11

SEPARATION PROCESSES FOR

REMOVAL OF RESIDUAL CONSTITUENTS
PROBLEM 11-1
Problem Statement - See text, page 1278

Instructors Note: Before assigning this problem, the use of arithmetic and logarithmic
probability paper should be discussed. The graphical determination of the geometric
mean and standard deviation is discussed in the Section 3-3. As an aid in solving this
problem, the procedure used to determine the useable sand from a stock sand is given
on the following page. In addition, the students can be referred to the section on
filtration in Fair and Geyer (1954) or Fair et al. (1968).

Solution
Part a
1. Plot the cumulative weight passing values for sample 1 versus the corresponding
sieve size opening on arithmetic and logarithmic probability paper. The geometric
mean size (Mg) corresponds to the value at d50 and the geometric standard
deviation (sg) is equal to the d84.1/Mg or Mg/d15.9. The effective size is equal to
the value at d10 and the uniformity coefficient is d60/d10.

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Chapter 11 Advanced Wastewater Treatment

Modifying Stock Sand To Produce Desired Filter Sand

Sand obtained from river bottoms or from coastal areas will generally not be suitable for
use as a filter sand unless modified by removing the material that is too coarse or too
fine. The material that is too coarse is generally removed by sieving. The material that
is too fine is removed using a sand washer in which the material that is too fine is
carried out with the wash water. Fine material can also be removed after the sand is
placed in the filter by backwashing. To determine the amount of usable sand the
following terms are defined.
p1 = percent of stock sand that is smaller than the desired effective size
(i.e. d10)
p2 = percent of stock sand that is smaller than the desired 60 percentile size
(i.e. d60)
Because the difference between the d60 and d10 sizes represents 50 percent of useable
filter sand, the percent of stock sand that is useable is:
p3 = percent of stock sand that is useable
= 2(p2 – p1)
Because 10 percent of the useable sand will be below the d10 size, the percent below

which the stock sand is too fine is:

p4 = percent below which the stock sand is too fine
= p1 – 0.1 p3 = p1 – 0.2 (p2 – p1)
The percent of the sand that has been accounted for is equal to p3 + p4, of which p3 is
useable and p4 is too fine. Thus, the percent of the sand that is too coarse is given is by
p5 = percent of stock sand that is too coarse
= p3 + p4 = p1 – 1.8 (p2 – p1)
--------------------------------------
Adapted from: Fair, G. M., and J. C. Geyer (1954) Water Supply and Waste-Water
Disposal, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York.

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 Chapter 11 Advanced Wastewater Treatment

Summary of results for Problem 1, Part 1a.

Sample
Parameter 1 1 3 4
d10 0.30 0.20 0.31 0.13

d15.9 0.36 0.22 0.36 0.16

d50 0.81 0.49 0.72 0.41

d60 1.05 0.60 0.90 0.60

d84.1 1.90 1.05 1.30 1.00

Mg 0.81 0.49 0.72 0.41

sg 2.3 2.2 2.0 2.6

ES 0.30 0.20 0.31 0.13

UC 3.5 3.0 2.9 4.6

Part b
To determine the amount of usable sand in stock sand sample 1, draw a line that
represents the characteristics of the desired filter sand.

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Chapter 11 Advanced Wastewater Treatment

The amount of stock sand with a diameter less than the desired effective size (P10)
and the desired d60 (P60) is 25 and 42.5 percent, respectively. Because the
amount of stock sand between d60 and d10 represents 50 percent of the specified
sand, the percentage of usable stock sand is

Pusable = 2(P60 – P10) = 2(42.5% – 25%) = 35%

The amount of stock sand A needed to produce 1 ton of the specified sand (ES =
0.45 mm and UC = 1.6) is

Stock sand needed = 1 ton / 0.35 = 2.86 ton

Summary of results for Problem 1, Part 1b.

Amount stock sand needed to
Sand produce one ton of specified
sample P10 P60 Pusable sand, ton
1 25 42.5 35 2.86
2 48 73 50 2.00
3 25 50 50 2.00
4 55 73 36 2.78

Part c
The specified sand may contain 10 percent below the specified effective size. The
percentage of stock sand 1 that is too fine is

Ptoo fine = 25% - 0.1(35%) = 21.5%

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 Chapter 11 Advanced Wastewater Treatment

The Ptoo fine value corresponds to a sand diameter of 0.44 mm. Because
Pusable and Ptoo fine are now known, the percentage above which the sand is too
coarse is
Ptoo coarse = Pusable + Ptoo fine = 35% + 21.5% = 56.5%

The Ptoo coarse value corresponds to a sand diameter of 0.92 mm.

A number 18 or 20 sieve with hole diameters of 0.841 and 1.00 mm, respectively,
should be sufficient for removing the excess coarse sand.

Summary of results for Problem 1, Part 1c

Ptoo fine, Ptoo coarse,
Sand Minimum sand Maximum sand U.S. sieve
sample p1 p2 size, mm size, mm number
1 21.5 56.5 0.44 0.92 18 or 20
2 43 93 0.4 1.2 16
3 20 70 0.41 1.02 18
4 51.4 87.4 0.42 1.1 16 or 18

Part d
The backwash rise rate of the backwashing filter must not exceed the settling
velocity of the smallest particle to be retained in the filter. Fig. 5-20 may be used to
estimate the backwash rise rate for sand 1, assuming a shape factor of 0.85, a
specific gravity of 2.65, and settling in water at 20°C (kinematic viscosity = 1.003 x
2
10-6 m /s). For a sand particle with diameter of 0.44 mm, the backwash rise rate is
0.073 m/s. Alternately, the particle settling velocity may be calculated following the
method outlined in Example 5-4.

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Chapter 11 Advanced Wastewater Treatment

Summary table for Problem 1, Part 1d.

Backwash rise rate needed

to eliminate excess fine
Sand sample material, m/s
1 0.073
2 0.064
3 0.067
4 0.069

Part e
The value for Ptoo fine from Problem 1c is used to solve this problem.
Fraction remaining to be removed = Ptoo fine/Ptoo coarse

= 21.5 / 56.5 = 0.381

Assuming that the coarse material has been eliminated with a sieve and that
the fine material is to be removed during backwashing, the amount of sieved
sand needed to result in a bed of usable sand with a depth of 600 mm is
Depth of sieved sand needed = (600 mm) / (1 – 0.381) = 969 mm

Summary table for Problem 1, Part 1e

Depth of sieved sand
needed to get 600
Sand Fraction to be mm of usable sand,
sample Ptoo fine Ptoo coarse removed mm
1 21.5 56.5 0.381 969
2 43 93 0.462 1116
3 20 70 0.286 840
4 51.4 87.4 0.588 1457

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 Chapter 11 Advanced Wastewater Treatment

Part f
Compute the size distribution of the modified sand 1.
Modified
Original sand Modified sand cumulative weight,
Size, mm retained, % retained, % %
0.44 0 0 0
0.59 10.5 30 30
0.84 20 57 87
0.92 4.5 13 100
35 100

Part g

Use the modified form of the Rose equation to determine the headloss.
Determine the clean-water headloss using Eq. (11-5).

2
1.067 Lv s p
h Cd
4 dg
g
Set up a computation table to determine the summation term in Eq. (11-5).

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Chapter 11 Advanced Wastewater Treatment

Fraction of Geometric
Sieve size sand mean size, Reynolds
or number retained mm number, NR Cd Cd(p/d), m-1

12-14 0.005 1.54 3.07 9.87 32

14-16 0.015 1.30 2.58 11.50 133
16-18 0.07 1.09 2.18 13.41 860
18-20 0.13 0.92 1.83 15.68 2,223
20-25 0.2 0.77 1.54 18.33 4,745
25-30 0.28 0.65 1.30 21.49 9,259
30-35 0.14 0.55 1.09 25.28 6,490
35-40 0.09 0.46 0.91 29.74 5,841
40-45 0.052 0.38 0.76 35.16 4,769
45-50 0.018 0.32 0.64 41.41 2,312
Sum 36,665

Determine the clean-water headloss through the stratified filter bed using Eq. (11-
5).

2
1.067 0.6m 0.00267 m / s
h (36,665 m-1) 0.89 m
0.75 4
0.40 (9.81 m / s2 )

PROBLEM 11-2
Problem Statement - See text, page 1279
Solution
1. Determine the sphericity of filter medium 1 using equation Eq. (11-1).
6 2
= 1.0574 x 10- m /s (see Table C-1, Appendix C)

(240 L / m2 min)
vs 0.004 m / s
60 s / min (1000 L / m3 )

dv s 1 0.00055 m 0.004 m / s
NR 2.08
1.0574 x 10-6 m2 / s

1 1 0.4
f 150 1.75 150 1.75 45.01
3
0.43

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 Chapter 11 Advanced Wastewater Treatment

2 2
f1 L vs (45.01) 1 0.4 0.6 m 0.004 m/s
h 0.751 m
3 d g (1)(0.4)3 0.00055 m (9.81 m/s2 )

2. Determine the headloss using the Fair-Hatch equation Eq. (11-2).

2
1 L vs
h k S2
3
d2 g
2
-6 2 2 1 0.4 0.6 m 0.004 m / s
5 (1.0574 x 10 m / s) 6 2
0.866 m
(0.4)3 0.00055 m (9.81 m / s 2 )

3. Determine the headloss using the Rose equation Eq. (11-5).

24 3 24 3
Cd 0.34 0.34 13.96
NR NR 2.08 2.08

2 2
1.067 1 L vs 1.067 1 0.6 m 0.004 m / s
h Cd 1.035 m
4 d g
1 (0.4)4 0.00055 m (9.81 m / s2 )

4. Summary of results from Problem 11-2

Clean-water
Equation headloss, m
Carman-Kozeny 0.751
Fair-Hatch 0.866
Rose 1.035

PROBLEM 11-3
Problem Statement - See text, page 1280
Solution
1. Determine the headloss using the Kozeny equation Eq. (11-4).
6 2
= 1.139 x 10- m /s (see Table C-1, Appendix C)

(240 L / m2 min)
vs 0.004 m / s
60 s / min (1000 L / m3 )

dv s 1 0.00055 m 0.004 m / s
NR 1.93
1.139 x 10-6 m2 / s

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Chapter 11 Advanced Wastewater Treatment

1 1 0.4
f 150 3
1.75 150 1.75 45.01
0.43
2 2
k 1 6
h 3
L s
g d
2
5 1.139x10 6 m2 / s 1 0.4 6
2

3
0.6 m 0.004 m/s 0.932 m
9.81 m/s2 0.4 0.00055 m
2. Determine the headloss using the Ergun equation Eq. (11-9).

f 1 L v 2s
h 3
d g
2
45.01 1 0.4 0.6 m 0.004 m / s
0.751 m
1 (0.4)3 0.00055 m (9.81 m / s2 )

3. Determine the headloss using the Rose equation Eq. (11-5).

24 3 24 3
Cd 0.34 0.34 13.55
NR NR 1.93 1.93
2
1.067 1 L v 2s 1.067 13.55 1 0.6 m 0.004 m / s
h Cd 4 1.00 m
d g 1 (0.4)4 0.00055 m (9.81 m / s2 )

4. Summary of results from Problem 11-2

Clean-water
Equation headloss, m
Kozeny 0.932
Ergun 0.751
Rose 1.00

PROBLEM 11-4
Problem Statement - See text, page 1280

Instructors Note: Problem 11-6 should be assigned along with Problem 11-4.

Solution
1. Determine the headloss for a sand diameter of 0.4 mm using the Rose equation
Eq. (11-5).

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 Chapter 11 Advanced Wastewater Treatment

dv s 1 0.00040 m 0.004 m / s
NR 1.23
(1.306 x 10-6 m2 / s)
24 3 24 3
Cd 0.34 0.34 22.64
NR NR 1.23 1.23
2
1.067 1 L v 2s 1.067 22.64 1 0.75 m 0.004 m / s
h Cd 4 2.89 m
d g 1 (0.4)4 0.0004 m (9.81 m / s2 )

2. Summary table for Problem 11-4

Sand diameter, Clear-water

mm headloss, m
0.4 2.89
0.45 2.30
0.5 1.88
0.6 1.33

PROBLEM 11-5
Problem Statement - See text, page 1280

Instructors Note: The instructor should specify the sand diameter(s) from Problem 11-
4 to be used for solving Problem 11-5.

Solution
1. Construct a logarithmic probability plot with a line that represents the specified filter
sand. The cumulative percent values that correspond to standard U.S. sieve sizes
are then determined and used to construct a computation table.
Computation table to determine clear-water headloss for filter sand with an
effective size of 0.4 and a uniformity coefficient of 1.5.

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