INTRODUCTION

Sedimentation is a common way of treating water. It is a process that removes solids that

float and settle in the water. It is the process of removing suspended coarser particles in water by

dropping them to the bottom of the tank. For the particle to settle down, it must reduce the flow

velocity. This process is carried out in a sedimentation tank or settling tank (Anupoju, S., n.d.).

Suspended material may be particles, such as clay or silts, initially present in the source water.

Suspended material or floc is generally made from materials in the water and synthetic

substances utilized in coagulation or other treatment measures, such as lime softening (The

International Water Association [IWA], n.d.).

The main principle involved in the sedimentation tank is to reduce water flow velocity,

allowing the significant number of suspended particles to settle down. The speed with which the

particle is settling is known as settling velocity. It is accomplished by decreasing the rate of the

water to a point in which the particles will no longer remain in suspension. When the momentum

no longer supports the particles, gravity will remove them from the water flow (Minnesota Rural

Water Association [MRWA], n.d.). In addition, the effectiveness depends on the size and weight

of the particles. Suspended solids with specific gravity like water remain suspended while

heavier particles settle (AOS Treatment Solutions, 2018).

As per IWA (n.d.), there are many types of sedimentation tanks, and the simplest form is

to fill a jar or tank with water, leave it alone for a long enough time for particles to settle, and
then decant off the resulting water without the sediment. In practice, this is rarely viable in

treating water for townships, and therefore sedimentation tanks are operated continuously.

Additionally, the simplest method of sedimentation is to use rectangular tanks with horizontal

flow through them. The water with the particles in suspension is introduced at one end of the

tank, then as the water flows to the other end of the tank, settlement of particles in the water

occurs. The aim is that a large proportion of the settling particles manage to reach the tank floor

before the water is drawn out of the tank at the outlet end. Such horizontal flow tanks are usually

built with a base that slopes gently down to the inlet end to a hopper. The tank is fitted with a

mechanism to scrape the sediment from the outlet end back to the inlet end and into the hopper

from where it can be discharged hydraulically. In designing such tanks, detailed attention must

be given to the inlet and outlet ends so that the water flows from one end to the end as uniformly

as possible.

In this experiment, the researchers measured the settling rate as a function of

concentration and volume in a static water system. Batch settling curves were also constructed

from the results to aid in designing industrial settling tanks and thickeners, thus applying the

concepts in laboratory batch sedimentation. As indicated by McCabe et al. (1993), batch

sedimentation is in several stages in settling a flocculated suspension, and different zones are

formed as sedimentation proceeds. Usually, the concentration of solids is high enough that other

solids hinder sedimentation of individual particles or flocs to such an extent that all solids at a

given level settle at a common velocity.