Unit-II WATER TREATMENT

INTRODUCTION
The objectives of a water supply system are to ensure the reliable, sustainable, and equitable provision of clean
and safe water for various purposes. These objectives serve as the foundation for designing, operating, and managing
water supply systems effectively. The primary objectives of water supply are as follows:

1. Public Health and Safety:

 The foremost objective is to provide water that is safe for consumption to prevent waterborne diseases and protect
public health.
2. Adequate Supply:
 To meet the demand for water, ensuring that there is enough water available to meet the needs of the population and
various sectors, including domestic, industrial, agricultural, and commercial.
3. Reliability and Continuity:
 To provide a consistent and reliable supply of water, minimizing interruptions and ensuring that water is available
when needed, 24/7.
4. Quality of Water:
 To deliver water that meets or exceeds water quality standards, including parameters such as turbidity,
microbiological safety, chemical composition, and aesthetic qualities like taste and odor.
5. Equity and Access:
 To ensure equitable access to clean and safe water, without discrimination, to all members of the community,
including vulnerable and marginalized populations.
6. Sustainability:
 To manage water resources in a sustainable manner, ensuring that the supply is reliable in the long term while
minimizing environmental impacts, such as over-extraction of groundwater or degradation of water sources.
7. Efficiency:
 To operate the water supply system efficiently, minimizing water losses through leakage and theft, and optimizing
resource use to reduce costs.
8. Environmental Protection:
 To protect and preserve the natural environment by minimizing pollution of water sources, maintaining ecological
balance, and complying with environmental regulations.
9. Infrastructure Development and Maintenance:
 To plan, develop, and maintain the infrastructure necessary for water supply, including water treatment plants,
distribution networks, and storage facilities.
10. Resilience and Disaster Preparedness:
 To ensure that the water supply system is resilient to natural disasters, such as floods, droughts, and earthquakes,
and has contingency plans in place to manage emergencies effectively.
11. Financial Sustainability:
 To manage the financial aspects of the water supply system in a way that ensures its long-term sustainability,
including cost recovery, tariff setting, and budget management.
12. Regulatory Compliance:
 To comply with local, regional, and national regulations and standards related to water quality, safety, and
distribution.
13. Community Engagement and Participation:
 To involve the community in decision-making processes, raise awareness about water conservation, and encourage
responsible water use.
14. Technology and Innovation:
 To continuously explore and adopt new technologies and innovations to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of
water supply systems.
 These objectives guide the planning, operation, and management of water supply systems to meet the
essential needs of communities while ensuring the responsible and sustainable use of water resources. Achieving
these objectives requires collaboration among government agencies, utilities, communities, and other stakeholders
involved in water supply.
UNIT OPERATIONS AND PROCESS OF WATER TREATMENT
Water treatment involves a combination of unit operations and processes to remove impurities,
contaminants, and pathogens from raw water, making it safe and suitable for various uses. Unit operations are
individual physical processes, while processes involve multiple unit operations used together to achieve specific
treatment goals. Here's an overview of the key unit operations and processes commonly used in water treatment:

1. Screening:

 Unit Operation: Screening involves passing raw water through screens or grates to remove large debris such as
leaves, sticks, and larger particles.
 Purpose: To protect downstream treatment processes by preventing the entry of large particles that could clog
equipment or interfere with subsequent treatment.

2. Coagulation:

 Unit Operation: Coagulation involves adding chemicals (coagulants, often aluminum sulfate or ferric chloride) to
destabilize suspended particles and colloids.
 Purpose: To neutralize charges on particles, allowing them to clump together (coagulate) for easier removal in
subsequent processes.

3. Flocculation:

 Unit Operation: Flocculation consists of gently stirring or mixing water to encourage the formation of larger,
heavier particles called flocs.
 Purpose: To promote the aggregation of coagulated particles into larger, settleable masses that can be more easily
removed in sedimentation.

4. Sedimentation:

 Unit Operation: Sedimentation basins allow flocs to settle to the bottom due to gravity.
 Purpose: To separate suspended solids and flocs from water, producing clarified water for further treatment.

5. Filtration:

 Unit Operation: Filtration involves passing water through a granular bed, typically composed of sand, gravel, and
sometimes anthracite coal or multimedia filters.
 Purpose: To remove remaining suspended particles, microorganisms, and impurities from water, providing further
clarification.

6. Disinfection:

 Unit Operation: Disinfection involves adding a disinfectant like chlorine, chloramine, ozone, or UV radiation to
kill or inactivate harmful microorganisms, including bacteria, viruses, and protozoa.
 Purpose: To ensure the water is safe for consumption by eliminating or rendering harmless pathogenic
microorganisms.

7. pH Adjustment:

 Unit Operation: pH adjustment is achieved by adding chemicals like lime or soda ash to control and maintain the
pH level within the desired range.
 Purpose: To control the acidity or alkalinity of the water, which can affect the efficiency of subsequent treatment
processes and prevent corrosion in distribution systems.

8. Adsorption:

 Unit Operation: Adsorption involves passing water through activated carbon beds or other adsorbents to remove
organic compounds, taste, odor, and some chemicals.
 Purpose: To improve the aesthetic qualities of the water and remove organic contaminants.

9. Ion Exchange:

 Unit Operation: Ion exchange uses resin beds to remove specific ions from the water, such as hardness ions
(calcium and magnesium) or heavy metals (e.g., lead and copper).
 Purpose: To soften water, remove toxic metals, or exchange ions for specific treatment objectives.

10. Membrane Processes: -

 Unit Operation: Membrane filtration techniques like reverse osmosis (RO) and ultrafiltration (UF) use
semipermeable membranes to separate contaminants, including dissolved salts and organic matter.
 Purpose: To produce high-quality water by removing dissolved solids and impurities, often used in desalination and
advanced treatment.

These unit operations and processes can be combined and customized to meet specific water treatment goals and
address the unique characteristics of the raw water source. The selection and sequence of treatment methods depend on
factors such as source water quality, treatment objectives, regulatory requirements, and available infrastructure and
resources.
PRICIPLE FUNCTION AND DESIGN OF A WATER TREATMENT PLANT
A water treatment plant is a complex facility designed to treat raw water from natural sources (such as rivers,
lakes, reservoirs, or groundwater) to produce clean and safe drinking water or water suitable for various other purposes.
The design and operation of a water treatment plant are based on several principles and functions. Here's an overview:

1. Principles of Water Treatment:

 Pollution Removal: The primary goal is to remove impurities, contaminants, and pathogens from the raw water to
ensure its safety and quality.
 Multiple Barriers: A multi-barrier approach is employed, which involves multiple treatment processes in sequence
to ensure redundancy and reliability in achieving water quality standards.
 Chemical Reactions: Chemical reactions are used to destabilize, coagulate, flocculate, and precipitate impurities,
making them easier to remove.
 Physical Separation: Physical processes like sedimentation and filtration are used to separate particles and
impurities from water.
 Biological Treatment (if needed): In some cases, biological treatment processes may be employed to remove
specific contaminants or nutrients, such as nitrogen and phosphorus.
 Disinfection: The final treatment step involves the addition of disinfectants (e.g., chlorine, UV, ozone) to kill or
inactivate harmful microorganisms.

2. Functions of a Water Treatment Plant:

 Raw Water Intake: Collects water from the source, which may include screens or bar racks to remove large debris.
 Pre-Treatment: Involves processes like coagulation, flocculation, and sedimentation to remove suspended solids
and impurities.
 Filtration: Passes water through granular media (e.g., sand, gravel) to further remove particles.
 Disinfection: Kills or inactivates pathogens through the addition of disinfectants.
 Chemical Addition: Involves the addition of various chemicals, such as coagulants, pH-adjusting chemicals, and
corrosion control agents.
 Residuals Handling: Manages and disposes of the sludge and other waste materials generated during treatment.
 Water Storage: Stores treated water in clearwells or reservoirs to ensure a continuous and reliable supply.
 Distribution: Distributes treated water through a network of pipes to consumers.
 Monitoring and Control: Involves continuous monitoring of water quality parameters and automated control
systems to ensure consistent and safe water production.

3. Design Considerations:

 Source Water Quality: The design of a treatment plant should consider the quality of the raw water, as this will
determine the treatment processes needed.
 Treatment Objectives: The specific treatment goals, such as achieving certain water quality standards or addressing
unique contaminants, should guide the plant's design.
 Capacity and Demand: The design must consider the plant's capacity to meet current and future water demand.
 Redundancy and Reliability: Design redundancy into critical treatment processes to ensure reliability, especially
during maintenance or equipment failure.
 Safety and Environmental Compliance: Ensure that the design complies with safety regulations and
environmental standards.
 Resilience to Natural Disasters: Consider factors like flood protection, earthquake resistance, and backup power
sources to ensure plant resilience.
 Operator Training and Maintenance: Design the plant with operator-friendly features and ensure maintenance
requirements are feasible.
 Energy Efficiency: Consider energy-efficient equipment and processes to minimize operational costs and
environmental impact.
 Treatment Plant Layout: Design the layout for efficient flow of water through different treatment processes and
for ease of maintenance.
 Budget and Funding: The available budget and funding sources will influence the scope and complexity of the
plant's design.

A well-designed water treatment plant is critical for providing a safe and reliable water supply to communities. The
design should be tailored to the specific needs and challenges of the location and take into account the principles of
water treatment to produce high-quality drinking water or water for other designated purposes.
WATER TREATMENT

SCREENING

Screens are fixed in the intake works or at the entrance of treatment plant. the filtration of coarser floating
and suspended materials. So, the larger materials like we may have papers coming in the water wood, leaves, aquatic
plants then polyethene, these kind of things may come floating with the water and then they needs to be filtered out so
that it does not enter into the our main basin or through equipment and pump and do not spoil them.

Types of screening are

Rotatory & Bar screening method
PRIMARY TREATMENT AERATION
Aeration is usually effective against several pollutants are discussed the dissolved gases like random
carbon dioxide , some taste and odour producing compounds like methane hydrogen sulphide, the volatile
organic compounds like MTB or industrial solvents, it can also raise the pH of water and it can be used for
precipitation and removal of iron and manganese aeration.
Aeration is usually not effective against other heavy metals it does not affect them much it is not effective
against pathogens okay. So, the disease-causing organisms like bacteria and virus rather they may get more
oxygen and they may get like they may proliferate more or so, rapid growth with Aeration, and it is not effective
against the turbidity and other suspended materials.

SEDIMENTATION
In sedimentation there are Sedimentation aided with coagulation.
PLAIN SEDIMENTATION
By plain sedimentation the following are the advantages.
1. Plain sedimentation lightens the load on the subsequent process.
2. The operation of subsequent purification process can be controlled in better way.
3. The cost of cleaning the chemical coagulation basins is reduced.
4. No chemical is lost with sludge discharged from the plain settling basin.
5. Less quantity of chemicals are required in the subsequent treatment processes.
The design aspects of sedimentary tanks are
1. Velocity of flow
2. Capacity of tank
3. Inlet and outlet arrangements
4. Shapes of tanks
5. Miscellaneous considerations.

SHAPES OF TANKS
Following are the three shapes of settling tank
1. Rectangular tanks with horizontal flow
2. Circular tanks with radial or spiral flow
3. Hopper bottom tanks with vertical flow
SEDIMENTATION AIDED WITH COAGULATION
When water contains fine clay and colloidal impurities which are electrically charged are continually in
motion and never settle down due to gravitational force. Certain chemicals are added to the water so as to remove
such impurities which are not removed by plain sedimentation. The chemical form insoluble, gelatinous, flocculent
precipitate absorbs and entangle very fine suspended matter and colloidal impurities during its formation and descent
through water. These coagulants further have an advantage of removing colour, odour and taste from the water.
Turbidity of water reduced upto 5-10 ppm and bacteria removes upto 65%.
FILTERATION
The process of passing the water through beds of sand or other granular materials is known as filtration.
Filters are used for removing bacteria, colour, taste, odours and producing clear and sparkling water.
By sand filtration 95 to 98% suspended impurities are removed.
Filtration is carries out in three types of filters

 Slow sand filter

 Rapid sand filter Gravity filters
 Trickling Filter
 Pressure filter
SLOW SAND FILTER
Slow sand filters are best suited for the filtration of water for small towns. The sand used for the filtration is
specified by the effective size and uniformity coefficient .
Slow sand filter is made up of a top layer of fine sand of effective size 0.2. to 0.3mm and uniformity coefficient 2
to 3 . The thickness of the layer may be 75 to 90 cm. Below the fine sand layer, a layer of coarse sand of such size
whose voids do not permit the fine sand to pass through it. The thickness of this layer may be 30cm. The
lowermost layer is a graded gravel of size 2 to 45mm and thickness is about 20 to 30cm. The gravel is laid in
layers such that the smallest sizes are at the top.
The gravel layer retains the coarse sand layer and is laid over the network of open jointed clay pipe or concrete
pipes called under drainage. Water collected by the under drainage is passed into the out chamber.

TRICKLING FILTER
Filter is open to atmosphere, air flows naturally through media .Treated water leaves bottom of tank, flows
into secondary clarifier .Bacterial cells settle, removed from clarifier as sludge. Some water is recycled to the
filter, to maintain moist conditions.
 PRESSURE FILTER
Pressure filter is type of rapid sand filter in a closed water tight cylinder through which the water passes
through the sand bed under pressure. All the operations of the filter is similar to rapid gravity filter, expect
that the coagulated water is directly applied to the filter without mixing and flocculation. These filters are
used for industrial plants but these are not economical on large scale. Pressure filters may be vertical pressure
filter and horizontal pressure filter.
.

DISINFECTION
The filtered water may normally contain some harmful disease producing bacteria in it. These bacteria must be
killed in order to make the water safe for drinking. The process of killing these bacteria is known as Disinfection
or Sterilization.
1. Boiling: The bacteria present in water can be destroyed by boiling it for a long time. However it is not
practically possible to boil huge amounts of water. Moreover it cannot take care of future possible
contaminations.
2. Treatment with Excess Lime: Lime is used in water treatment plant for softening. But if excess lime is
added to the water, it can in addition, kill the bacteria also. Lime when added raises the pH value of water
making it extremely alkaline. This extreme alkalinity has been found detrimental to the survival of bacteria.
This method needs the removal of excess lime from the water before it can be supplied to the general public.
Treatment like recarbonation for lime removal should be used after disinfection.
3. Treament with Ozone: Ozone readily breaks down into normal oxygen, and releases nascent oxygen. The
nascent oxygen is a powerful oxidising agent and removes the organic matter as well as the bacteria from the
water.
4. Chlorination: The germicidal action of chlorine, according to which the chlorine enters the cell walls of
bacteria and kill the enzymes which are essential for the metabolic processes of living organisms.
PHYSICAL METHODS

1. BOILING: Boil the water for 15 to 20 minutes and kills the disease causing bacteria. This process is
applicable for individual homes.
2. ULTRA-VIOLET RAYS: Water is allowed to pass about 10cm thickness by ultraviolet rays. This process is
very costly and not used at water works. Suitable for institutions.
3. ULTRASONIC RAYS: Suitable for institutions.
4. CHEMICAL METHODS CHLORINATION: Using chlorine gas or chlorine compounds.
5. BROMINE AND IODINE : It is expensive and leaves taste and odour
6. POTASSIUMPERMANGANATE: This method is used for disinfection of dug well water, pond water or
private source of water.
7. OZONE : Very expensive process, leaves no taste, odour or residual.
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