CHAPTER THREE

PLAIN SEDIMANTATION
 OBJECTIVES OF THIS LESSON
• In this lesson we will answer the following
questions
How does sedimentation fit into the water
treatment process?
What zones are present in a sedimentation
basin?
How is sedimentation sludge disposed off?
How we design a sedimentation tank?
 SEDIMENTATION THEORY
• Sedimentation is a treatment process in which the
velocity of the water is lowered below the
suspension velocity and the suspended particles
settle out of the water due to gravity.
• The process is also known as settling or
clarification.
• The most common form of sedimentation follows
coagulation and flocculation and precedes
filtration.
………SEDIMENTATION THEORY
• Coagulation and flocculation are used to
produce pinpoint (very small) floc which is
removed from the water in the filters.
Objectives of Sedimentation; To separate
solids from liquid using the force of gravity.
In sedimentation, only suspended solids
(SS) are removed (90%).
………SEDIMENTATION THEORY
• Sedimentation is used in water and WWTP
• In Water Treatment sedimentation occurs;
Prior to filtration of coagulated-flocculated
water
After adding lime and soda ash In softening of
water
In iron and manganese removal plants after
treating the water
Prior to filtration of surface water
TYPE-I SETTLING &TYPE-II SETTLING

 TYPE-I SETTLING (free settling)

• Settling of discrete (non flocculent) particles in a
dilute suspension.
• The process depends merely on gravity.
• Can remove suspended matter (such as grit) which
will settle rapidly out of the water.
• Consider a fluid particle entering in the bottom of the
tank, which moves upwards with a velocity of flow, say
v₀ and settling velocity of vs.
Then the particle does not move up if the settling
velocity is more than the liquid rise velocity.
 Concepts in Type-I Settling (free settling)

Vo = discharge/surface area = (volume/time)/surface area

= [(surface area*depth)/time]/surface area
= depth/time
• That is liquid velocity
Note: This is also called the overflow rate/ overflow
velocity/surface overflow rate/surface loading
 ………..TYPE-I SETTLING
As long as the settling velocity is
greater than the overflow rate,
particles settle down and can be
removed.
The particles of comparatively larger size
settle down in plain sedimentation tank of
ordinary detention period
Type II settling
• Settling of flocculated particles
• smaller sized particles can easily be settled
by increasing their size by changing them in
to flocculated particles.
• Certain chemicals, called coagulants added
to the water which on through mixing forms
gelatinous precipitate called floc.
• These floc as moves downward attracts
smaller colloidal particles and become
bigger and bigger in size and settle easily.
 ……….Type II settling
• ρf = ρw + kd -0.7
• Where, ρf → density of floc
ρw → density of water
d → diameter of the particles
k → coeff. depending on the characteristics of water & chemicals
• The above relationships demonstrate that
increasing the floc radius will decrease the
buoyant density.
The decrease in buoyant density is due to the greater
percentage of water entrained in the flocs.
 ……….Type II settling
• The net effect of increased radius and decreased
density is;
 It reduce the settlement velocity.
Higher G values are therefore preferred since they reduce the
floc radius and hence result in faster settlement.
 The difficulty associated with de-watering of the sludge.
 SETTLING OPERATION
• All the particles having more specific gravity
than the liquid will move vertically
downward due to gravitation force.
A particle will accelerate until the drag
force, FD, equals the impelling (due to
weight) force, FI; then settling occurs at a
constant velocity, Settling velocity (Vs).
 ………SETTLING OPERATION

• The impelling (gravitational) force at uniform settling

velocity is equal to the effective weight of the particle in the
fluid.
• i.e. FI = ( ρs – ρ ) * g * V……………………………. (1)
• Where
 FI=Impelling force
 ρs = mass density of the particle
 ρ = mass density of the fluid
 V=Volume of the particle
 g=Acceleration due to gravity
 ………SETTLING OPERATION
• From the Newton’s law for frictional resistance
or drag
• FD =CDρAVp2/2 ……………(2)
• Where
FD = drag force
CD = drag coefficient
A = projected area of the particle
Vp = relative velocity of particle and fluid
• Equating equation 1 & 2 and putting the value
of πd2/4 for A, πd3/6 for V.
………SETTLING OPERATION
………SETTLING OPERATION
 Drag Coefficient: Vt d
R

Equations
4 gd  p   w 
General Equation Vt 
3 CD w

d 2 g  p   w 
24 Vt 
Laminar flow R < 1 C D 
R 18

24 3
Transitional flow 1 < R < 104 C D   1/ 2  0.34
R R

C D  0.4 gd  p   w 
Fully turbulent flow R > 104 Vt 
0.3 w
 ………SETTLING OPERATION
Example 1
Find the terminal settling Velocity of a spherical
Particle with diameter of 0.5mm and a specific
gravity of 2.65 settling through water at 200C;
(µ = 1.002*10-3 Ns/m3, ρw = 1000Kg/m3).
………SETTLING OPERATION
………SETTLING OPERATION
 ………SETTLING OPERATION
Example: 2
• Find the diameter of the particle that has a
settlement velocity of 0.1m/sec. Use;
ρP = 2650 kg/m3 , ρw = 1000kg/m3 and µ =
1.3*10-3 Ns/m3.
………SETTLING OPERATION
 ………SETTLING OPERATION
 Particles falling through the settling basin have two
components of velocity:
1) Vertical component:

2) Horizontal component: Vo=Q/A

 ………SETTLING OPERATION

The path of the particle is given by the vector

sum of horizontal velocity V and vertical settling
velocity Vs
 ………SETTLING OPERATION
⏏Type-1 settling
• Consider particle in the batch analysis which was
initially at the surface and settled through the
depth of the column Z0, in the time t0.
Then the particle will fall into the sludge
zone and be removed from the suspension at
the point at which the column reaches the
end of the settling zone.
All particles with Vt>V0 will be removed from
suspension at some point along the settling zone.
………SETTLING OPERATION
 ………SETTLING OPERATION
• The time t0 corresponds to the detention time in the settling zone.
• t = V = L Z0W Also,
Q Q
• t0= Z0
v0
Therefore, Z0 = LZ0W and V0= Q
v0 Q LW
or V0= Q
AS

 Thus, the depth of the basin is not a factor in determining the size
particle that can be removed completely in the settling zone.
 Overflow rate is the design factor for settling basins and corresponds to
the terminal setting velocity of the particle that is 100% removed.
 ………SETTLING OPERATION
Large variation in particle size exists in a
typical suspension, thus;
 Evaluate the entire range of settling velocities to
determine overall removal for a given design
settling velocity, or over flow rate.
GENERALLY
• All particles with d>=do, such that V >= Vo, will
arrive at or pass the sampling port in time to.
• A particle with dp < do will have a terminal
settling velocity Vp < Vo and will arrive at or
pass the sampling port in time to, with original
position at, or below a point Zp.
 ………SETTLING OPERATION
If the suspension is mixed uniformly then
the fraction of particles of size dp with
settling velocity Vp which will arrive at or
pass the sampling port in time to will be
Zp/Zo = Vp/Vo.
⏏Thus, the removal efficiency of any size
particle from suspension is the ratio of the
settling velocity of that particle to the settling
velocity Vo; (Vp/Vo)defined by Zo/to.
 ………SETTLING OPERATION
PROCEDURE – SETTLEABLILITY ANALYSIS
 Usually 2m high column
 Mix the suspension thoroughly
 Measure initial SS concentration, Co
 Measure concentrations at certain intervals, Ci
• All particles comprising C1 must have settling
velocities less than Z0/t1. Thus the mass
fraction of particles with V1 < Z0/t1 is;
………SETTLING OPERATION
 ………SETTLING OPERATION
⏏For a given detention time to, an overall
percent removal can be obtained.
All particles with settling velocities greater
than Vo=Zo/to will be 100 percent removed.
Thus, 1 – Xo fraction of particles will be removed
completely in time to.
• The remaining will be removed to the ratio
Vi/Vo, corresponding to the shaded area in Fig.
above.
• If the equation relating V and X is known, the
area can be found by integration:
 ………SETTLING OPERATION

Where;
XT = Total removal of particles in the tank
Xo = The fraction of particles with velocity V < Vo.
 = fraction of particle with velocity V > Vo
 = fraction of particle with velocity V < Vo
 ………SETTLING OPERATION
EXAMPLE
• A settling analysis is run on a type-1
suspension. The column is 2 m deep and data
are shown below.

• What will be the theoretical removal efficiency

in a settling basin with a loading rate of 25
m3/m2-d (25m/d)?
………SETTLING OPERATION
………SETTLING OPERATION
 ………SETTLING OPERATION
SOLUTION…
• Step 3. Determine Vo
• Vo = 25m3/m2.d = 1.74 x 10-2 m/min
• Step 4. Determine xo = 54 %
………SETTLING OPERATION
 ………SETTLING OPERATION
⏏TYPE-2 SETTLING
• Involves flocculating particles in dilute
suspension
• The Stock’s Equation cannot be used.
Flocculating particles Column settleability analysis
with some alteration to that of type-1 settling
• Samples will be taken at several depths at
several time intervals and analyzed for
suspended-solids concentrations.
 ………SETTLING OPERATION
• Batch settling tests are performed to evaluate the
settling characteristics of flocculent suspensions.
………SETTLING OPERATION
 ………SETTLING OPERATION
EXAMPLE:
• Using the settling curves of Fig. below, determine
the overall removal of solids in a sedimentation
basin (type 2 flocculant settling) with a depth
equal to the test cylinder and at a detention time
of 20 min. The total depth is 2.5 m.
………SETTLING OPERATION
 ………SETTLING OPERATION
 Solution:
• Step 1. From Fig, 40% of the particles will have a settling velocity
of 0.1 m/min (2.5 m/25 min)
 At, t = 20 min, the volume of the test cylinder within ∆h6 has 40%
removal
• Step 2. Determine percent removal of each volume of the tank
 In the volume of the tank corresponding to ∆h5 b/n 50 and 40%
removal will occur. Similarly, in the tank volume
corresponding to ∆h4 b/n 60 & 50% will be removed. In
like fashion, this is applied to other tank volumes.
• Step 3. Calculate the overall removal
• Since 1/h = 1/2.5 = 0.4
∆h1= 0.23 m, ∆h2=0.14 m, ∆h3= 0.20 m, ∆h4=0.32 m, ∆h5= 0.50 m
………SETTLING OPERATION
 Exercise 1
⏏A column analysis of a flocculating suspension is run
the apparatus shown below. The initial solids
concentration is 250 mg/L. The resulting matrix is
shown below. What will be the overall removal
efficiency of a settling basin which is 3 m deep with a
detention time of 1 h and 45 min?
 TYPES OF SEDIMENTATION TANK
• Sedimentation tank are classified as
continuous flow or intermittent flow.
• Tanks also classified as;
 Horizontal flow; when the liquid passes through
in the horizontal direction and
 Vertical flow; when the liquid enters near the
bottom of the tank and is withdrawn at the
surface .(used for sewage treatment).
 ……..SEDIMENTATION TANK
• Common types of sedimentation basins are;
 ……..SEDIMENTATION TANK
• Other type of sedimentation is Solids-
contact clarifiers/up flow solids-contact
clarifiers/up flow sludge-blanket clarifiers;
Combine coagulation, flocculation and
sedimentation within a single basin.
Often found in packaged plants and in cold
climates
Also often used in softening operation.
 ……..SEDIMENTATION TANK
• All sedimentation basins have four zones;
Inlet zone,
Settling zone,
 Sludge zone, and
Outlet zone
Each zone should provide
 Smooth transition between the zone before and the
zone after.
has its own unique purpose.
……..SEDIMENTATION TANK
 ……..SEDIMENTATION TANK
Inlet Zone
• Primary purposes;
To distribute the water
To control the water's velocity
Act to prevent turbulence of the water.
 ……..SEDIMENTATION TANK
Settling Zone
• After passing through the inlet zone, water
enters the settling zone
• Water velocity is greatly reduced.
• Bulk of floc settling occurs
• This zone will make up the largest volume of
the sedimentation basin.
• For optimal performance, the settling zone
requires a slow, even flow of water.
• The settling zone may be simply a large
expanse of open water; But in some cases, tube
settlers and lamella plates, are included in the
settling zone.
Determining the capacity of settling zone
• Can be determined on the basis o f over flow
rate.
• Design to minimize turbulence:
length:width = 4:1 to 8:1

inlet outlet
effective settling zone
1–2 m
sludge zone

chamfered weir full-width

to enhance laminar flow weir
(85% of water depth)
 Settling Basins
• Overflow rates are used for design: Vo

Flow Rate (m 3 / s )
Overflow Rate 
settling surface area (m 2 )

length

width
settling surface area = length x width
flow flow
 ……..SEDIMENTATION TANK
Outlet Zone
• Used/Designed to control;
The water flowing out of the sedimentation basin
Short-circuiting of water in and enters the filter.
The water level in the basin.
• The best quality water is usually found at the very top of
the sedimentation basin,
So outlets are usually designed to skim this water
off the sedimentation basin.
 ……..SEDIMENTATION TANK
• A typical outlet zone begins with a baffle in front
of the effluent.
This baffle prevents floating material from escaping
the sedimentation basin and clogging the filters.
 ……..SEDIMENTATION TANK
Sludge Zone
• Is found across the bottom of the
sedimentation basin where the sludge collects
temporarily.
• Velocity in this zone should be very slow to
prevent re-suspension of sludge.
• There is a drain at the bottom of the basin
which allows the sludge to be easily removed
from the tank.
• The tank bottom should slope toward the
drains to further facilitate sludge removal.
 ……..SEDIMENTATION TANK
• Sludge removal is achieved continuously using automated
equipment and/or manually.
• If sludge is not removed from the sedimentation basin
often enough,
The effective volume of the tank will decrease
Reducing the efficiency of sedimentation.
Bottom of tank may become septic
Begun to decay an aerobically.
May result in taste and odour problems
Sludge may also become re-suspended in the water
carried over to the filters. .
 ……..SEDIMENTATION TANK
Sludge disposal
• The sludge which is found in the bottom of a
sedimentation tank is primarily composed of
water.
• The solids in the sludge are mainly excess
coagulant, such as alum.
• Many options exist for disposal of
sedimentation sludge.
Disposal in streams,
Disposal in sanitary sewers,
Lagoons and landfills.
 ……..SEDIMENTATION TANK
 Factors Influencing Efficiency of the basin
i. Floc Characteristics
• The size, shape, and density of the floc entering the
sedimentation basin.
• Floc which is too small or too large, is irregularly shaped,
or has a low density will not tend to settle out.
• Even if the coagulation/flocculation process is very
efficient, floc can disintegrate on its way to or in the
sedimentation basin.
• Previously formed floc will disintegrate
If the water velocity is too high,
If there are sharp bends in the pipe at the inlet.
 ……..SEDIMENTATION TANK
ii. Short-circuiting
• Occurs when water bypasses the normal flow path
through the basin and reaches the outlet in less
than the normal detention time.
• When water in the sedimentation basin short-
circuit,
Floc does not have enough time to settle out
of the water,
Influence the economy of the plant & the quality
of the treated water.
 ……..SEDIMENTATION TANK
• Caused by;
Basin shape
Design along with the design of the inlet & out-let
Temperature
Cold water prevents floc from settling
• Can be detected;
If areas of water in the basin do not appear to
be circulating, or
If sludge build up on the bottom of the basin is
uneven
 DESIGNING A RECTANGULAR
SEDIMENTATION TANK
• Two characteristics are important in
designing a sedimentation basin.
The overflow rate (< 1000gal/day ft2.)
The weir loading (weir overflow rate).
(10,000 to 14,000gpd/ft and should be <
20,000gpd/ft).
 Design of Horizontal Flow Tanks
• A depth of at least 3m is provided to allow for sludge
storage.
• For a given flow rate, the remaining variable to
determine will be either the plan area or the
detention time.
• It is possible to run settling column tests to
determine the expected percentage removal for a
given detention period.
• A factor of 1.5 to 2 should be applied (the detention
time increased by 1.5 to 2) to allow for short-
circuiting caused by wind, temperature differences,
etc.
 DESIGN DETAILS
• Detention period:
 for plain sedimentation: 3 to 4 h, and
 for coagulated sedimentation: 2 to 2 1/2 h
• Velocity of flow: < 18 m/h (horizontal flow tanks)
• Tank dimensions: L : B : 3 to 5 : 1, Generally;
 L = 30 m (common) maximum 100 m.
 Breadth: 6 m to 10 m.
• Circular: Dia < 60 m, Generally 20 to 40 m
• Depth 2.5 to 5.0 m (3 m)
• Surface loading/overflow rate or (SOR)
 For plain sedimentation- 12,000 to 18,000 L/d/m2
 For thoroughly flocculated water 24,000 to 30, 000 L/d/m2
 Horizontal flow circular tank 30,000 to 40,000 L/d/m2
• Slopes: Rectangular 1 % towards inlet and circular 8%
• Weir loading rate, m3/m/d < 248
 Design of Horizontal Flow Tanks
Inlet Arrangement
• The flow should be distributed as uniformly
as possible beyond the inlet zone.
• Weirs, Orifices as well as perforated baffles
can be provided to induce uniform
distribution.
 Design of Horizontal Flow Tanks
• Design of perforated baffles should try to satisfy the following
criteria:
i. The velocity through the ports should be 4 times higher than
any approaching velocities in order to equalize flows.
ii. To avoid braking up flocs, the velocity gradient should be
held to a value close to or a little higher than that in the last
Flocculator.
iii. The maximum feasible number of ports should be provided
to minimize the length of the turbulent entry zone.
iv. The port configuration should be such as to assure that the
discharge jets will direct the flow towards the basin outlet.
 Design of Horizontal Flow Tanks
Outlet Arrangement
• The outlet weir length should be long enough
to reduce the turbulence at outlet from
travelling back to the settlement zone.
• The following formula can be used.
• L = 0.2Q / (H.Vs)
• Where:
H = Depth of the tank
Q = Flow rate
Vs = Settling velocity (m/day)
L = Combined weir length
 Design of Horizontal Flow Tanks

EXAMPLE 1
• Find the dimensions of a rectangular
sedimentation basin for the following data:
Volume of water to be treated = 3 MLD
Detention period = 4 hrs
Velocity of flow = 10 cm/min
Design of Horizontal Flow Tanks
Design of Horizontal Flow Tanks
 Example2
• Design a sedimentation basin with the following
specifications:
 Rectangular basin
 Depth:7-16 ft
 Width:10-50ft
 Length= 4m*width
 Influent baffle to reduce the flow momentum
 Slope of bottom to ward sludge hopper >1%
 Continuous sludge removal with a scraper velocity <15ft/min
 Detention time:4-8 hr
 Flow through velocity :0.5ft/min
 Overflow rate:500-1,000gal/day-ft2
 Weir loading:15,000-20,000gal/day-ft
 Solution
• We will determine the surface area, dimensions,
and volume of the sedimentation tank as well as the
weir length. The calculations are as follows:
1. Divide flow in to at least two tanks.
2. Calculate the required surface area.
3. Calculate the required volume.
4. Calculate the tank depth.
5. Calculate the tank width and length.
6. Check flow through velocity.
7. If velocity is too high, repeat calculations with more
tanks.
8. Calculate the weir length.
Solution
I. Divide the flow
• Flow through each tank should be;
• Q= Qc/n
• Where:
Qc=flow in one tank
Q=total flow
n = number of tanks
 Consider a TP with a flow of; Q=1.5MGD.
 Divide the flow in to three tanks, so the flow in
one tank will be:
Qc = 1.5MGD/3 = 0.5MGD
Solution
II. Surface area
• Take overflow rate of 500gal/day-ft2
A=Qc/Vo
A = (500,000gal/day)/(500gal/day-ft2)
A=1,000ft2
III. Volume
• Take optimal detention = 4 hours. .
V=Qt
V=(500,000gal/day)(4hr)(1day/24hr)(1ft3/7.48gal)
V=11,141ft3
Solution
IV. Depth
d=V/A
d=(11,141ft3)/(1,000ft2)
d = 11.1 ft
• The specifications note that the depth should be
between 7 and 16 feet. Our calculated depth is
within the recommended range.
If the depth was too large---use a larger number of tanks.
If the depth is too shallow---use a smaller number of tank
Solution
V. Width and Length
• For our tank, the length has been defined as
follows: L= 4W
V= LWd
11141 = 4W*W* 11.1
W=15.8ft
• The length is calculated as:
L = 4(15.8ft)
L= 63.2ft
Solution
VI. Checking the flow through velocity
• First, the cross sectional area of the tank
 Ax = Wd
 Ax = (18.5ft) (11.1ft)
 Ax = 175.4ft2
 V=Qc/Ax
 V = (0.0000928ft3-day/gal
min)(500,000gal/day)/175.4ft2
 V=0.26ft/min
 The velocity for our example is less than 0.5ft/min,
so it is acceptable.
Solution
VII. Weir length
• Assume a weir loading of 15,000gal/day-ft
Lw = Qc/WL
Lw = (500,000gal/day)/(15,000gal/day-ft)
Lw = 33.3ft
• The weir length should be 33.3ft.
Solution
 Assume the inlet and out-let zone to be to be
equal to the effective depth of the tank.
 Our plant should build a sedimentation tank
which is 11.1feet deep, 15.8feet wide, and
63.2feet long.
 This tank will have a surface area of 1,000ft2
and a volume of 11,141ft3.
 The flow through velocity will be 0.26ft/min
 The weir length will be 33.3ft.
 EXERCISE 2
• Design a circular basin. A circular
sedimentation tank is to have a minimum
detention time of 4 h and a maximum
overflow rate of 20 m3/m2.d. Determine the
required diameter of the tank and the depth
if the average flow rate through the tank is 6
ML/d.
 EXERCISE 3
• Design a long-rectangular settling basin for
type-2 settling. A city must treat about
15,000 m3/d of water. Flocculating particles
are produced by coagulation, and a column
analysis indicates that an overflow rate of
20 m/d will produce satisfactory removal at
a depth of 2.5 m. Determine the size of the
required settling tank.
• FIELD TRIP

LAGA SORI (Mettu town WTP)