ACEE 434

Environmental Systems Design

Week 12
November 18,
18 2009

ACEE 434 Fall 2009 HDP 1

SOLIDS HANDLING

ACEE 434 Fall 2009 HDP 2

 Typical Methods
For the mixtures of primary and secondary sludges

1. Anaerobic digestion
g → Sand-bed dewatering
g → Landfill disposal
p

2. Anaerobic digestion → Chemical conditioning → Vacuum filtration or

centrifugation → Landfill disposal

3. Gravity thickening → Chemical conditioning → Vacuum filtration or

centrifugation → multiple-hearth or fluidized-bed incineration → Landfill
disposal

4. Gravity thickening → Chemical conditioning → Vacuum filtration → Flash

d i →L
drying Landfill
dfill di
disposall

ACEE 434 Fall 2009 HDP 3

 Typical Methods
For the separate treatment of primary and secondary sludges

1. Gravityy thickening
g of p
primary
y sludge
g → Air-floatation thickening
g of excess
activated sludge → Anaerobic digestion → Chemical conditioning →
Vacuum filtration or centrifugation → Landfill disposal

2. Gravity thickening of primary sludge → Air-floatation thickening of excess

activated sludge → Anaerobic digestion → Chemical conditioning →
Vacuum filtration or centrifugation → Multiple-hearth or fluidized-bed
incineration → Landfill
f disposal

* Fresh or undigested sludges, such as primary or secondary sludges, are rather difficult to dewater
as compared to digested sludges.

ACEE 434 Fall 2009 HDP 4

 Gravity Thickening

Reynolds and Richards Figure 21.1

Gravity-type sludge thickener

• The slope is much greater and vertical pickets are mounted on the trusswork.
• The pickets mounted on the moving trusswork slowly rake through the sludge mass and break up
sludge arching or bridging, thus releasing entrained water that rises to the surface, where it leaves
as the supernatant.

ACEE 434 Fall 2009 HDP 5

 Gravity Thickening
Reynolds and Richards

Design of the gravity thickening

- Solids loading (see the table)

- Overflow rate: 16 - 32 m3/day/m2
- Solids retention time: 0.5 - 2 days

ACEE 434 Fall 2009 HDP 6

 Air Floatation
• Fine air bubbles are introduced into the liquid,
q , resulting
g in the attachment of the
bubbles to the particles.

• The attached bubbles cause the particles to rise to liquid surface, where they
are removed by skimming.

Air floatation system without recycle

Reynolds and Richards Figure 21-3
Air-flotation system without recycle

ACEE 434 Fall 2009 HDP 7

 Air Floatation

30-150% of the feed flow

Reynolds and Richards Figure 21-2

Air-flotation system with recycle
Ai flfloatation
Air t ti system
t with
ith recycle
l

ACEE 434 Fall 2009 HDP 8

 Air Floatation

• Floatation uses the formation of air bubbles on the solid particles to buoy
them to the surface, where they are skimmed from the flotation tank.

• The air pressure in the dissolution tank is usually 40 to 70 psi (280 to 480
kPa), and the recycle flow is usually from 30% to 150% of the feed flow.

• Sludge content in the thickened sludge is usually higher and the cost of the
floatation system is usually less than gravity thickening.

• Air/solids ratio: 0.005 – 0.06

ACEE 434 Fall 2009 HDP 9

 Air Floatation
• Design a dissolved air floatation system

A 1.3as ( fP − 1)
= Air floatation system without recycle
S Ss
h
where
A/S = air to solids ratio, mg/mg
a s = air solubility, ml/L
f = fraction of air dissolved at a given pressure, usally 0.5 to 0.8
P = absolute pressure in atmosphere
Ss = suspended
d d solids
lid concentrat
t tion,
i mg/L
/L

A 1.3as ( fP − 1) R Air floatation system with recycle

=
S S sQ
where
R = recycle flowrate
Q = wastewater flowrate

ACEE 434 Fall 2009 HDP 10

 Air Floatation

Effluent ssolids conc.

Target

A/S ratio
Bench-scale batch floatation test equipment
Reynolds and Richards Figure 23
23-3
3
Flotation test equipment

Overflow rate: 12 – 117 m3/d/m2

ACEE 434 Fall 2009 HDP 11

 Air Floatation
Air floatation without recycle

A wastewater flow of 1900 m3/d has 200 mg/L suspended solids. Air flotation tests show
that 0.05 mg air/mg solids gives optimum floatation. The design temperature is 20 oC,
and as = 18.7 mgl/L at this temperature. The fraction of absorption is 0.5, and the
overflow rate is 117 m3/d/m2. Determine the required pressure and floatation tank area.

A 1.3as ( fP − 1)
=
S Ss

(1.3)(18.7)(0.5P − 1)
0.05 = P = 2.82 atm
200

Plan area = Q / OF = (1900 m3/d) / (117 m3/d/m2)

= 16.2 m2

ACEE 434 Fall 2009 HDP 12

 Air Floatation
Air floatation with recycle

Determine the recycle ratio if the operating pressure is 3.0 atm. Also determine the
floatation tank area. (Conditions are same as the previous example)

A 1.3as ( fP − 1) R
=
S S sQ

(1.3)(18.7)(0.5 × 3.0 − 1) R
0.05 = R / Q = 0.82
200Q

Plan area = Q / OF = (1900 m3/d)(1+0.82) / (117 m3/d/m2)

= 29.6 m2

ACEE 434 Fall 2009 HDP 13

 Dewatering
• Dewatering consists of removing as much water from a sludge as possible so
that the dewatered sludge volume to be subsequently processed is minimized.

Drum type Belt type

Reynolds and Richards Figure 21-7 Reynolds and Richards Figure 21-9
Rotary vacuum filter (drum type) Rotary vacuum filter (belt type)
Rotary vacuum filter

ACEE 434 Fall 2009 HDP 14

 Dewatering
Reynolds and Richards

ACEE 434 Fall 2009 HDP 15

 Dewatering
dV ΔpA2
=
dt μ ( wVR + AR f )
where
V = volume of filtrate (m3 )
t = time (hr)
Δp = vacuum pressure differential (N/m 2 )
A = filter ( 2)
filt area (m
μ = absolute or dynamic viscosity of the filtrate (N ⋅ s/m 2 )
w = we
weight
g toor mass
ass o
of tthee ssludge
udge ca
cakee pe
per volume g/ 3 )
vo u e ((kg/m
R = specific resitance of the sludge cake (s 2 /kg) - Principal design parameter
- Reciprocal of the permeability
R f = specific resitance of the filter medium (s 2 /kg) - Obtained from lab. test

t ⎛ μwR ⎞ μR f
= ⎜⎜ ⎟V + For a constant vacuum pressure
V ⎝ 2ΔpA2 ⎟⎠ ΔpA

ACEE 434 Fall 2009 HDP 16

 Dewatering

μwR
Slope =

t/V
2ΔpA2

⎛ 2ΔpA
A2 ⎞
R = ⎜⎜ ⎟⎟( slope)
Lab. Test unit for vacuum filtration ⎝ μw ⎠
Reynolds and Richards Figure 21-10
Laboratory apparatus for vacuum filtration test

ACEE 434 Fall 2009 HDP 17

 Dewatering
w can be determined from the vacuum test or from the following equation.

γ or ρ
w=
[(1 − x) / x] − [(1 − xc ) / xc ]
where
w = weight or mass of the sludge cake per volume
γ = specific weight of water
x = dry solids content in the unfiltered sludge expressed as a fraction
xc = dry solids content in the cake expressed as a fraction
ρ = density of water

ACEE 434 Fall 2009 HDP 18

 Dewatering

Conditioners will reduce the

specific resistance of the
sludge

Specific resistance versus chemical dosage used for conditioning

ACEE 434 Fall 2009 HDP 19

 Dewatering
Vacuum filter yield

1/ 2
⎛ 2ΔPwα ⎞
Y = ⎜⎜ ⎟⎟ When the sludge cake is incompressible and the specific resistance
⎝ μRθg ⎠ is independent of the vacuum level.
where
Y = filter yield (kg/h ⋅ m 2 )
ΔP = vacuum pressure differential (N/m 2 )
w = weight of mass of dry solids per unit volume of filtrate (kg/m3 )
α = ratio of form time to cycle time
μ = absolute or dynamic viscosity of the filtrate (N ⋅ s/m 2 )
R = speicific resistance of the sludge cake (s 2 /kg)
θ = cycle time of the rotating drum (sec)
g = acceleration due to gravity (9.806 m/s 2 )

ACEE 434 Fall 2009 HDP 20

 Dewatering
Vacuum filter yield

A conditioned digested sludge is to be dewatered on a rotary vacuum filter under a

vacuum of 640 mmHg. A vacuum filtration test has been done in the laboratory; it gave a
specific resistance of 2.4 x 107 sec2/g, the unfiltered sludge solids were 4.5% by dry
weight, and the sludge cake had 32% dry solids. The filtration temperature is 21.1 oC, the
cycle time is 6 min, and the form time is 40% of the cycle time. Determine the filter yield
in kg/h-m2.

Dry solids weight per unit volume of filtrate

γ or ρ g 3
999.7 kg/m
w= = = 52.35 kg/m
k / 3
[(1 − x) / x] − [(1 − xc ) / xc ] [(1 - 0.045)/0.045] - [(1 - 0.32)/0.32]

Specific resistance

R = (2.4 × 107 s 2 / g )(103 g / kg ) = 2.4 × 1010 s 2 / kg

ACEE 434 Fall 2009 HDP 21

 Dewatering
Vacuum filter yield

Vacuum differential

⎛ 101.37 kPa ⎞
ΔP = ⎜⎜ ⎟⎟(640 mmHg) = 85.36
85 36 kPa = 85.36
85 36 × 103 N/m 2
⎝ 760 mmHg ⎠

Vacuum filter yield

1/ 2
⎡ ⎛ 3 N ⎞⎛ kg ⎞ ⎤
1/ 2 ⎢ 2⎜ 86.36 × 10 2 ⎟⎜ 52.35 3 ⎟(0.40) ⎥
⎛ 2ΔPwα ⎞
ΔPw ⎝ ⎠⎝ ⎠
⎟⎟ = ⎢ ⎥
m m
Y = ⎜⎜
⎝ μRθg ⎠ ⎢⎛ - 4 N ⋅ s ⎞⎛ 10 s ⎞
2
⎛ m ⎞⎥
⎢ ⎜ 9.82 × 10 2 ⎟⎜
⎜ 2.4 × 10 ⎟⎟(360 s)⎜ 9.806 2 ⎟ ⎥
⎣⎝ m ⎠⎝ kg ⎠ ⎝ s ⎠⎦
= 23.6 kg/h ⋅ m 2

ACEE 434 Fall 2009 HDP 22

 Dewatering
Filter drum area

If the sludge has a flow of 322 m3/d, determine the required filter drum area.

M
Mass ffeed
d rate
t Assuming the specific gravity is approximately1
approximately1.0
0

= (332 m 3 /d)(d/24 hr)(1000 kg/m3 )(4.5 kg/100 kg) = 604 kg/d

Required area (A)

= (604 kg/h)/(23.
kg/h)/(23 6 kg/h ⋅ m 2 ) = 25.6
25 6 m 2

Vacuum filter yield

ACEE 434 Fall 2009 HDP 23

 Dewatering
Reynolds and Richards Figure 21-12
Section through a filter press

Belt press
Reynolds and Richards Figure 21-15
Belt press
Reynolds and Richards Figure 21-13
Elevation of a filter press
Filter press
P
Pressure Filt
Filter

ACEE 434 Fall 2009 HDP 24

 Dewatering

Continuous countercurrent solid-bowl centrifuge

Reynolds and Richards Figure 21-16
Continuous countercurrent solid-bowl centrifuge

C t if
Centrifuge

ACEE 434 Fall 2009 HDP 25

 Sludge Drying Bed

Reynolds and Richards Figure 21-18

Sludge-drying bed

ACEE 434 Fall 2009 HDP 26

 Incineration

Multiple hearth incinerator Fluidized bed incinerator

Reynolds and Richards Figure 21-20 Reynolds and Richards Figure 21-21
Multiple-hearth incinerator Fluidized-bed incinerator

ACEE 434 Fall 2009 HDP 27