CIVL 309

WATER AND WASTEWATER

TREATMENT
Nana Ackerson, Ph.D.
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
University of Energy and Natural Resources, Sunyani, Ghana

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Introduction
• Screening is the retention of particles either by a grid or longitudinal bars
with openings smaller than the particles to be removed.
• Design of screen involves:
✓selection of materials
✓structural calculations
✓Mechanical appurtenances
✓hydraulics
✓cleaning
✓conveyance of screening wastes
✓disposal of screenings
✓provision for maintenance 3
Theory of Screening
• Generally, screening is a method of separating particles according to
size alone.
• A screen accepts feed of mixture of particles of different sizes and
separate them into underflow and overflow.
• The cut diameter, dc, marks the point of separation between fractions.
• Screens are sized in terms of capacity.
• Capacity is the limit of the mass of material fed per unit time per unit
area of the screen.

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Factors Affecting Passage of Particles in
Screen
• The fraction of the openings relative to the gross surface area
• The ratio of the diameter of the particle to the width of an opening in
the screen
• The number of contacts per unit of flow between the particle and
screen surface
• The shear force caused by the fluid velocity relative to a resisting
particle.

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Types of Screens
• Wastewater treatment
Bar screens • Protect equipment e.g., pumps

• Drinking water treatment

Coarse screens • Protect equipment e.g., pumps

• Drinking water treatment – intake

Trash rack • Keep out debris that could clog pipes and pumps, cause nuisances, and interfere with treatment

Drum screen • Industrial and domestic wastewater

Disk screen • Wastewater treatment

Microscreen • Wastewater treatment

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Bar Screens
• Found at the headworks of wastewater treatment plant.
• Made of steel bars with openings of 10 – 30 mm.
• They exclude large objects and rags which could clog intake pipes,
flow measuring devices, fine screens, or pumps.
• The opening should be smaller than the size of smallest pipe or pump.
• Cleaning: manual, mechanical
• Screenings: varies with the size of bar screen openings

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Bar Screens
• Bar size: depends on the width and depth of the screen channel.
• Recommendation (Chainbelt, 1955): 8 mm x 80 mm bars for bars up to 1.83m
in length or 95 mm x 64 mm bars for bars up to 3.66m in length.
• Freeboard allowance: 23 cm
• Hydraulic design:
• Velocities <0.61 m/s for normal sewage flow
• Velocity=0.91 m/s for storm water flow (Rexnord, 1955)
• Velocities are basis for calculating gross channel area
• Headloss: determines whether or not appreciable backup will occur in the sewer.
1 𝑣𝑠2 −𝑣𝑐2 hL is the headloss across bar screen
Calculated as: ℎ𝐿 = ∙ vs is the velocity through the rack (m/s)
0.7 2𝑔
vc is the velocity in channel above rack (m/s)
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g is the acceleration due to gravity (9.81 m/s2)
Comminutors
• Comminutor is a bar screen with a cutting device aligned with the bar.
• The comminutor is located usually after the bar screen and prior to pumping
(if required).
• Usually located after grit chamber.
• Design:
❑Sizing depends on flow capacity and the number of units
❑Number of units equals plant flow divided by flow capacity
❑Flow capacity depends upon the diameter of the unit and the water levels
desired for operation
❑Water level is determined by rating curves
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Fine Screen
• Fine screens are screens with size openings 12 mm or less (Pankratz,
1988).
• They are applied in both drinking-water and wastewater treatment.
• The configurations for fine screens include rectangular elements
mounted on a vertically oriented belt, rotary screens, disk screens, and
static screens (Pankratz, 1988).

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Microscreens
• Microscreens are a special type of fine screens which have fabric
openings of microns size.
• The removal mechanism is straining based upon the size of opening in
the fabric.
• Used for algae removal in both water treatment and in effluent from
wastewater stabilization ponds.
• The effectiveness of a microscreen in removal of solids depends on the
mesh size and on the material being removed.
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