FILTRATION

Prof. Vaibhav D. Kamble

 PROCESS OF TREATMENT

• Screening
• Plain
Sedimentation
• Sedimentation
with Coagulation
• Filtration
• Disinfection
• Aeration
• Softening
 DRAWBACK OF
PRELIMINARY/PRIMARY METHODS

• Screening and Sedimentation removes a large amount of

suspended solids and organic matter present in water

• Sedimentation with coagulation is not effective in

removing fine floc particles ( which do not settle down in
sedimentation tank ), Colour, dissolved minerals and
microorganisms or bacteria present in water)
 FILTRATION – DEFINITION
• To remove these remaining impurities and to produce
potable water the water is filtered through the beds of fine
granular material such as sand

• The process of passing the water through the beds of such

granular materials is called as filtration

• Filtration helps in removing colour, odour, turbidity and

pathogenic bacteria from water
THEORY OF
FILTRATION
 EFFECTS OF FILTRATION
• It has been noticed that during filtration following effects
are produced in water

1) The suspended and colloidal matter present in water is

considerably reduced
2) The chemical characteristics of water are changed
3) The number of bacteria present in water are
considerably reduced
 THEORY OF FILTRATION
1) Mechanical Straining

2) Flocculation and Sedimentation

3) Biological Metabolism

4) Electolytic Changes
FILTER MATERIALS
 FILTER MATERIALS
• Sand- most widely used filter material
• Layer of sand is supported on a gravel bed
• The sand to be used should be fairly uniform in size

• The uniformity characteristics of sand are expressed in terms of

1) Effective size – D10
2) Uniformity Coefficient Cu- D60/D10
For uniformly graded sand , Cu=1
 FILTER MATERIALS
• Further the sand used for filter should satisfy the following
1) It should be hard and resistant against weathering
2) Ignition loss should not exceed 0.7% by weight
3) Specific gravity- 2.55 to 2.65
4) Its silica content should not be less than 90%
5) Its soluble fraction in Hydrochloric acid should not
exceed 5% by weight
 OTHER FILTERING MATERIALS

 Anthracite, Coconut shell, Powered or granular

activated carbon

 None of these filter materials has find wide application

as sand

 The gravel to be used below the sand should be hard,

durable and free from impurities
CLASSIFICATION OF
FILTERS
 CLASSIFICATION OF FILTERS

• Filters are classified on the basis of

1) The rate of filtration

2) The driving force required to overcome the frictional

resistance encountered by the water flowing through the
filter can be either the force of gravity or the applied
pressure force
 CLASSIFICATION OF FILTERS

• The rate of filtration

1. Slow sand filter
2. Rapid sand filter- a. Rapid gravity filters,
b. Pressure filters

• Depending upon the driving force

1. Gravity filters
2. Pressure Filters
SLOW SAND FILTER
 SLOW SAND FILTER

• First used in England in 1829 by James Simpson

• They were widely used until the last decade of 19th century
before the invention of rapid gravity filters
• They are becoming absolute these days
• They may still preferred on smaller plants at warm places
• Slow sand filter utilize the effluent from plain
sedimentation tank and used for relatively clearer water
CONSTRUCTION OF
SLOW SAND FILTER
 CONSTRUCTION OF SLOW SAND FILTER

• The slow sand filter consists of the following parts

1) Enclosure tank
2) Filter media
3) Base material
4) Under drainage system
5) Inlet and outlet arrangements
6) Other appurtenances
CONSTRUCTION OF SLOW SAND FILTER
 1) ENCLOSURE TANK
• Open water tight
rectangular tank

• Made up of Masonry or
concrete

• Bed slope is generally kept

at about 1 in 100

• Depth of tank- 2.5 to 3.5m

• Plan area - 100 to 2000 m2

 2) FILTER MEDIA
• Sand layers 90cm to 110 cm in depth
• Placed over gravel support
• Effective size D10 – 0.2 mm to 0.4mm
• Uniformity Coefficient Cu- 2.5 to 3
• The top 15 cm layer of this sand is generally kept of finer variety
• If different gradations of sand are used then coarsest layer should be
at the bottom
• The finer the sand used the purer will be the water
 3) BASE MATERIAL
• The base material is gravel and it supports the sand
• It consists of 30 to 75cm thick gravels
• Generally 3 to 4 layers of 15 to 20 cm are used
• Bottom most layer- 40 to 65mm
• Intermediate layer- 20 to 40mm
• Topmost layer 3 to 6mm
 4) UNDER DRAINAGE SYSTEM

• The gravel support is laid on the top of under drainage

system
• The under drainage system consists of a central drain and
lateral drain
4) UNDER DRAINAGE SYSTEM
 4) UNDER DRAINAGE SYSTEM
• Sometimes instead of placing it in the centre the main
drain is placed along the one side of tank and the laterals
are placed sloping towards the central drain
4) UNDER DRAINAGE SYSTEM
 5) INLET AND OUTLET ARRANGEMENTS

• An inlet chamber is constructed for

admitting the effluent from plain
sedimentation tank without disturbing the
sand layers of filter

• A filtered water well is constructed at the

outlet side

• In order to maintain a constant discharge

through the filter an adjustable telescopic
tube is used
 6) OTHER APPURTENANCES
• Vertical air pipe passing through the layer of sand may be provided

• Arrangements are made in order to control the depth of water above

sand layer ( 1 to 1.5m. The depth is not allowed to undergo large
variations

• A meter to measure the flow and Gauge to measure the loss of head
are usually installed
 6) OTHER APPURTENANCES

• Loss of head is caused by the resistance

offered by sand grains to the flow of
water

• For a freshly cleaned filter unit the

resistance offered is less hence loss of
head or filter head is small ( 10 to 15
cm)

• When loss of head becomes high the

filter must be put out of service ( 70 to
120 cm)
 OPERATION AND CLEANING
• The Cleaning of Slow sand filter is not done by backwashing as is
done for rapid gravity filters
• Done by scrapping and removing 1.5 to 3cm of top sand layer
• Top surface is cleaned with wash water ( 0.2 to 0.6% of total water
filtered )
• Cleaning is repeated when the sand depth is reduced to 40cm
• Lot of manual labour is required
 OPERATION AND CLEANING
• After cleaning for about 24 to 36 hours water will not be
purer and should not be used

• Until the formation of film of arrested impurities around the

sand grains has taken place

• Cleaning interval 1 to 3 Months

CLEANING OF SLOW SAND FILTER
 EFFICIENCY OF SSF

• Rate of Filtration- 100 to 200 litres/Hr/m2 of filter area

• Efficiency and performance of Slow san filter-

1) Removes 98 to 99% Bacterial Load
2) Removes odor and Taste
3) Less efficient in removing Colors of raw water
4) Removes turbidity up to 50 mg/l
 USES OF SLOW SAND FILTER
• Best suited for Smaller plants and purifying waters with low
colour and turbidity
• For village supplies
• For individual industrial supplies
• Because of smaller filtration rate they requires large surface
areas
DESIGN OF SLOW
SAND FILTER
RAPID SAND FILTER
 EFFICIENCY OF RSF
• Rate of Filtration- 3000 to 6000 litres/Hr/m2 of filter area

• Efficiency and performance of Rapid sand filter-

1) Removes 80 to 90% Bacterial Load
2) Removes odor and Taste
3) Highly Efficient in removing the colours brings down
the colour values as less as 10 on Cobalt scale
4) Removes turbidity up to 35 mg/l
 USES OF RAPID SAND FILTER
• Best and most economical
• Treating Public Supplies for large towns or cities
DESIGN OF RAPID
SAND FILTER
Determine the dimensions of a set of Rapid
Sand Filters (Gravity Type) for treating water
required for a population of 1,00,000 with an
average rate of demand as 200liters per head
per day
DESIGN OF RAPID
SAND FILTER
• Design a RSF for a population of 1,00,000 with
water supply of 220litres/head/day.Also design the
Underdrainage system and wash water troughs.
Assume data if necessary.
(10Marks in May 2017)