38
Coagulation and filtration
Caroline S. Fitzpatrick and John Gregory
Department of Civil Engineering, University College London, WC1E 6BT, UK
1 INTRODUCTION
Physical separation of particles, including
microbes, from water can be achieved by a
few basic processes: sedimentation (including
centrifugation), flotation and various forms of
filtration. All particle separation processes
depend greatly on particle size, and different
techniques are appropriate for different size
ranges.
The diagram in Fig. 38.1 shows examples of
various particles, including microbes, over a
wide range of size, together with appropriate
separation techniques. The conventional
boundary between colloidal and suspended
particles is shown at 1 mm, but this is a rather
arbitrary distinction. The most common pro-
cesses used in water and wastewater treatment
are gravity sedimentation, flotation (usually
dissolved air flotation, DAF) and filtration
through beds of granular media, such as sand
(depth filtration). All of these become more
effective for larger particles. Removal of par-
ticles of a few micrometres or less is quite
difficult by these processes.
By using membranes with suitable pore
dimensions it is possible, in principle, to
remove particles and dissolved impurities of
any size. Depending on the type of membrane
used, and the applied pressure, the processes
of microfiltration, ultrafiltration, nanofiltration
and hyperfiltration (or reverse osmosis) are
possible. These are absolute filtration tech-
niques, in that all particles and molecules
above a certain cut-off size are removed, unless
failure occurs.
Depth filtration, through beds of granular
filter media, is a very widely-used technique in
The Handbook of Water and Wastewater Microbiology
ISBN 0-12-470100-0
practice. In very many cases the particles to be
removed are considerably smaller than the
effective pore size, so that simple straining is
not the operative mechanism. Instead, removal
occurs by particle capture on the surfaces of filter
grains, or of existing deposits of particles.
Depth filtration is not an absolute separation
method since some particles may avoid capture
and penetrate right through the bed.
Since conventional separation techniques
are not especially effective for particles of
colloidal dimensions (including bacteria and
viruses), it is necessary to increase their size in
some way. The only practical method is to
cause particles to aggregate, forming larger
units. The aggregation process may be known
variously as agglomeration, coagulation or floccu-
lation, depending on the field of application
and on the supposed mechanism. In water and
wastewater treatment, the terms ‘coagulation’
and ‘flocculation’ are in common use and the
distinction will be explained later.
In general, aggregates can be separated
much more readily than the original particles.
Sedimentation rates, for instance, can be
increased many fold. In a typical water treat-
ment sequence, a coagulation/flocculation
process is followed by some form of sedimen-
tation, which removes most of the particulate
impurities. The water then passes through a
granular filter, where the remaining particles
are nearly all removed. Effective coagulation is
vital to the success of such a procedure.
In membrane filtration, the separated par-
ticles can build up on the membrane, forming a
filter cake, which may play a large part in the
removal of further particles. Small particles,
especially those in the colloidal size range, give
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634 Coagulation and filtration
filter cakes of very low permeability and hence
low filtration rates. Again, aggregation can give
a marked improvement.
In this chapter we shall review the more
important aspects of coagulation/flocculation
and depth filtration processes. No further
discussion of membrane filtration will be
given. There is a large and growing body of
literature on this subject (see Mallevialle et al.,
1996).
The subject of colloid interactions is very
important in both coagulation and filtration,
since attachment of particles to each other or to
filter media is essential.
2 COLLOIDAL INTERACTIONS
AND COLLOID STABILITY
2.1 General
For effective coagulation and filtration, there
must be attractive forces between particles or
between particles and filter media, so that
attachment can occur.
Colloidal particles in water interact with
each other in various ways to give either
repulsion or attraction. If there is significant
repulsion between particles, then they will not
Fig. 38.1 Particle
size ranges and
appropriate separ-
ation methods.
be able to come into close contact and
aggregation will be prevented. Such particles
are said to be colloidally stable, in the sense that
they remain dispersed over long times. The
most common reason for colloid stability is the
fact that most particles in water are charged
and hence repel each other electrically. Similar
considerations apply to the attachment of
particles to filter media.
If there is only limited repulsion between
particles, or if there is an attraction, then
aggregation can occur when particles collide
and the suspension is said to be unstable.
The important types of interaction between
particles in water are:
1. van der Waals attraction
2. Electrical interaction, usually giving a
repulsion
3. Steric repulsion, associated with adsorbed
layers on particles
4. Bridging by adsorbed polymers giving an
attraction
5. Hydrophobic attraction.
All of these interactions (except possibly
hydrophobic attraction) are of rather short
range. Typically, they act over a range con-
siderably less than the particle size. This means

that they only come into play when particles
are nearly in contact and they have little
influence over the transport of particles in
coagulation or filtration processes.
Furthermore, the magnitude of these inter-
actions is roughly proportional to the particle
size, which has very important implications in
practice. Other forces, such as gravity and
hydrodynamic drag, have different depen-
dence on particle size. Thus the gravitational
attraction on a particle depends on the mass of
the particle and is hence proportional to the
cube of the size. The drag force on a particle in a
flowing fluid is dependent on the square of the
particle size. It follows that these ‘external’
forces become very important for larger par-
ticles and can be much larger than the
‘colloidal’ interactions listed above. Conver-
sely, colloidal interactions usually predominate
for smaller particles, typically of the order of a
few micrometres or less. This is the reason for
the term ‘colloidal interactions’.
Although all of the interactions 1 –5 above
can be important in practice, we shall here
concentrate on van der Waals attraction and
electrical repulsion, since these form the basis
of the DLVO theory of colloid stability, which
will be reviewed briefly below. Polymer brid-
ging will be discussed separately, under the
heading of Polymeric flocculants.
2.2 van der Waals attraction
The universal attractive forces between
atoms and molecules, originally postulated
by van der Waals, have long been known to
act between all materials (e.g. Israelachvili,
1991). Between equal spherical particles of
radius a, separated by a distance d, the
van der Waals interaction energy, VA, is given
approximately by:
Aa
VA ¼ 2 ð1Þ
12d
where A is the Hamaker constant, which depends
on the properties of the particles and water. For
aqueous suspensions, this ranges between
about 5 and 100 £ 10221 J. The lower values
are typical of biological particles such as
bacteria and algae. Dense mineral particles
2Colloidal interactions and colloid stability 635
have much higher values. An expression of
similar form to equation (1), but with a factor 1/
6, applies to the interaction between a spherical
particle and a flat surface, which is a reasonable
model for a colloidal particle approaching the
surface of a much larger filter grain.
Equation (1) applies only to very close
approach, where d ,, a, but the interaction
is often negligible at larger distances. The
negative sign implies, by convention, an
attraction. The energy is proportional to par-
ticle size, as mentioned above, and depends
inversely on separation distance, becoming
very large as particles come into contact.
van der Waals attraction is essential in
coagulation and filtration, and we have to be
aware of its presence. However, there is no
realistic method by which the attraction can be
significantly altered in practical systems and we
shall not go any further into theoretical aspects.
2.3 Electrical interaction
Particles in aqueous suspensions usually carry
a surface charge. This may arise for several
reasons, including ionization of surface groups
and adsorption of certain ions. Biological
surfaces are usually charged through acid–
base interactions, such as the ionization of
carboxylic acid groups and the protonation of
amine groups. Oxide surfaces are charged by
virtue of protonation/deprotonation of surface
hydroxyl groups. In these cases the surface
charge depends greatly on the pH of the
solution, with positive values at low pH and
negative charge at high pH. There is a
characteristic pH value at which the surface
charge is zero, with equal numbers of positive
and negative surface groups. This is the
point of zero charge ( pzc), which is a very
important surface characteristic. The charging
of a hypothetical biological surface is shown
schematically in Fig. 38.2.
Whatever the origin of surface charge, it must
be associated with an appropriate number of
oppositely charged ions (counterions) in sol-
ution, so that overall the system has no
net charge. A surface charge, together with
counterions in solution gives an electrical double
layer, the structure of which is very important in
636 Coagulation and filtration
Fig. 38.2 Surface charge development by ionization
of surface groups. The point of zero charge (pzc)
occurs at a characteristic value.
governing the interaction between charged
particles. A simple model of the double layer
is shown in Fig. 38.3. This shows the variation
of electric potential, c, with distance from
the surface. At the surface the value is c0 (the
surface potential). For a short distance from the
surface (of the order of the size of a hydrated
ion), the potential drops quite rapidly to a value
cd (the Stern potential). (The region close to the
surface is known as the Stern layer.) Further from
the surface, the potential decays in an approxi-
mately exponential manner, according to:
c ¼ cd expð2kxÞ ð2Þ
Fig. 38.3 A simple model of the electrical double
layer.
where
x is the distance from the Stern plane and
k is a parameter which determines the rate
of decrease of potential with distance.
k is known as the Debye-Hückel parameter and
has a great influence on colloid interactions. It
has the dimensions of reciprocal length (m21)
and depends on the valence and concentration
of ions present in solution. For aqueous
solutions at 258C, it is given by:
qffiffiffiffiffiffi
X 2
k ¼ 2:32 £ 109 ci zi ð3Þ
The distance 1/k, effectively the ‘thickness’
of the double layer, ranges from around 1 to
100 nm in typical salt solutions. In 1024 M NaCl
the value is about 30 nm. In a natural water
with a high level of dissolved salts the distance
can be much lower, for instance in River
Thames water the value is about 4 nm.
Experimentally, charged particles can be
investigated by a range of electrokinetic tech-
niques, such as microelectrophoresis, in which
the velocity of a particle in an electric field is
determined. This gives a value of electric
potential at the plane of shear, or slipping
plane, between the particle and the fluid: the
zeta potential, z. The slipping plane is generally
assumed to be close to the Stern plane, so
that the zeta potential can be used instead of
the Stern potential (which is not directly
measurable).
When two charged particles approach each
other their diffuse layers overlap and this leads
to a repulsion or attraction, depending on the
signs of charge. For similar spherical particles,
radius a, there is a repulsion and the interaction
energy is given approximately by:
VR ¼ 2peaz2 expð2kdÞ ð4Þ
where
e is the electron charge and
d is the separation distance between the
particles.
The magnitude of the repulsion depends
greatly on the zeta potential, but the range of
interaction is determined by the parameter k.
For the case of a sphere, radius a, approach-
ing a flat surface (representing a particle and
the surface of a filter grain), the corresponding

expression is:
4peaz1 z2 expð2kdÞ ð5Þ
where z1 and z2 are the zeta potentials of the
particle and surface.
With different signs of zeta potentials
equation (5) predicts an attraction between
particle and surface. Thus particles of opposite
charge to filter media should be able to attach
without difficulty, which is intuitively reason-
able. However, this condition does not necess-
arily lead to good operation of deep bed filters
(see below).
2.4 DLVO theory of colloid stability
The first truly quantitative treatment of colloid
stability and coagulation was developed inde-
pendently by Deryagin and Landau (1941) and
Verwey and Overbeek (1948). This is now
generally known simply as DLVO theory.
Essentially, van der Waals attraction and
electrical repulsion are assumed to be additive
and combine to give the total energy of
interaction between particles as a function of
separation distance.
Fig. 38.4 Potential energy diagram for the interaction of spherical colloidal particles, diameter 1 mm and zeta
potential 25 mV. The Hamaker constant is assumed to be 2 kT and the medium is an aqueous solution of 1-1
electrolyte at a concentration of 50 mM.
2Colloidal interactions and colloid stability 637
From equations (1) and (4), the total inter-
action energy between similar particles, radius
a, separated by a distance d is:
Aa
VT ¼ 2peaz2 expð2kdÞ 2 ð6Þ
12d
When the interaction energy is plotted as a
function of separation distance, a characteristic
potential energy diagram is obtained (Fig. 38.4).
Depending on the relative contributions of the
repulsion and attraction terms, there may be a
significant energy barrier which prevents close
approach of the particles. Under these con-
ditions, the particles are said to be stable and
coagulation would occur only very slowly, if at
all. This situation would arise for particles of
high zeta potential and in solutions of low ionic
strength. Ionic strength affects the parameter k
and hence the range of electrical repulsion. As
ionic strength is increased, repulsion occurs
over a more limited range and so the attraction
term becomes relatively important. Another
factor is that, at higher salt concentrations, the
zeta potential is usually reduced, which also
has the effect of reducing repulsion. Thus
increasing ionic strength eventually causes
638 Coagulation and filtration
the repulsion to be reduced sufficiently to
eliminate the potential energy barrier, allowing
particles to coagulate at the most rapid rate.
The energies in Fig. 38.4 are plotted in units
of kT, where k is Boltzmann’s constant and T is
the absolute temperature. For barriers greater
than about 10 kT it would be very unlikely that
colliding particles would have sufficient ther-
mal energy to surmount the barrier. However,
in practical flocculation processes, energy
imparted by fluid motion may be important.
Once the energy barrier is removed, par-
ticles should be able to come into close contact
and be held in a deep primary energy minimum.
In principle, the van der Waals attraction
should become infinite on contact of particles
when d ¼ 0 (see equation (1)). However, certain
types of short-range repulsion (for instance
hydration effects) prevent true contact and the
attraction remains finite, so that coagulated
particles can often be re-dispersed.
Another aspect of the potential energy
diagram is the presence of a secondary minimum
in the interaction energy. This arises because
the electrical repulsion decreases exponentially
with distance, equation (4), and van der Waals
attraction has an inverse distance dependence,
equation (1). The attraction term will always be
greater at sufficiently large separation. For
particles larger than about 1 mm, this can lead
to a significant attraction, even when there is a
high energy barrier and the particles should be
colloidally stable. The secondary minimum can
give rather weak aggregates, which are easily
re-dispersed, but may be important in some
cases.
The DLVO theory allows conditions of
stability and coagulation to be predicted,
provided that the relevant information is
available. In particular it is possible to calculate
the salt concentration needed to eliminate the
energy barrier and give rapid coagulation. This
is the critical coagulation concentration, which
will be discussed in the next section.
The concepts outlined above apply also to
the attachment of particles to filter media.
In this case, the particles and filter media may
have different signs of charge and there is the
possibility of an electrical attraction, which
would give strong attachment. However, in
building up layers of deposited particles, as is
usually the case, particle –particle interaction
is relevant and this still needs to be favour-
able for attachment. Thus negative particles
would have no difficulty in attaching to a
positively-charged surface, but further parti-
cles would not attach to those already
deposited if there were significant repulsion
between them.
3 COAGULATION AND
FLOCCULATION
3.1 Effects of salts
In order to modify colloid stability and
promote coagulation, it is usually necessary
to reduce electrical repulsion between par-
ticles. (In practice, very little can be done to
increase van der Waals attraction.) As shown
above, increasing ionic strength causes a
reduced repulsion. Salts which act simply by
reducing the range of electrical repulsion,
possibly also with some reduction in zeta
potential, are known as indifferent electrolytes.
Their effect can be examined by considering
equation (6). If this is differentiated with
respect to separation distance, it is possible to
find the condition where the potential energy
barrier just disappears, i.e. where:
dV
¼ 0 and VT ¼ 0
dd
This condition occurs at the critical coagu-
lation concentration, ccc, and it can be shown
that:
z4
ccc / ð7Þ
A 2 z2
This shows a strong dependence on zeta
potential, the Hamaker constant A and the
valence of the ions, z. The dependence on z is
significant, since it shows that salts with highly
charged ions (especially counterions) will be
more effective in promoting coagulation.
Such ions also tend to have a larger effect on
zeta potential, which increases their coagulat-
ing effect.

Equation (7) is based on an approximation
for fairly low values of zeta potential. Another
result from DLVO theory suggests that, for high
zeta potentials there should be a much stronger
dependence on valence (ccc / 1=z6 ) and this
has become known as the Schulze-Hardy rule.
Experimentally, it is well established that the
ccc depends strongly on counterion valence,
although quantitative agreement with the 1/z 6
is not often found.
Another important effect occurs with salts
containing specifically adsorbing counterions.
These bind to surfaces not only by electrostatic
attraction, but also by some form of ‘chemical’
interaction. This has the very important con-
sequence that the surface charge of particles
can be reversed by specifically-adsorbed coun-
terions. The fact that this ‘super-equivalent’
adsorption must occur against an electrostatic
repulsion means that there must be an
additional attractive component. There are
many examples, such as the adsorption of
calcium ions on surfaces with carboxylate
groups.
Salts with specifically-adsorbing counter-
ions are more effective in destabilizing charged
particles than indifferent electrolytes and so
can cause coagulation at lower concentrations
than expected from simple DLVO theory.
Furthermore, the ccc should depend on the
particle concentration (or, more strictly, the
particle surface area), which is not the case for
indifferent electrolytes, whose effect depends
simply on ionic strength. Charge reversal
implies that particles can become restabilized
when excess counterions are adsorbed and this
is a very important effect in practice. For
coagulants of this type there is a critical
coagulation concentration (ccc) and a critical
restabilization concentration (crc) when charge
reversal has occurred and the particles repel
each other. Between these two concentrations
there is an optimum coagulation concentration or
optimum dosage of coagulant. The optimum
dosage region is found to correspond with
counterion concentrations which give charge
neutralization. In the case of surfaces with a
pH-dependent surface charge, such as oxides
changing pH can bring about coagulation and
the optimum pH region is around the pzc.
3Coagulation and flocculation 639
3.1.1 Action of hydrolysing metal
coagulants
In water and wastewater treatment salts of
aluminium and iron are widely used as
coagulants. In water these give Al3þ and Fe3þ,
which might be thought to be very effective for
coagulation of negative particles by virtue of
their high positive charge. However, this
explanation is greatly oversimplified. Highly-
charged cations in water become strongly
hydrated, giving, for instance, Al(H2O)3þ
6 . The
high charge on the central cation causes
polarization of the hydration layer and a
tendency to release protons. This causes a
progressive replacement over water molecules
by hydroxyl ions in the hydration layer, giving
the following sequence (omitting hydration
water for simplicity):
Al3þ ! AlðOHÞ2þ ! AlðOHÞþ
2 ! AlðOHÞ3
! AlðOHÞ2
4
These hydrolysis reactions are strongly
influenced by pH: the higher the pH the greater
the tendency for formation of hydroxylated
species. The uncharged hydroxide Al(OH)3 has
very low solubility in water and hence forms a
precipitate. This occurs most readily at around
neutral pH. Fig. 38.5 shows the concentration
of various hydrolysis species of Al in equili-
brium with amorphous Al(OH) 3 . Similar
hydrolysis reactions occur with ferric salts in
water, although ferric hydroxide is consider-
ably less soluble than Al(OH)3 and precipitates
over a wide pH range.
In addition to monomeric hydrolysis pro-
ducts, it is known that dimers, such as
Al2(OH)4þ2 and larger units can form. The
tridecamer Al13O4(OH)7þ 24 or ‘Al13’ has been
reported in many studies and identified by
NMR techniques (Bertsch et al., 1986). These are
also shown in Fig. 38.5.
Most of the important hydrolysis products
are positively charged and they are known to
adsorb strongly on negative surfaces, with
specific interactions probably playing an
important role (Stumm, 1992). They are thus
able to neutralize the charge of particles in
water and this is one way in which particles
can be destabilized. This often occurs at quite
640 Coagulation and filtration
low coagulant concentrations and may be
followed by restabilization at somewhat higher
dosages. For kinetic reasons (see later) coagu-
lation may not be satisfactory in the charge
neutralization region and at still higher
dosages another effect becomes important,
related to hydroxide precipitation. This is
commonly known as ‘sweep coagulation’ and
is thought to occur by enmeshment of impurity
particles in growing hydroxide precipitates.
This can lead to quite large flocs, although they
are usually of low density, containing large
amounts of water. For this reason, sludges from
water treatment plants can present significant
dewatering problems.
Another type of coagulant, now widely used
in practice, is based on pre-hydrolysed forms
of aluminium and iron. Those based on
aluminium are most common commercially
and typical products are known as polyalumi-
nium chloride (PAC). These are made by
Fig. 38.5 Diagram
showing soluble alu-
minium species, in
equilibrium with
amorphous alu-
minium hydroxide,
as a function of pH.
controlled neutralization of concentrated
AlCl3 solutions with base. The degree of
neutralization is very important and ranges
from about 1 to 2.5 equivalents of base per mole
of Al. Three equivalents of base would give
Al(OH)3 and hydroxide precipitation. By limit-
ing the degree of neutralization, intermediate,
soluble, hydrolysis products are formed,
including polymerized forms such as ‘Al13’,
mentioned above. Under the right conditions,
the Al13 product can be the predominant form.
PAC is a very effective coagulant and can give
more rapid coagulation and larger flocs than
conventional ‘alum’. These products are found
to be especially useful at low temperatures,
where conventional coagulants have reduced
efficiency. Part of their effect is due to the high
charge of the polycations and their strong
adsorption on negatively charged surfaces.
This would give effective charge neutrali-
zation, but it is highly likely that precipitation

also plays an important role. The detailed
mode of action of PAC and similar coagulants
has yet to be elucidated.
Hydrolysing coagulants are also effective in
removing dissolved organic matter, such as
humic substances, from water. The mechanism
may be charge neutralization or adsorption on
precipitated hydroxide (Bose and Reckhow,
1998).
3.2 Polymeric flocculants
Organic polymers, both natural and synthetic,
can adsorb on a wide range of surfaces and
have a great effect on particle interactions and
hence on colloid stability (see Gregory, 1996).
Polymers may give enhanced stability, for
instance by steric stabilization, or may promote
aggregation of particles. We shall only be
concerned with the latter aspect here.
Extracellular polymers, such as polysacchar-
ides, are produced and exuded by many
bacteria and play a large part in bioflocculation,
for instance in the activated sludge process
(Morgan et al., 1990). Also, natural polymers,
extracted from certain plant products
(especially nuts and seeds) have been found
to act as flocculants (e.g. Muyibi and Evison,
1995). However, most commercial applications
use synthetic polymers.
3.2.1 Polymer bridging
Polymers of high molecular weight may
adsorb on surfaces from solutions in such a
way that parts of the polymer chain extend
into the solution. This gives the possibility that
3Coagulation and flocculation 641
parts of the same polymer chain can adsorb on
different particles, leading to polymer bridging
as a means of binding particles together. This
is illustrated schematically in Fig. 38.6a.
Polymer bridging is now recognized as a
very important mechanism in practice. It is
most effective with linear, high molecular
weight (several millions) polymers. Aggrega-
tion brought about in this way is often known
as flocculation, in order to distinguish it from
coagulation caused by salts. However, this
distinction is not universally used and the
terms are often used interchangeably.
Many types of polymer are effective as
flocculants, but only relatively few are used
commercially. Polymers may be non-ionic,
anionic or cationic, and if there are ionic
groups, the products are known as polyelec-
trolytes. By far the most important are those
based on polyacrylamide, which can be pro-
duced with very high molecular weights (20
million or more). Nominally, polyacrylamide is
non-ionic, but controlled hydrolysis of amide
groups gives carboxylic acid groups, which can
ionize at around neutral pH and higher to give
anionic sites. Cationic polyelectrolytes can be
synthesized by copolymerization of acryl-
amide with suitable cationic monomers. This
is a common route to commercial cationic
polyelectrolytes of high molecular weight.
The most important characteristics of poly-
meric flocculants are the molecular weight and,
in the case of polyelectrolytes, the charge
density.
For effective bridging flocculation polymers
must adsorb on particles to give only partial
surface coverage, with segments extending
Fig. 38.6 Schematic
illustration of (a)
bridging flocculation
and (b) restabiliza-
tion by adsorbed
polymers.
642 Coagulation and filtration
some distance from the surface. If too much
polymer is adsorbed then there are not enough
surface sites remaining to form links with other
particles. This is another form of restabilization
(Fig. 38.6b) and means that there is usually an
optimum dosage for polymeric flocculants. It is
often assumed that optimum bridging floccu-
lation corresponds to conditions where about
half of the available surface area is occupied by
adsorbed polymer, although this concept is
quite difficult to verify.
A major advantage of polymeric flocculants
is that they can produce aggregates (flocs)
which are much stronger (and hence larger)
than those produced simply by the effect of
salts. For this reason they are used when flocs
are subject to high shear rates such as in certain
types of centrifuge. In conjunction with hydro-
lysing salts, polymeric flocculants at very low
dosages can give greatly enhanced floc strength.
3.2.2 Electrical effects
Very often it is found that the most effective
flocculants are polyelectrolytes of opposite
sign to the particle charge. For instance,
negatively charged particles can be readily
flocculated by cationic polyelectrolytes. The
opposite charges provide an electrostatic
attraction, which promotes adsorption, but
there is also the possibility of charge neutral-
ization reducing the colloid stability, as in the
case of specifically-adsorbing counterions. The
optimum dosage region would then corre-
spond to amounts of polymer needed to
neutralize the particle charge. In many cases
polyelectrolytes of low molecular weight and
high charge density are effective. In this case,
bridging is unlikely because of the short chain
length and the tendency for adsorbed poly-
electrolytes to adopt a rather flat configuration
at the surface. These products are some-
times called ‘coagulants’, to distinguish them
from flocculants, which act by a bridging
mechanism.
A variant of the simple charge neutralization
picture is the Electrostatic patch mechanism
(Gregory, 1973). This is illustrated schematically
in Fig. 38.7, for the case of a cationic polyelec-
trolyte adsorbing on a negatively-charged
particle surface. This model applies to a system
Fig. 38.7 ‘Electrostatic patch’ interaction with cat-
ionic polyelectrolyte adsorbed on negatively
charged particles.
where the surface charge density of the particles
is quite low and the polyelectrolyte has a high
charge density. In such a case the separation
between charges along the polymer chain is less
than the distance between charged sites on the
particle surface. This means that, when the
particle charge is balanced overall by adsorbed
polyelectrolyte, the surface sites cannot all be
neutralized individually. The surface then has
adsorbed ‘islands’ or ‘patches’ of excess posi-
tive charge, surrounded by uncoated, negative
regions. When particles with polyelectrolyte
adsorbed in a ‘patchwise’ manner approach
each other there can be a significant electrical
attraction between the oppositely-charged sur-
face regions. This gives stronger flocs than
would be expected on the basis of simple charge
neutralization, although not generally as strong
as flocs produced as a result of bridging by long-
chain polymers.
The electrostatic patch model is now widely
accepted and appears to be relevant to many
practical applications.
3.3 Coagulation kinetics
Particles must collide with each other in order
to coagulate, so that the rate of coagulation
depends on the particle collision frequency.
Depending on the interactions between collid-
ing particles, collisions may or may not result

in the formation of aggregates. The fraction of
successful collisions is known as the collision
efficiency, a. When there is significant repulsion
between particles the collision efficiency will be
very low, but when repulsion has been elimi-
nated, by suitable chemical treatment, a can
approach unity, so that nearly every collision
results in attachment.
Detailed accounts of this subject can be
found elsewhere (e.g. Elimelech et al., 1995).
Only a brief and selective treatment can be
given here.
The frequency of collisions between par-
ticles of type i and j depends on the product of
their concentrations, the collision efficiency and
a rate coefficient, kij, which depends on the mode
of transport of particles (see below):
Jij ¼ akij ni nj ð8Þ
where
Jij is the number of collisions occurring
between i and j particles and
ni and nj are their number concentrations.
The rate coefficient depends on the particle
sizes and on certain physical factors. Relative
motion between particles, leading to collisions,
may caused by:
1. Brownian motion (perikinetic coagulation)
2. Fluid motion (orthokinetic coagulation)
3. Differential settling.
Of these, Brownian motion is important only
for quite small particles and is not usually able
to produce the large flocs that are required in
most practical applications. Usually, some form
of agitation, such as in stirred tanks or flow-
through reactors is applied, causing particle
collisions. With a range of particle sizes,
different settling rates cause relative motion
and hence collisions. This can become signifi-
cant as flocs grow quite large.
In the most important case of orthokinetic
collisions, the rate of coagulation can be written
in terms of the rate of reduction of particle
number concentration, since each successful
collision results in the net loss of one particle:
dn 16 2
2 ¼ an Ga3 ð9Þ
dt 3 n0
3Coagulation and flocculation 643
This expression is based on the assumption
of spherical particles, radius a, in a laminar
shear field with a uniform shear rate G. The
particle number concentration is n. These are
highly restrictive conditions, which would not
apply in practical coagulation processes.
Nevertheless, this approach leads to a simple
result that gives an idea of the important
parameters.
No practical coagulation processes are car-
ried out under laminar conditions; turbulent
flow is almost always involved. In this case an
effective shear rate can be defined, in terms of
the power input to the vessel (such as a stirred
tank), P, the volume of suspension, V and the
viscosity, m. The result due to Camp and Stein
(1943) is:
sffiffiffiffiffiffi
 ¼ P
G ð10Þ
mV
The effective shear rate can then be inserted
in the appropriate rate expression instead of
the laminar shear rate. Although this approach
is undoubtedly oversimplified, it gives a result
which is quite similar to that from a more
rigorous approach.
Equation (9) shows that the rate of coagu-
lation depends on the square of the particle
concentration, as expected for a second-order
rate process. There is also a very strong
dependence on particle size, which explains
why orthokinetic coagulation becomes much
more important for larger particles.
The form of equation (9) is such that a
simple transformation gives the result in terms
of the volume fraction of particles, which is
simply the total volume of particles per unit
volume of suspension. For equal spherical
particles this is simply given by:
4
f¼ pa3 n ð11Þ
3
If it is assumed that the volume of particles
remains constant during the coagulation
process, and the collision efficiency, a ¼ 1
(i.e. for a fully-destabilized suspension), then
equations (9) and (11) lead to:
 
n 24Gft
¼ exp ð12Þ
p
644 Coagulation and filtration
Although this expression is based on a
number of simplifying assumptions, it is very
important in showing the main parameters
influencing the rate of orthokinetic coagulation.
The term n/n0 represents the loss of particles by
coagulation and the reciprocal, n0/n can be
regarded as the average floc size at time t.
(Effectively, it is the average number of primary
particles per floc.)
Equation (12) shows that the extent of
coagulation increases with the shear rate G,
the volume fraction of particles and the time t.
The product Gt is a dimensionless number,
sometimes called the Camp number. In water
treatment plants, flocculation units are often
designed to have a Camp number in the region
of 30 000 –50 000. In principle, the same degree
of coagulation should be attained for any
combination of G and t, provided that the
product remains constant. A high shear rate for
a short time or a low shear rate for a
correspondingly longer time should give the
same result. However, this ignores the break-
up of flocs, which becomes very important at
high shear rates. Also, for hydrodynamic
reasons, the effective collision efficiency at
high shear rates can become quite low
(van de Ven and Mason, 1977).
The growth of flocs, for different shear rates
is shown schematically in Fig. 38.8. At low
shear rate, the coagulation rate is low, but the
flocs can eventually reach quite large sizes. By
contrast, at high shear rates, the initial floc
Fig. 38.8 Growth of flocs under (a) high shear and
(b) low shear conditions.
growth will be faster, but the limiting floc size
will be less. There is, as yet, no quantitative
theory of floc strength, but a common empirical
approach is to relate the limiting floc size to the
effective shear rate (Mühle, 1993):
dmax ¼ CG2g ð13Þ
where dmax is the maximum floc size for a
shear rate G and C and g are empirical
constants. Reported values of g are in the
range 0.2 – 0.5.
Another factor which greatly affects coagu-
lation rate is the solids concentration, or the
volume fraction, f. Equation (12) shows that
this parameter is of equal importance to G and
t. In practical units it is of great advantage to
maintain a zone of high solids concentration to
exploit this effect. Recycling of flocs (as in
activated sludge units) or establishing a ‘floc
blanket’ (as in upflow clarifiers) are effective
means of achieving high solids concentrations.
The use of hydrolysing coagulants under
‘sweep floc’ conditions also increases the
effective volume fraction by the formation of
a voluminous hydroxide precipitate.
3.4 Properties of flocs
The main purpose of carrying out a coagu-
lation process is to achieve more efficient
solid –liquid separation. Certain floc proper-
ties, notably floc density, can greatly influence
separation processes.
3.4.1 Fractal nature of flocs
Aggregates or flocs are now recognized
as self-similar, fractal objects (Meakin, 1988).
Self-similarity simply means that an aggregate
appears to have a similar structure, indepen-
dent of the scale of observation. Fractal
character implies that the mass of an aggregate
(or the number of primary particles within it)
scales as the size raised to some power, dF
(or the fractal dimension).
M / Ld F ð14Þ
Of course, a solid, three-dimensional object
has a mass which depends on the cube of its
size. Aggregates effectively have fractional
dimensions; hence the term ‘fractal’.

Early models of aggregate structure were
based on the addition of single particles to
growing clusters (Fig. 38.9a). This tends to
give quite compact aggregates with a fractal
dimension of around 2.5. Later simulations
(e.g. Lin et al., 1989) allowed for cluster–
cluster collisions, which is a more realistic
model in many practical cases. This gives
much more open aggregate structures
(Fig. 38.9b), with dF about 1.8. The reason for
the different structures should be clear from
Fig. 38.9. In the particle – cluster case, the
approaching particle is able to penetrate
some way into the cluster before making
contact. When two clusters approach each
other it is likely that contact will occur before
the clusters have interpenetrated significantly,
giving a much more open structure.
These models are based on two important
assumptions:
1. There is no repulsion between particles, so
that every collision leads to permanent
contact
2. Aggregation occurs by diffusion, as in
perikinetic coagulation (diffusion-limited
aggregation).
In cases where there is repulsion between
particles the process is known as reaction-
limited aggregation, which leads to rather more
compact structures (dF about 2.1).
Fig. 38.9 Formation of fractal aggregates by
(a) particle – cluster and (b) cluster – cluster
aggregation.
3Coagulation and flocculation 645
In agitated suspensions (orthokinetic aggre-
gation), there is a tendency for more compact
aggregates to be formed, as a result of
‘restructuring’. This may be a result of floc
breakage and re-formation, or deformation and
rearrangement of floc structures under shear
conditions.
3.4.2 Floc density
An inevitable consequence of the fractal nature
of flocs is that floc density decreases as floc size
increases. It has been found experimentally
(Tambo and Watanabe, 1979) that the effective
(buoyant) floc density, re, decreases with floc
size, a, and the data are usually plotted in log –
log form (Fig. 38.10). Although there is usually
a large degree of scatter, such plots show a
linear trend, which implies a relationship of the
form:
rE ¼ Ba2y ð15Þ
where B and y are constants.
It is easy to show that there is a simple
connection between the slope of plots such as
Fig. 38.10 and the fractal dimension of the flocs:
dF ¼ 3 2 y ð16Þ
Experimental values of the slope, y, for
various systems of practical interest, are in
the range 1 – 1.4, corresponding to fractal
dimensions of 2 –1.6, which are in line with
determinations by other methods.
Fig. 38.10 Change of floc density with floc size.
646 Coagulation and filtration
3.5 Practical aspects
Coagulation/flocculation processes are usually
carried out in some form of flow-through unit,
such as stirred tanks or upflow clarifiers. The
purpose is to encourage particle collision by
induced fluid motion (i.e. orthokinetic coagu-
lation). It is necessary to ensure that the
particles are adequately destabilized by the
addition of suitable coagulants, such as metal
salts or polymers.
Additives need to be thoroughly and
rapidly mixed throughout the suspension and
this is achieved by a rapid mix unit at the point
of coagulant dosing. Only a short time of rapid
mix (a few seconds) is needed and the dosed
suspension then flows to the flocculation unit,
where the agitation is gentler, allowing flocs to
form. The energy input to the flocculator, or the
effective shear (see equation 12) determines the
rate of flocculation, but too high a value will
result in floc breakage. A compromise between
rapid floc growth and the avoidance of high
shear rates is the process known as taper
flocculation. This involves a series of stirred
tanks or compartments with decreasing power
input. In the early stages, high shear causes
rapid growth of small flocs, which are then
allowed to grow larger in the subsequent
stages, as the shear rate is reduced.
The most important factors influencing the
rate of floc growth are the shear rate and the
solids content. A high solids content can be
achieved by recirculating flocculated material
or in a form of clarifier, where incoming
particles pass through a layer of previously-
formed flocs (a floc blanket).
The density of flocs is an extremely import-
ant property (Gregory, 1997) which determines
the rate of floc growth. The larger the floc, for a
given mass, the greater the rate of collision
with other flocs. For similar reasons, the
capture of flocs by filter grains and by bubbles
in flotation processes is more effective with
flocs of lower density. However, there are other
separation processes, notably sedimentation
and cake filtration (such as in sludge dewater-
ing), where flocs of high density are preferred.
For a given mass, a higher density floc will
have a smaller size and hence will experience
less fluid drag. This gives more rapid sedi-
mentation and more permeable filter cakes.
The addition of small particles to existing
flocs promotes higher floc density and this
explains why high floc recirculation or floc
blanket clarifiers tend to give quite dense
flocs. An extreme case is the so-called pellet
flocculation process (e.g. Yusa and Igarishi, C,
1984) where compact flocs of very high density
can be produced, without the usual decrease of
density with increasing floc size. (This implies
a fractal dimension close to 3.) The fundamen-
tals of this process are not yet fully understood,
but it depends on a zone of high solids content
with some mechanical agitation (to promote
restructuring of flocs) and usually involves the
use of high molecular weight polymers to give
strong bonding.
4 FILTRATION
4.1 Introduction
Filtration through granular media has been
practised since Roman times. It is a physical
process to remove suspended particles from
water. The suspended particles may be inor-
ganic or organic, including microbes. In the
light of problems with Cryptosporidium and the
pressure to improve the bacterial quality of
treated water, a great deal of attention has been
paid to filtration processes, especially optimiz-
ation through the correct choice of operational
procedures.
There are three main types of granular
media filter used in water treatment:
† slow sand filters
† rapid gravity filters
† pressure filters.
4.2 Slow sand filters
As the name implies, slow sand filters
are operated at low filtration rates, typically
0.1 – 1 m/h. (Note: filtration rate is usually
expressed as approach velocity, e.g. m/h, which

is equivalent to a volume flow rate per unit
area, m3/m2h.) Slow sand filters use rather fine
sand (less than 0.5 mm) and generally give the
best removal performance of all granular
media filters. This is only partly due to the
low filtration rate and small filter grains, since
in many cases there is significant biological
action, restricted to a fairly thin layer at the
surface – the Schmutzdecke. Aerobic bacteria in
the top few centimetres of sand produce
extracellular polymers which form an adhesive
network, giving enhanced removal of fine
particles. It is likely that microbes captured in
the schmutzdecke are subject to predation by
other organisms which colonize this layer. In
most cases slow sand filters are operated
without prior chemical treatment or coa-
gulation. They are cleaned periodically by
scraping off the top 2 – 3 cm of sand, which is
washed and returned to the filter.
The disadvantages of slow sand filtration
include the large land area required to give
high volumetric production and the incon-
venient cleaning method.
We shall now restrict attention to rapid
filtration methods, which rely predominantly
on physical removal mechanisms. There is
no fundamental difference in principle
between the action of rapid gravity and
pressure filters. The former is operated by
gravity flow and the latter under applied
pressure in closed vessels.
4.3 Rapid filtration
Rapid gravity filtration developed from slow
sand filtration in response to requirements for
greater volumetric production from less land
area. By using coarser media than for slow
sand filters, depth penetration of deposits is
possible, thereby using the whole bed depth.
Filtration rates are usually in the range 5–
30 m/h. In conventional operation rapid fil-
tration is preceded by coagulation/floccula-
tion and sedimentation, which greatly reduces
the load on the filters. However, in cases
where the suspended particle concentration is
4Filtration 647
low, the sedimentation step can be omitted
and the process is then known as direct
filtration.
Granular media in rapid filters typically
have grain sizes in the range 0.5 – 2 mm and the
pores are of the same order of size. Particles to
be removed are usually very much smaller
than the pores and so straining is not a
significant removal mechanism. There are two
essential aspects of particle removal in gran-
ular filters:
† Particle transport to filter grains
† Attachment of particles to grain surfaces
or to existing deposits.
These steps together result in particle capture by
a filter grain (often called a collector in the
fundamental filtration literature).
Attachment is governed by colloid inter-
actions, which have been discussed earlier. If
there is significant repulsion between particles
and filter grains then essentially no removal
can occur. In most cases coagulant is added
before filtration, so that particles usually have
quite a low charge and there would be little
electrical repulsion. In that case practically all
encounters between particles and filter grains
(or ‘collectors’) would result in attachment and
the collision efficiency would be close to 1. If
this is not the case, then only a fraction of
collisions would be effective and the filtration
efficiency would be reduced.
In discussing transport mechanisms it is
convenient to assume that there is no repulsion
(a ¼ 1). Another important point is that colloid
interactions are of rather short range (typically
below 0.1 mm and hence less than the size of
most particles). This means that the transport of
a particle from the flowing water in a filter pore
to the surface of a filter grain is almost entirely
unaffected by colloid forces. Although
van der Waals attraction may be vital to ensure
particle attachment, it is of much too short a
range to influence the transport step. A particle
would have to be practically in contact with
a grain for the attraction to be felt. This
justifies treating transport and attachment
separately.
648 Coagulation and filtration

4.3.1 Transport mechanisms

The flow rate in most conventional filters is low
enough to give laminar conditions and par-
ticles can be imagined to follow streamlines
unless influenced by some other effect.
There are various ways in which a particle
can come into contact with a grain surface,
and the most important in water filtration are
(see Fig. 38.11):

† interception – a particle whose centre is on

a streamline passing close enough to a
collector is intercepted and captured
† sedimentation – as a result of the gravita-
tional force pulling a suspended particle
closer to a collector as the water flows round
it
† diffusion – random Brownian motion of
particles causes them to depart from stream-
lines so that they may collide with collectors.
Without going into theoretical detail (see
(Elimelech et al., 1995), we can point out the
important influences on these mechanisms.
They are:
† Particle size and density
† Grain size
† Flow rate
Particle density is only important for the
sedimentation mechanism, where higher den-
sity gives greater sedimentation rate and an
increased chance of particle capture. Fairly
simple theoretical approaches lead to the
following conclusions regarding the effect of
the other parameters on particle capture rate:
Effect of Effect on transport mechanism
increasing
Interception Sedimentation
Particle size Increases Increases
Grain size Decreases Little effect
Flow rate Little effect Decreases
The main conclusions are that particle
capture will be more likely as the filter grain
size and the flow rate are decreased. However,
increasing particle size should improve particle
Fig. 38.11 Capture of particles on a single collector
by different mechanisms: Interception (I); Sedimen-
tation (S); Brownian diffusion (B).
capture by sedimentation and interception, but
have the opposite effect on capture by diffu-
sion, since diffusion rate is greater for smaller
particles.
The different effects of particle size have a
very important practical consequence: there is a
characteristic size, depending on other con-
ditions, where the capture rate passes through a
minimum. Larger and smaller particles are
more readily captured in the filter. A schematic
plot is given in Fig. 38.12, showing a dimension-
less ‘collection efficiency’ for spherical collec-
tors, against particle size. Although this plot is
based on an idealized model, it suggests that
filtration through granular media should be
Diffusion least effective for particles of a few micrometres
diameter. Smaller particles would be more
Decreases readily captured by diffusion and larger ones
Decreases
by interception and sedimentation. The particle
Decreases
size around the minimum covers the range
of bacteria (0.5 – 2 mm) and Cryptosporidium
(4 –5 mm), which means that these are more
difficult to remove by filtration than other
particles. This is one of the reasons why
coagulation/flocculation is such an important

Fig. 38.12 Variation of single collector efficiency
with particle size.
preliminary process, since particles in the
minimum region can be increased in size to a
range where capture is more likely.
4.3.2 Filter performance and operation
During operation of a rapid filter, deposits
collect throughout the depth of the bed. If the
bed contains uniform-sized media grains then
the probability of capture of a particle is the
same at any depth. The amount of deposit
retained on the grains therefore decreases with
depth into the bed.
The filter coefficient, l is defined as the
proportion removed per unit depth of the filter.
It is closely related to the collector efficiency
mentioned above.
2 dC 1
l¼ ð17Þ
C dL
where C is the concentration of particles in the
water at depth L in the filter bed.
Rearranging gives:
›C
¼ 2lC ð18Þ
›L
which is known as the Iwasaki equation. The
equation has the form of a partial derivative
because the deposits, and hence the filter
coefficient, vary with time as well as bed depth.
In the early stages of filtration, before
significant deposits have built up, the filter
4Filtration 649
coefficient can be assumed constant throughout
the bed – the ‘clean bed’ value, l0. Equation (18)
can then be integrated to show an exponential
decline in suspended particles with depth:
C ¼ C0 expð2l0 LÞ ð19Þ
The implication of this is that the deposit
profile with bed depth will also follow an
exponential decay pattern, i.e. substantially
more deposits near the surface and less at
depth. However, as deposits build up on filter
grains, the filter coefficient changes. Initially, the
coefficient may increase because deposited
particles provide extra sites for further depo-
sition. This is responsible for the ‘filter ripening’
effect (see below). Further build up of deposits
causes local constriction of pores and hence an
increase in local flow velocity (assuming a
constant volume flow rate) and a reduction in
l. As the filter run progresses deposits in the
upper bed may reach a limiting level so that no
more removal occurs in the top layer. This
causes a deposit ‘front’ to move down through
the bed. Eventually this front emerges from the
bottom of the bed and there is then a rapid rise in
particle concentration in the filtrate. This is
known as ‘breakthrough’. These concepts are
illustrated in Fig. 38.13.
Bacteria and other microbes will also be
removed according to this pattern. However,
should a biofilm start to develop on the grains,
the distribution with depth may vary in a
different way, depending on which areas of the
bed are more favourable for biofilm formation.
Occasionally, as a result of surface straining,
a surface mat develops, which can result in a
high head loss (see below) and inefficient use of
bed depth.
4.3.3 Head loss
The head loss, or hydraulic, gradient (h/L) is
given by the Kozeny-Carman equation, which,
for laminar flow in a packed bed of spherical
grains, has the form:
h v m ð1 2 e Þ2 36
¼5 ð20Þ
L g r e3 d2
where v
is the approach velocity (volumetric flow
rate/filter area)
650 Coagulation and filtration
m is the dynamic viscosity, d the grain
diameter
r the density of water and
e the porosity of the bed (typically around
0.5).
This expression applies to a clean filter bed.
As deposits are formed, the pores become
occupied by solids and so the effective porosity
decreases, leading to an increase in head loss, if
the flow rate is maintained constant. It is not
easy to estimate the local change in porosity,
since the volume occupied by deposits is
uncertain. If particles are deposited singly,
fairly compact deposits may form, giving
only a slow increase in head loss. However, if
deposits have a less dense structure, as
expected for fractal flocs then there will be a
greater effect on head loss.
Since deposits form preferentially in the
upper part of the bed, the clogging can be
quite pronounced there and lead to a rapid
build-up of head loss. At some point the head
loss may become so large that the filter
operation has to be terminated and the bed
has to be cleaned. Often, particle breakthrough
occurs before the head loss limit is reached, but
cleaning is necessary in any case. In practice,
filters are usually backwashed on a time basis
but, should a limiting head loss or filtrate
quality be reached, a backwash is initiated
automatically.
Fig. 38.13 (a) Par-
ticle concentration
profile through a fil-
ter column, initially
(full line) and after
operating for some
time (broken line).
(b) Breakthrough
curve showing frac-
tional particle con-
centration in the
filtrate as a function
of time.
4.4 Filter backwashing
Granular media filters need regular backwash-
ing to remove clogging deposits and maintain
efficient operation. Backwashing of a gravity
filter involves flow reversal to dislodge the
deposits. This usually gives significant expan-
sion and fluidization of the bed. Once expansion
occurs the grains are mobile and deposits can
be detached and flushed out.
The various techniques include:
† fluidizing water wash
† fluidizing water wash plus surface jets
† air scour followed by a fluidizing water
wash
† simultaneous air and water wash followed
by a fluidizing water rinse.
All of the above backwash procedures are
conducted at varying upflow rates and bed
expansions. The water flow required depends
on the physical characteristics of the media and
the degree of bed expansion required.
4.4.1 Backwashing with water
Fluidized beds. A fluidized bed consists of solid
particles or grains suspended by a fluidizing
medium which can be a gas or a liquid.
Consider a vessel such as a filter shell filled
with a granular material, e.g. sand. A fluidizing
 4Filtration 651

medium (usually water) enters at the base of

the vessel and flows upwards through the bed
of sand with a superficial velocity, v. The
granular material has a fixed bed porosity of
e . When the bed is fluidized the particles or
grains are suspended in equilibrium by the
fluid drag forces exerted on them. The bed
expands to occupy a greater depth and a
consequent increased porosity e , i.e. the grains
are further apart.
At equilibrium in a fluidized bed, the
downward force on the grains (i.e. their weight
in water) is just balanced by the force caused by
the upward flow of water. We can equate those
forces and then substitute for the head loss
gradient in the bed at the point of fluidization,
using the Kozeny Carman equation above. We
then arrive at an expression for the minimum
upflow velocity needed to fluidize the bed:
 
g rs 2 r e 3 d2 Fig. 38.14 Filter bed expansion by fluidization.
vmf ¼ ð21Þ
180 m ð1 2 e Þ
where:
g is the acceleration due to gravity grains. All the energy is used in supporting the
rs is the density of the grains grains. Typical fluidization curves are shown in
r the density of water. The porosity, e , grain Fig. 38.14.
diameter, d, water viscosity, m have been A simple experiment in a small column is a
defined previously. useful way of finding vmf and the expansion
From this expression, it is clear that the characteristics for a particular filter medium
minimum fluidization velocity depends on: under specific conditions.
A minimum expansion is required in order
† media grain size to flush out the deposits and get the whole bed
† media density mobile. The expansion required for this varies
† media porosity and packing with filter media size.
† temperature (as it affects the water vis- A very important aspect of fluidizing a filter
cosity). bed is that when the upward flow is stopped,
grains settle at rates dependent on their size. In
Changes in any of these parameters affect
all practical cases, filter grains have a range of
bed expansion and fluidization conditions,
sizes and the larger ones settle fastest. This
e.g. expansion behaviour during filter
means that, after backwashing, smaller grains
backwashing.
tend to be nearer the top of the bed, with larger
If we examine a granular bed subjected to
upward flow of water, then we see that as we ones towards the bottom. This is unfortunate,
increase the flow rate, the head loss increases since it gives greater filter efficiency at the top,
linearly with velocity while the bed remains where there is already a greater removal of
fixed, i.e. Darcy’s law is obeyed. Once we have particles. Thus, the non-uniform distribution
reached vmf, then the bed starts to expand of deposited particles throughout the bed
upwards with the flow and the head loss (Fig. 38.15) is accentuated. This effect may be
becomes constant. The head loss is constant as partly overcome by the use of multilayer filters
there is no more loss of energy as drag on the (see below).
652 Coagulation and filtration
Cleaning mechanisms. When a filter is being
backwashed, the mechanisms that detach
deposits and get the filter grains clean are:
† fluid shear forces
† grain collisions
† abrasion between grains
† forces associated with the air/water
interface.
Research has shown that water-only backwash
is a weak cleaning process as grain collisions
are minimal. It is more effective to include air
flow in the cleaning process.
4.4.2 The use of air scour
When air scour precedes the water wash, it is
intended to break up and detach deposits
ready to be flushed out.
Research has shown that while air scour
causes a lot of agitation to grains in the top few
centimetres of the bed, there is very little
agitation deep down. The agitation is caused
by bubbles erupting at the surface of the media.
If a filter bed retains most of its deposits at the
surface then air scour alone is adequate. If,
however, it acts as a deep bed filter, as intended,
then deeper deposits may not be dislodged.
4.4.3 Combined air and water wash
A combined wash means that the air and the
water flow simultaneously up through the bed.
At particular combinations of air and water
Fig. 38.15 Changes
of filter bed height
and head loss with
increasing backwash
flow rate.
flow rates for a given medium a phenomenon
known as collapse-pulsing (Amirtharajah, 1993)
is observed. This corresponds to the onset of
three-phase fluidization.
What this means in practice is that fluidized
bed conditions are achieved for a much lower
water rate – typically less than 0.5 vmf. Flow
rates when a water only wash is used are
greater than vmf. In addition, during collapse-
pulsing there is a very high degree of bed
agitation, as pockets of air form and collapse
within the media. This ensures that deposits
are detached from the grain surfaces and can
be particularly good for removal of biofilms.
4.4.4 Media attrition and loss during
backwash
Media loss may result from inappropriate
wash rates for the type of media in use. It is
usually due to the lighter grains being carried
out over the washwater weir with the back-
wash water. Lower density materials, e.g.
anthracite and activated carbon, are washed
out more easily despite the fact they are
backwashed at lower rates.
Attrition of more friable filter media may
result from a vigorous backwash, particularly if
air scour is used.
Fines generated by media attrition can cause
problems in drinking water treatment as they
potentially shield bacteria from disinfection.
An appropriate backwash regime has therefore

to be carefully selected; we need to maximize
cleaning without causing too much attrition of
the media.
4.5 Improving particulate removal
Overall particulate removal can be improved
by using finer and/or deeper filters or by
improving the coagulation/flocculation stage.
During the ripening period, particulate removal
can be improved by optimizing backwash and
filter start-up procedures.
An effective way of achieving more effective
filtration is to use two or three layers of
progressively finer media, as in multilayer
filters.
4.5.1 Filter ripening and start up
When a filter is put back on line after back-
washing, it usually takes some time for it to
reach optimum removal performance. Particu-
late concentration in the filtrate during this
phase is higher than the average level during
the filter run. This is known as the filter ripening
period and has been an area of concern in recent
years as it may provide an opportunity for
pathogens, such as Cryptosporidium, to pass
into supply.
Water passing through the filter at start-up
initially consists of backwash water remaining
within the underdrain system and then the
pores of the filter bed. Following this the
remaining backwash water above the bed but
below the washwater overflow level, passes
through the filter. Finally, the new influent for
filtration reaches the filter.
Ripening is thought to be due to the gradual
build-up of deposits on the filter grain surface.
These deposits then provide increased surface
area for the accumulation and adhesion of
subsequent deposits.
Following publication of the 1990 Badenoch
Report on the Cryptosporidium problem, there
has been much research into filter ripening in
the UK. Options to reduce particulate passage
during the ripening phase include:
† filter to waste
† slow start
† delayed start
4Filtration 653
† increased chemical dosing (e.g. during final
stage of backwash)
† backwash optimization.
4.5.2 Filter media
When designing a filter it is important to select
a medium or combination of media with
appropriate physical properties for the par-
ticular application. The physical properties of
filter media that affect performance during
filtration and backwashing include:
† size distribution
† bed porosity or voidage
† grain density
† shape, e.g. spherical or angular
† surface characteristics and microporosity
† settling velocity and minimum fluidization
velocity
† strength and friability of media grains
† acid solubility
† wettability.
The British Effluent and Water Association
recently proposed a standard for filter
materials (BEWA, 1993).
It is important to design filters with appro-
priate media, e.g. if we want to encourage
biological growth then perhaps a rough surface
is required for adhesion of microorganisms. A
rough surface may also reduce the filter
ripening period, but then may be harder to
get clean during backwashing.
It may be important to minimize water
consumption in backwashing so a lighter
material might be desirable.
The shape of the grains, and their size
distribution affect the bed porosity. Angular
grains generally have a higher porosity, e.g.
anthracite with about 0.55. Rounded grains,
e.g. Leighton Buzzard sand, have a porosity of
about 0.43. Porosity also depends on the
packing of the grains and the degree of
stratification of the media if it has a range of
sizes.
4.5.3 Multilayer filters
Ideally filtration should take place through
progressively decreasing media size, from
coarse to fine, in order to maximize usage of
654 Coagulation and filtration
the whole bed depth. However, as discussed
above, when a filter is backwashed a single
graded medium will stratify so that finer grains
are at the top and coarser grains at the bottom
of the bed, i.e. the opposite of what is required
for a gravity or downward flow filter.
The idea behind dual and triple media filters
is that we can achieve a progressively finer
filter by having finer, denser media below
coarser, heavier media. The difference in
densities of the media should ensure that the
finer material stays at the bottom during and
after backwashing.
Dual media filters usually consist of a layer
of coarser anthracite above a layer of finer sand.
Triple media filters consist of anthracite, sand
and then an even finer grained layer of garnet.
Other configurations of media have appeared
around the world, e.g. a triple media filter
consisting of granular activated carbon (GAC)
above German anthracite with a layer of fine
sand at the bottom.
4.5.4 Backwashing of dual and triple
media filters
Dual and triple media filters are usually
designed so that they remain stratified after
backwashing. It is relatively easy to maintain
stratification between anthracite and sand, for
the size ranges typically employed, however,
mixing between the sand and fine garnet layers
in triple media filters is difficult to avoid.
This may not actually be detrimental to filter
performance but further research is required
on this subject.
For a given backwash flow rate it is likely
that the different media layers will expand by
different amounts.
4.6 Monitoring filter performance
It is very important to check that filters operate
correctly, especially with regard to particle
removal. Particles in the size range of
Cryptosporidium oocysts are of special concern
and their numbers in filtered water should be
as low as possible. Oocysts that pass through a
filter are not destroyed by conventional disin-
fectants at normal dosages, so it is essential that
they are removed physically in water treatment
processes.
The usual method of monitoring filtered
water is by measuring turbidity. Current stan-
dards for drinking water turbidity are around 1
NTU (a conventional turbidity unit), but more
stringent standards may be applied – perhaps
down to 0.1 NTU. Such low levels are approach-
ing the limits of detection of commercial
turbidity meters, yet may still correspond to
particle concentrations of several hundred per
ml. Furthermore, turbidity is a measure of light
scattered by the water sample and this is not a
sensitive measure of particles much larger than
the light wavelength, such as Cryptosporidium
oocysts.
It has become quite common to apply more
sensitive techniques, such as particle counting,
to the monitoring of filtered water quality
(Gregory, 1998). Typical particle counters can
resolve particles down to about 1– 2 mm in size.
These methods can give an earlier indication of
particle breakthrough than conventional tur-
bidity monitoring.
Even a simple visual inspection can be
helpful, particularly of the backwash and the
filter bed surface where mudballs may be
evident.
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