost.

Philippine National Drinking Water Standard

Physical Test

Parameters Maximum level* Unit

Conductivity 1000 uS

Total Dissolved Solids 600 mg/L

Color (apparent) 10 TCU

Suspended Solids 30** mg/L

Turbidity 5 FTU

pH 6.5-8.5

* Philippine National Standards for Drinking Water 2007;**Pollution Control Department Std ClassB
 Chemical Test

Parameters Maximum Unit

level*
PO4-2 (Phosphate)

P (Phosphorus)

P2O2 (P. Pentoxide)

Fe+6 (Iron) 1 mg/L

Fl- (Flouride) 1 mg/L

Cl (Chloride) 250 mg/L

Alkalinity as CaCO3 500 mg/L

Hardness as

CaCO3 (Calcium Carbonate) 250 mg/L

Calcium 5 mg/L

Magnesium 50 mg/L

* Philippine National Standards for Drinking Water 2007;**Pollution Control Department Std ClassB
Plain Sedimentation- NINON

As the water and the floc particles progress through the treatment process, they move into sedimentation
basins where the water moves slowly, causing the heavy floc particles to settle to the bottom. Floc which
collects on the bottom of the basin is called sludge, and is piped to drying lagoons. In Direct Filtration, the
sedimentation step is not included, and the floc is removed by filtration only.

Aeration

The process of adding air into wastewater to allow aerobic bio-degradation of the pollutant components. It
is an integral part of most biological wastewater treatment systems. Unlike chemical treatment which uses
chemicals to react and stabilize contaminants in the wastewater stream, biological treatment uses
microorganisms that occur naturally in wastewater to degrade wastewater contaminants.
Sedimentation Tank and It’s Design

It is also called settling tank or clarifier, component of a modern system of water supply or wastewater
treatment. A sedimentation tank allows suspended particles to settle out of water or wastewater as it
flows slowly through the tank, thereby providing some degree of purification. A layer of accumulated
solids, called sludge, forms at the bottom of the tank and is periodically removed. In drinking-water
treatment, coagulants are added to the water prior to sedimentation in order
to facilitate the settling process, which is followed by filtration and other treatment steps. In modern
sewage treatment, primary sedimentation must be followed by secondary treatment (e.g., trickling
filter or activated sludge) to increase purification efficiencies. Sedimentation is usually preceded by
treatment using bar screens and grit chambers to remove large objects and coarse solids.

Sedimentation tanks may be rectangular or circular in shape and are typically about 3 metres (10 feet)
deep. Several tanks are usually provided and arranged for parallel (side-by-side) operation. Influent
(water flowing in) is uniformly distributed as it enters a tank. Clarified effluent (water flowing out) is
skimmed from the surface as it flows over special baffles called weirs. The layer of concentrated solids
that collects at the bottom of the tank is called sludge. Modern sedimentation tanks are equipped with
mechanical scrapers that continuously push the sludge toward a collection hopper, where it is pumped
out.

The efficiency of a sedimentation tank for removing suspended solids depends more on its surface area
than on its depth or volume. A relatively shallow tank with a large surface area will be more effective than
a very deep tank that holds the same volume but has a smaller surface area. Most sedimentation tanks,
though, are not less than 3 metres deep, in order to provide enough room for a sludge layer and a
scraper mechanism.
A technique called shallow-depth sedimentation is often applied in modern treatment plants. In this
method, several prefabricated units or modules of “tube settlers” are installed near the tops of tanks in
order to increase their effective surface area.
Sedimentation with Coagulation

It is by far the most widely used process for the removal of substances producing turbidity in water. If
water has high turbidity, coagulation followed by sedimentation is often used to reduce the quantity of
material prior to entering the filter.

Types of Coagulants- VILLAVERDE

Coagulants neutralize the negative electrical charge on particles, which destabilizes the forces
keeping colloids apart. Water treatment coagulants are comprised of positively charged molecules that,
when added to the water and mixed, accomplish this charge neutralization.

Two main types

 Primary coagulants- neutralize the electrical charges of particles in the water which causes the
particles to clump together.

The common coagulant chemicals used are:

 Aluminum Sulphate (ALUM)

 Ferrous Sulfate (copperas)
 Ferric Sulfate
 Ferric Chloride

o Alum- One of the earliest, and still the most extensively used coagulant, is aluminum
sulfate (Al/S04)3 ·14 HP), also known as alum. Alum is acidic with light tan to grey in
colour and available in blocks, lumps and powder with a density of 1000 -1100 kg/ m3
and specific gravity of 1.25 to 1.36. Alum can be bought in liquid form or in dry form. It is
readily soluble in water. When alum is added to water, it reacts with the water and results
in positively charged ions. The ions can have charges as high as +4, but are typically
bivalent (with a charge of +2.) The bivalent ion . resulting from alum makes this a very
effective primary coagulant.

o Ferrous sulphate- ordinarily known as copperas, is granular acid compound and green to
brownish yellow colour available in granules, crystals and lumps. This is fed usually in
solution form with strength of 4 to 8 %. The alkalinity and pH value of natural water are
too low to react with copperas to form the desired ferric hydroxide floc, because the
reaction involves oxidation by the dissolved oxygen in the water, which does not occur
when pH value is less than 8.5. It is necessary, therefore, to add lime with copperas to
secure coagulation. For this reason, copperas is not used in coagulation of high coloured
water, which coagulates best at pH values less than 6.0. The dose of lime required is
approximately 0.27 mg/L to react with 1.0 mg/L of copperas. Generally the floc formed by
the reaction of copperas and lime is feathery and fragile, but has a high specific gravity.
 o Ferric sulphate- available as a commercial coagulant in the form of an anhydrous
material that may be transported and stored in wooden barrels. The material will dissolve
readily in a limited quantity of warm water so a special solution pot must be used with
chemical feeders, in which 1 part ferric sulphate by volume is dissolved in 2 parts water
to produce a solution of about 40% strength.

 Coagulant aids- is an inorganic material, when used along with main coagulant, improves or
accelerates the process of coagulation and flocculation by producing quick forming, dense and
rapid-settling flocs.

Common coagulant aids are:

 Bentonite
 Calcium carbonate
 Sodium silicate
 Anionic polymer
 Non-ionic polymer

o Lime is a coagulant aid used to increase the alkalinity of the water. The increase
in alkalinity results in an increase in ions (electrically charged particles) in the
water, some of which are positively charged. These positively charged particles
attract the colloidal particles in the water, forming floc.

o Bentonite is a type of clay used as a weighting agent in water high in color and
low in turbidity and mineral content. The bentonite joins with the small floc,
making the floc heavier and thus making it settle more quickly.

o Polyelectrolytes, which are polymers containing ionisable units have been used
successfully as both as coagulant aids and coagulants but care should be taken
to guard against their toxicity.
Polyelectrolytes create extraordinary slippery surfaces when spilled on floor and
are difficult to clean up.
Optimum Doze of Coagulants-

Coagulation should be carried out within this optimum zone using alkalis and acids for correction of pH
where necessary. For many waters, which are low in colours and well buffered and having pH in the
optimum zone, no adjustment of pH is necessary when alum is used as coagulant. Failure to operate
within the optimum pH zone, may be a waste of coagulants and may be reflected in the lowered quality of
the plant effluent.
When ferrous sulphate is used as a coagulant, the pH should be maintained above 9.5 to ensure
complete precipitation of the iron. This is done by the addition of hydrated lime. The treated water should
be corrected with the addition of carbon-di-oxide.

Mixing Devices

 Mixing Basins with Baffle walls

 Mixing Basins with mechanical devices

Design of Flocculation Unit

Destabilized colloids resulting from coagulation may still settle very slowly. Flocculation is a slow mixing
process in which these particles are bought into contact in order to promote their agglomeration.

The objective of flocculation is to provide increase in the number of contacts between coagulated
particles by gentle and prolonged agitation.

Sample Problem:

Flocculation tanks are to be designed for a total flow rate of 49,200 m3 /d. The following conditions
apply to the design: water temperature of 10 o C, total mean detention time of 45 min, basin depth of
3.5 m, 3 parallel trains of flocculators (each train receives one third of the total flow), 3 flocculation
stages of the same dimensions for each train (so a total of 9 flocculators), the first stage G is 50 sec-1,
the second stage G is 35 sec-1, and the third stage G is 20 sec-1.

(solution is on the PDF)

Theory of Filtration-ANDAL

Filtration

The resultant water after sedimentation will not be pure, and may contain some very fine suspended
particles and bacteria in it. To remove or to reduce the remaining impurities still further, the water is
filtered through the beds of fine granular material, such as sand, etc. The process of passing the water
through the beds of such granular materials is known as Filtration.

How Filters Work: Filtration Mechanisms

There are four basic filtration mechanisms:

 SEDIMENTATION : The mechanism of sedimentation is due to force of

gravity and the associate settling velocity of the particle, which causes it to
cross the streamlines and reach the collector.
 INTERCEPTION : Interception of particles is common for large particles. If a
large enough particle follows the streamline, that lies very close to the media
surface it will hit the media grain and be captured.
 BROWNIAN DIFFUSION : Diffusion towards media granules occurs for very
small particles, such as viruses. Particles move randomly about within the
fluid, due to thermal gradients. This mechanism is only important for particles
with diameters < 1 micron.
 INERTIA : Attachment by inertia occurs when larger particles move fast
enough to travel off their streamlines and bump into media grains.

Types of Filter- ANDAL

 Slow sand filter: They consist of fine sand, supported by gravel. They capture particles near the
surface of the bed and are usually cleaned by scraping away the top layer of sand that contains
the particles.

 Rapid-sand filter: They consist of larger sand grains supported by gravel and capture particles
throughout the bed. They are cleaned by backwashing water through the bed to 'lift out' the
particles.

 Multimedia filters: They consist of two or more layers of different granular materials, with
different densities. Usually, anthracite coal, sand, and gravel are used. The different layers
combined may provide more versatile collection than a single sand layer. Because of the
differences in densities, the layers stay neatly separated, even after backwashing.
Sand Filters vs. Rapid Sand Filters

 Base material: In SSF it varies from 3 to 65 mm in size and 30 to 75 cm in depth while in RSF it
varies from 3 to 40 mm in size and its depth is slightly more, i.e. about 60 to 90 cm.

 Filter sand: In SSF the effective size ranges between 0.2 to 0.4 mm and uniformity coefficient
between 1.8 to 2.5 or 3.0. In RSF the effective size ranges between 0.35 to 0.55 and uniformity
coefficient between 1.2 to 1.8.

 Rate of filtration: In SSF it is small, such as 100 to 200 L/h/sq.m. of filter area while in RSF it is
large, such as 3000 to 6000 L/h/sq.m. of filter area.

 Flexibility: SSF are not flexible for meeting variation in demand whereas RSF are quite flexible
for meeting reasonable variations in demand.

 Post treatment required: Almost pure water is obtained from SSF. However, water may be
disinfected slightly to make it completely safe. Disinfection is a must after RSF.

 Method of cleaning: Scrapping and removing of the top 1.5 to 3 cm thick layer is done to clean
SSF. To clean RSF, sand is agitated and backwashed with or without compressed air.

 Loss of head: In case of SSF approx. 10 cm is the initial loss, and 0.8 to 1.2m is the final limit
when cleaning is required. For RSF 0.3m is the initial loss, and 2.5 to 3.5m is the final limit when
cleaning is required.
Disinfection-

Water is disinfected before it enters the distribution system to ensure that any disease-causing bacteria,
viruses, and parasites are destroyed. Chlorine is used because it is a very effective disinfectant, and
residual concentrations can be maintained to guard against possible biological contamination in the water
distribution system.

Methods of disinfection

 Physical Method

o By heat
o By U.V Rays

 Chemical Method
o Oxidizing chemicals
o Metal ions
o Alkali and Acids

 Minor Method
o Boiling of water
o Treatment with excess lime
o Treatment with ozone
o Treatment with iodine and bromine
o Treatment with ultra violet rays
o Treatment with potassium permanganate

Hardness

Water is said to be HARD when it contains relatively large amounts of bicarbonates, carbonates,
sulphates, and chlorides of calcium and magnesium dissolved in it.

2 Types of Hardness

 Temporary Hardness- caused by dissolved bicarbonates of Calcium and

Magnesium
 Permanent Hardness- caused by dissolved chlorides and sulphates of Ca, Mg,
Fe, and Al etc.
Methods of Removing Hardness

 Removal of Temporary Hardness

o Boiling
o By adding Lime

 Removal of Temporary Hardness

o Lime-Soda process
o Zeolite process
o Demineralization or De-ionization process