Sedimentation

Simple Sorting
• Goal: clean water
• Source: (contaminated) surface water
• Solution: separate contaminants from water
• How?
 Where are we?
• Unit processes* designed to
Particles and pathogens
– remove _________________________
dissolved chemicals
– remove __________ ___________
pathogens
– inactivate ____________
• *Unit process: a process that is used in similar
ways in many different applications
• Unit Processes Designed to Remove Particulate
Matter
– Screening Empirical design
– Coagulation/flocculation Theories developed later
– Sedimentation
– Filtration Smaller particles
 Conventional Surface Water Treatment

Raw water
Screening Filtration
sludge sludge
Alum
Rapid Mix Cl2 Disinfection
Polymers

Flocculation Storage

Sedimentation Distribution
sludge
 Sedimentation
• the oldest form of water treatment
• uses gravity to separate particles from water
• often follows coagulation and flocculation
 Sedimentation: Effect of the particle
concentration

• Dilute suspensions
– Particles act independently
• Concentrated suspensions
– Particle-particle interactions are significant
– Particles may collide and stick together
(form flocs)
– Particle flocs may settle more quickly
– At very high concentrations particle-
particle forces may prevent further
consolidation
Settling of particles from suspension
depends on:
Characteristics of the Particles
DISCRETE PARTICLES
particles whose size, shape and
specific gravity do not change with
time.
FLOCCULATING PARTICLES
particles whose surface properties are
such that they aggregate upon contact
Thus, changing in size, shape, and
perhaps specific gravity with each
contact
Concentration of Particles in Suspension
DILUTE SUSPENSIONS
suspensions in which the conc. of
particles is not sufficient to cause
significant displacement of water as
they settle or in which the particles
will not be close enough for velocity
field interference to occur
CONCENTRATED SUSPENSIONS
suspensions in which the conc. of
particles is too great to meet the
conditions mentioned for dilute
suspensions
Settling Phenomenon in a clarifier
 Sedimentation:
Particle Terminal Fall Velocity
 p  particle volume
 F  ma
Identify forces projected
Fb Ap  particle cross sectional area
Fd  Fb  W  0
Fd ρ p  particle density

p p g ρw  water density

W  _______
g  acceleration due to gravity
C D  drag coefficient
Fb = "________
pr wg
Vt  particle terminal velocity

Vt 2 W 4 gd ( r p - r w )
Fd  CD AP  w Vt =
2 3 CD rw
 Drag Coefficient on a Sphere
d 2 g  p   w  4 gd ( r p - r w )
Vt  Vt =
18 3 CD rw
1000
Stokes Law
Drag Coefficient

100

10

0.1

Vt d 
24 Re 
Cd  
Re Reynolds Number
turbulent boundary
laminar turbulent
  Regraph
 CDsphere

Floc Drag
Flocs created in the water
treatment process can have 100

Re exceeding 1 and thus their

terminal velocity must be
modeled using 10
CDsphere

CDtransition Rek 

Stokes  Rek 

0.1
3 4 5 6 7
0.1 1 10 100 110 110 110 110 110
Regraph Rek
24 3
C.Dtransition( Re)    0.34
Re Re