Water and Wastewater Treatment

(CE F342)
Unit Operations - Granular Filtration
BITS Pilani Module 3-5
Hyderabad Campus
Particle size removal range by
various strategies

2
29/02/2020
BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus
Filtration strategies in water and
waste water treatment

3
29/02/2020
BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus
Filtration strategies

Depth vs Surface Filtration

• In depth filtration, particles

accumulate throughout the
depth of the filter bed by
colliding with and adhering
to the media.

• Captured particles can be

many times smaller than
the pore spaces in the bed

4
29/02/2020
BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus
Granular Filtration

• Most common filtration process

• granular filtration where the suspended or colloidal

impurities are separated from water by passage through
a porous medium.

• To remove fine floc particles, colour, dissolved minerals

and microorganisms including pathogens

• The medium is usually a bed of sand or other media

such as coal, activated carbon, or garnet

5
29/02/2020
BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus
Mechanisms of granular filtration

a. Mechanical straining
b. Sedimentation
c. Flocculation,
d. Interception
e. Impaction
f. Electrolytic
g. Biological action (slow sand
filters)
h. Detachment: Backwashing
(Rapid sand fitters)

6
29/02/2020
BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus
Classification of granular filters

• Type of medium used

– sand, coal (called anthracite ),
– dual media (coal plus sand),
– or mixed media (coal, sand, and garnet).

• Nominal filtration rate or hydraulic loading rate (m3/day·m2, or

m/d).
– slow sand filters (SSF),
– rapid sand filters (RSF),
– high-rate filters
• Gravity or Pressure

7
29/02/2020
BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus
Factors controlling filtration
Filtering material:
– Should remove colloid or suspended particles, should be cheap and easily
available in bulk quantity and cleaning of filtering material should be easy.
Size distribution(Uniformity coefficient):
• Should be free from clay, silt, suspended particles.
• D10: effective size or diameter
• Uniformity coefficient: Cu=D60/D10;
• Cu - 1.8 to 2.5 for SSF; 1.3 to 1.7 for RSF

Effective Size (D10)

– 0.2 - 0.4mm (SSF);
– 0.45 - 0.7 mm (RSF)
• Specific gravity b/t 2.55 - 2.65
• Ignition loss < 0.7% of weight
• Soluble fraction in HCl < 5% of weight
8
29/02/2020
BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus
Slow Sand Filter

• Usually provided after Primary Sedimentation

• Not suitable for dealing with water having appreciable

suspended matter and not provided after coagulation

• Only turbidity removal by straining and bacterial removal

9
29/02/2020
BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus
Slow Sand Filter
Enclosed tank: Usually rectangular tank with waterproof lining below ground level.
– Floor slope 1:200-1:100 towards the central drainage.
– Depth 2.5 - 4 m, Surface area: 50-1000m2
Filter media: Usually sand grain are used
– D10 0.2 - 0.3 mm size, Cu : 2 - 3
– Thickness of the sand layer: 90-110 cm
– Finer sand, more bacterial efficiency
– but longer run time and more frequent cleaning
Base material: Filter material is supported on base material
– Gravel is used as base material of 30-75 m thickness in 3-4 layers
– Thickness of each layer is 15 -20cm
– gravel/sand size in each layer from top Top L1 d1=3-6mm,
L2 d2=6-20mm
L3 d3=20-40 mm
bottom, L4 d4=40-65 mm 10
29/02/2020
BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus
Essential features –slow sand
filter
• Under drainage system:
perforated pipe network:
– Consists of central drain and
lateral drain
– Later drains are perforated pipes
of 10cm diameter
– Spacing: 2-3 m c/c
• Other mechanical devices:
– Measuring head-loss through
filter media
– Maintaining hydraulic head
above the filter media
– Maintaining constant rate of flow
through the filter

11
29/02/2020
BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus
Working of slow sand filter
• Cleaning by straining and microbial
action (at surface of the filter)
• Upper layer over the filter bed –
schmutzdecke (“dirty skin”)
• Next layers - autotrophic zone over
a heterotrophic zone
• In beginning filter head is 10-15cm;
a movable telescopic pipe or
adjustable weir is provided for
maintaining constant discharge.
• Worked upto Maximum head of 65
to 85% of thickness of filter
medium.
• At this point filter operation stopped
and top 15 -30mm of filter layer
scrapped/ removed for cleaning/
washing.
12
29/02/2020
BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus
Working of slow sand filter:

13
29/02/2020
BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus
 14
29/02/2020
BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus
Guidelines

15
29/02/2020
BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus
Rapid sand filters

Differs from Slow sand Filter in

• Effective Size
• Uniformity coefficient, Cu
• Filtration head and rate of filtration
• Method of cleaning and frequency of cleaning
Two types
• Gravity
• Pressure

16
29/02/2020
BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus
RSF – Essential Features

17
29/02/2020
BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus
RSF – Essential Features

Enclosed tank: Usually rectangular tank with waterproof lining below

ground level
– Depth 2.5-3.5 m,
– Surface area: 20-80m2,
– L:B=1.25-1.35
Filter media: Usually sand grain are used
– Size 0.35-0.7 mm size,
– Cu: 1.2-1.7
– Thickness of the sand layer: 60-90cm,

Higher the sand size and more uniform the size (more void space),
filtration rate is faster

18
29/02/2020
BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus
Base material

• Filter material is supported on base material

– Clean Gravel is used as base material of 45-60 m thickness
– Thickness of each layer sand size used from top is 15 cm is
typically
Top L1 d1=2-6mm,
L2 d2=6-12mm
L3 d3=12-20 mm
bottom,L4 d4=20-50 mm
OR

19
29/02/2020
BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus
Working of RSF

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61GlQbwLIY8
20
29/02/2020
BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus
Working of RSF

Cleaning: backwashing
• close the inlet valve and effluent valve
• Flow air at a rate of 1-1.5 m3/min/m2 for 2-3 min: break surface scum and
interaction between sand-deposit loose
• Start backward flow of water with high flow rate
• After backwashing discard the filtered water for few minutes.
• Water used or backwashing is filtered water (<2% of treated water)

Efficiency:
• Can treat 3000-6000 l/hour/m2
• Can reduce 35-45 ppm to 1 ppm.
• Can remove color efficiently, but not taste & odour
• 90-99% bacterial load can be removed-but less compared to SSF
• Can’t remove suspended particles above 50 ppm
21
29/02/2020
BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus
Preparation of Filter sand

• Natural river or run-of-bank sand may be too coarse, too fine, or too
non-uniform for a projected filter.
• Specified sizing and uniformity for filter sand can be obtained by
screening out coarse grains and washing out fines from locally
available stock sand.
• Filter or usable sand is specified in terms of its effective size, D10,
and uniformity coefficient, Cu
• From a Sieve analysis of the stock sand , the coarse and fine
portions of stock sand to be removed are Ptc and Ptf,namely,
• Usable portion in stock sand to be used on filter, 𝑃𝑢𝑠𝑒
𝑃𝑢𝑠𝑒 + 𝑃𝑡𝑐 + 𝑃𝑡𝑓 = 100
• Portions of stock sand that lies between the desired effective size (of
filter sand, D10) and the 60 percentile size (D60) is usable.

22
29/02/2020
BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus
Preparation of Filter sand

If 𝑃60 and 𝑃10 are the percentages of stock sand smaller than
the 60 percentile size of filter sand (D60) and the desired
effective size of filter sand (D10), respectively.

• The sand lying between the P60 and P10 sizes constitutes
half the specified sand,
𝑃𝑢𝑠𝑒 = 2(𝑃60 − 𝑃10)

24
29/02/2020
BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus
Preparation of Filter sand

If we allow one-tenth of the usable sand below the D10

size, the percentage below which the stock sand is too fine
for use is
𝑃𝑡𝑓 = 𝑃10 − 0.1𝑃𝑢𝑠𝑒 = 𝑃10 − 0.2(𝑃60 − 𝑃10)
If also one tenth of usable sand above D60 size is also
included as usable, Then the percentage of stock sand too
coarse equal to
𝑃𝑡𝑐 = 100 − (𝑃𝑢𝑠𝑒 + 𝑃𝑡𝑓) = 𝑃10 + 1.8(𝑃60 − 𝑃10)

Hence Dtf (corresponding to Ptf) and Dtc (corresponding

to Puse+ Ptf) can be found from the graph.
25
29/02/2020
BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus
Preparation of Filter sand -
Example
What must be done to the stock sand given to convert it
into a filter sand of effective size 5 × 10−2 cm and uniformity
coefficient 1.5?

26
29/02/2020
BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus
Example soln

27
29/02/2020
BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus
Reading

Underdrainage system
Appertunances
Filter Troubles
Performance of Rapid sand Filters

29
29/02/2020
BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus
Loss of head and negative head

• Loss of head more than

the static head above the
sand bed.

• Water being sucked due to

vacuum rather than gravity
flow.

• Permissible head loss

usually 2.5 to 3.5 m

30
29/02/2020
BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus
 31
29/02/2020
BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus
Idealized turbidity and head loss
during a filter run

90 percent of the
particles that pass
through a well-
operating filter do so
during the ripening
stage

32
29/02/2020
BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus
Classification of rapid filtration by
pretreatment level

33
29/02/2020
BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus
 34
29/02/2020
BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus
 35
29/02/2020
BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus
Rapid Vs Slow sand Filters

Slow sand filter: The rate of flow are normally very less
compared to rapid sand filter
– More suitable for removal of colloidal particles and bacterial
colloid
– Suspended particles might cause too much straining and clogging
of pores rapidly

Rapid sand filter: The rate of flow are normally significantly

high compared to slow sand filter
– Can removal suspended particles as well as some colloidal
particles and some of the bacterial colloid

36
29/02/2020
BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus
 37
29/02/2020
BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus
Pressure filter

• 6000 – 15000 l/ hr / m2
• Not used for Municipal water
supplies

• Swimming pools, clarifying

softened water in industries

• Unreliable in removal of bacteria

38
29/02/2020
BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus
Other types

• Double filtration
– RSF and SSF in series
– Roughing filter
– Rates of SSF could be increased

• Dual Media Filters

– Finer particles settle in top layers after backwashing – filter run
time reduced
– This effect reduced if the layers are coarse to fine
– Anthracite (larger and lower Sp.Gr.) and then sand
– Filter runs 1.5 to 3 times longer

39
29/02/2020
BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus
Other types - For reading

• Mixed media filters

• Upflow filters

• Biflow filters

• Micro Strainers

• Diatomaceous Filter

40
29/02/2020
BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus
Filtration hydraulics – Rose Equation

The hydraulic issues to be considered in the design of a filter

system include:
• head loss through a clean filter bed,
• head loss resulting from the accumulation of particles in the
bed,
• the fluidization depth of the bed during backwashing,
• head loss in expanding the filter bed.

Equations describing head loss here limited to clean filter beds,

but provide an opportunity to examine the initial stages of
filtration and the effects of design variables on head loss.

41
29/02/2020
BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus
Rose Equation – Stratified sand

The head loss through a clean stratified-sand filter with

uniform porosity described by Rose (1945)

2 𝑛
1.067𝐷𝑣𝑎 𝐶𝐷𝑖 𝑥𝑖
ℎ𝐿 = ෍
𝑔𝑒 4 ∅𝑠 𝑑𝑖
𝑖=1

𝑑𝑖 - The mean size of the material retained between successive sieve sizes is
assumed to correspond the geometric mean size of successive sieves. It is
calculated as 𝑑𝑖 = 𝑑1 × 𝑑2 where d1 and d2 are diameter of upper and
lower sieve openings, mm

𝑥𝑖 = wt. fraction of particles of size 𝑑𝑖

ie. wt. fraction of particles retained by adjacent sieves
42
29/02/2020
BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus
Rose Equation –uniform
unstratified sand
The head loss through a clean uniform sand filter
with uniform porosity
𝐷 1 𝑣𝑎 2
ℎ𝐿 = 1.067𝐶𝐷
∅𝑠 𝑑 𝑒 4 𝑔
D - depth of the filter
e - porosity
𝑣𝑎 - Q/A –approach velocity or average superficial velocity (also known
as face velocity, filtration rate, or loading rate),m/s (or m3/s · m2 of
surface area)
∅𝑠 - shape factor of the particles fo non spherical particles
d – representative size

43
29/02/2020
BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus
 44
29/02/2020
BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus
Problem

A City has population of 1,00,000 with an average rate of

Demand 160 lpcd. Find the area of rapid sand filters.

Hints:
Max daily demand = 1.8 x average
Assume L: B ratio 1:1.5

45
29/02/2020
BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus
Example 1

• In a water treatment plant raw water is passed through

filter bed of uniform sand at a velocity of 5 m/hour. The
filter is made of sand grains of diameter = 0.4mm, shape
factor=0.85 and specific gravity 2.65. the depth of the
bed is 0.67 m and the porosity id 0.4. Determine the
head loss though the bed. (Density of water = 998 kg/m 3;
dynamic viscosity of water = 1x10-3 kg/ms)

46
29/02/2020
BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus
 Problem

• Estimate the clean filter head loss in a proposed new sand

filter using the sand given. Use the following assumptions:
loading rate is 216 m3/d·m2, specific gravity of sand is 2.65,
the shape factor is 0.82, the bed porosity is 0.45, 1.306 x 10-
6 m2/s, and the depth of sand is 0.5 m.

47
29/02/2020
BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus
 48
29/02/2020
BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus
• A rapid sand filter is to be provided in a water treatment plant to
process the water for town of population of 2,75,000.the water
demand is 200 lpcd. The rate of filtration is 15 m 3/m2/hour. Allow 5%
of filtered water for storage to meet backwash requirements each
backwashing period is of 30 min

• Determine the number of filters required allowing one stand by unit

• The available surface area configuration of filter unit is 10 x 4m.

49
29/02/2020
BITS Pilani, Hyderabad Campus
 BITS Pilani
Hyderabad Campus

Thank You