Content list

1. Midterm
Overview (9 Jan)
Unit conversions (23 Jan)
Mass balances (30 Jan + 13 Feb)
Fluid statics + Quiz (20 + 27 Feb)
2. Final
Fluid dynamics and overall balances (12 Mar)
Reaction rates, reactors and flow meters (19 Mar)
Coagulation
Sedimentation Basic unit operations
Filtration
Sedimentation
Water Treatment
Conventional Surface Water Treatment
Raw water
Screening Filtration

sludge sludge
Alum
Rapid Mix Cl2 Disinfection
Polymers

Flocculation Storage

Sedimentation Distribution
sludge
 Clarification (sedimentation)
Clarification is designed to clear a water of
suspended materials as much as is desirable, or
possible, before it passes to filtration

Sedimentation/clarification being called

according to what is interested either
supernatant or sludge
Clarification

- Settling

- Flotation
 Flotation

Flotation is a solid-liquid or liquid-liquid

separation procedure which is applied to
particles whose density is lower than that of
the liquid they are in.
FLOTATION
Separation of low density flocs

If flocs have a density very close to

that of water, it may be necessary to
decrease their density by adding gas
bubbles
Flotation is recommended for
- water with low suspended solids levels [from lakes,
dams, etc.]
- poorly settleable water producing only light floc
- water containing high amounts of plankton which,
in summer, following chlorophyllous activity by
algae, tend to become saturated with oxygen, thus
impeding settling and causing the floc to resurface
if settling is used
Natural flotation
If the difference in density is naturally
sufficient for separation

Aided flotation
external means are used to promote the
separation of particles
FLOTATION
Separation of low density flocs

Methods of forming gas bubbles

• Diffusion
• Vacuum
• Electrolysis
• Dissolved air
The rising velocity of gas bubble
g 2
V (  l   g )d
18 
d diameter of the bubble
l liquid density
 g gas density
 viscosity
Minimum volume of gas required to cause flotation

Vg s   g 1
 
S l   g  g
V g minimum volume of gas
 g gas density
S particle weight
 s particle density
l liquid density
Stokes’s law for flotation
Removal Mechanisms (solid – liquid separation)

Flotation
 Foam Fractionation (also liquid-liquid/ gas-liquid)

Gravity separation
 Settling tanks, tube settlers and hydro cyclones

Filtration
Screen, Granular
media, or porous
media filter
Settling or Sedimentation

• Settling- a unit operation in which solids are drawn toward a source of attraction.
The particular type of settling that will be discussed in this section is gravitational
settling. It should be noted that settling is different from sedimentation.

• Sedimentation- The condition whereby the solids are already at the bottom and in
the process of sedimenting. Settling is not yet sedimenting, but the particles are
falling down the water column in response to gravity. Of course, as soon as the
solids reach the bottom, they begin sedimenting. In the physical treatment of water
and wastewater, settling is normally carried out in settling or sedimentation basins.
Solids Physical Characteristics

• particle specific gravity

• particle size distribution
Objective & Application
• The purpose is to remove the particles from the fluid
stream so that the fluid is free of particle contaminants.
• Applications of sedimentation include removal of
solids from liquid sewage wastes, settling of crystals from
the mother liquor, separation of liquid-liquid mixture
from a solvent-extraction stage in settler, water treatment,
separation of flocculated particles, lime-soda softening
iron and manganese removal, wastewater treatment,
solids/sludge/residuals.
 Settling Basins

Advantages Disadvantages
• Simplest technologies • Low hydraulic loading rates
• Little energy input • Poor removal of small
• Relatively inexpensive to suspended solids
install and operate • Large floor space requirements
• No specialized operational • Re-suspension of solids and
skills leeching
• Easily incorporated into new
or existing facilities
Theory for sedimentation
• Whenever a particle is moving through a fluid, a number
of forces will be acting on the particle.
• First, a density difference is needed between the particle
and the fluid.
• If the densities of the fluid and particle are equal, the
buoyant force on the particle will counterbalance the
external force and the particle will not move relative to
the fluid.
• There are three forces acting on the body:
- Gravity Force
- Buoyant Force
- Drag Force
Analysis of
Forces Acting
On a Settling
Particle

Drag force
..\Ref13\Sediment\sedimentation3.ppt
..\Ref13\Sediment\Sedimentation4.ppt
Mechanics of particle motion in fluids

• To describe, two properties needed:

• Drag coefficient
• Terminal velocity
 
FB  d p3 g L
6

 v 2p
FG  d gp
3
p FD  CD Ap  L
6 2
Drag type
• Flow inside pipe  skin friction (wall drag) friction factor
• Flow outside pipe  form drag  drag coefficient
 shear stress drag force per area
f  CD 
 kinetic energy   kinetic energy 
   unit volume of flow 
 unit volume of flow  

( F / A) ( F / A)
f  CD 
1 2  1 2 
 mv   mv 
2  2 V 
 V   
   
1 1
F  fAv 2 F  CD Av 2
2 2
Friction factor for fluids inside pipes
Pressure Drop and Friction Loss in Laminar
Flow
1. Pressure drop and loss due to friction.
• The pressure loss in pipe due to skin friction:
32 vL2  L1 
p f   p1  p2  f 
D2
where p1 is upstream pressure at point 1, N/m2;
p2 is pressure at point 2
v is average velocity in tube, m/s
D is inside diameter, m
L2 - L1 or L is length of straight tube, m
For English units, the right-hand side of equation is divided by gc
Pressure Drop and Friction Loss in Laminar
Flow
For constant , the friction loss Ff is
 p1  p2  f Nm J
Ff  or (SI)
 kg kg
ft  lb f
(English)
lb m
This is the mechanical-energy loss due to skin friction for the pipe is part of the F term for frictional
losses in the mechanical-energy-balance equation.
The term (p1 – p2)f for skin friction loss is different from the term (p1 – p2) which related to velocity head
or potential head changes.
• One of the uses of skin friction loss equation is in the experimental measurement of the viscosity of
a fluid by measuring the pressure drop and volumetric flow rate through a tube of known length
and diameter or metering of small liquid flows.
Pressure Drop and Friction Loss in Laminar
Flow
2. Use of friction factor for friction loss in laminar flow
• A common parameter used in laminar and especially in
turbulent flow is the Fanning friction factor, f which is
defined as the drag force per wetted surface unit area
(shear stress s, at the surface) divided by the product of
density times velocity head or ½v2
• The force is pf times the cross-sectional area R2 and
the wetted surface area is 2RL
• Finally, the relation between the pressure drop due to
friction and f is as follows for laminar and turbulent flow

 p R 2
v 2
f  2s  f

v / 2 2RL 2
Pressure Drop and Friction Loss in Laminar
Flow p R v 2
2

f  f

Rearranging: 2RL 2
L v2
p f  4 f (SI)
D 2
L v2
p f  4 f (English)
D 2gc
p f L v 2
Ff  4f (SI)
 D 2
L v 2
Ff  4 f (English)
D 2gc
32 vL  16 16
For laminar flow  p   f  
N Re Dv 
f
D2
Pressure Drop and Friction Factor in Turbulent
Flow
• In turbulent flow, it is not possible to predict theoretically
the Fanning friction as it was done for laminar flow.
• The friction factor must be determined empirically
(experimentally) and it not only depends upon the Reynolds
number but also on surface roughness of the pipe.
• In laminar flow the roughness has essentially no effect.
• A large number of experimental data on friction factors of
smooth pipe and pipes of varying degrees of equivalent
roughness have been obtained and the data correlated.
• For design purposes, the friction factor chart can be used.
Pressure Drop and Friction Factor in Turbulent
Flow
• Friction factor obtained from the plot is then used to predict
the friction loss using previous equations:

L v2
p f  4 f (SI)
D 2
L v2
p f  4 f (English)
D 2gc
p f L v 2
Ff  4f (SI)
 D 2
L v 2
Ff  4 f (English)
D 2gc
 shear stress drag force per area
f  CD 
 kinetic energy   kinetic energy 
   unit volume of flow 
 unit volume of flow  

( F / A) ( F / A)
f  CD 
1 2  1 2 
 mv   mv 
2  2 V 
 V   
   
1 1
F  fAv 2 F  CD Av 2
2 2
EXAMPLE:
Metering of Small Liquid Flows

• A small capillary with an inside diameter of

2.2210-3 m and a length 0.317 m is being used to
continuously measure the flow rate of a liquid
having a density of 875 kg/m3 and  = 1.1310-3
Pas.
• The pressure drop reading across the capillary
during flow is 0.0655 m water (density 996 kg/m3)
• What is the flow rate in m3/s if end-effect
corrections are neglected?
Solution
• Assuming that the flow is laminar.
• Convert the height h of 0.0655 m water to a pressure drop:
 kg  m
p f  gh  (0.0655 m) 996 3  9.80665 2   640 N/m 2
 m  s 
32 vL2  L1 
• Substitute into: p f   p1  p2  f 
D2
32(1.13 10 3 )(v)0.317 
p f  640 
(2.22 10 3 ) 2
v  0.275 m/s

• The volumetric rate is then:

D 2 0.275( )(2.22 10 3 ) 2
v   1.066 10 6 m3 /s
4 4
Solution
• Recheck if the flow is laminar or not:

Dv (2.22 10 3 )(0.275)(875)

N Re    473
 1.13 10 3

• Confirm laminar flow.

EXAMPLE:
Use of Friction Factor in Laminar Flow

• A small capillary with an inside diameter of

2.2210-3 m and a length 0.317 m is being used to
continuously measure the flow rate of a liquid
having a density of 875 kg/m3 and  = 1.1310-3
Pas.
• Velocity of flow is 0.275 m/s
• What is the pressure drop pf ? By using the
Fanning friction factor method.
Solution
• Reynolds number:
Dv (2.22 10 3 )(0.275)(875)
N Re    473
 1.13 10 3

16 16
• Friction factor: f    0.0338
N Re 473

L v 2 4(0.0338)(875)(0.317 )(0.275) 2
p f  4 f   640 N/m 2

D 2 (2.22 10 3 )(2)

EXAMPLE:
Use of Friction Factor in Turbulent Flow

• A liquid is flowing through a horizontal straight

commercial steel pipe at 4.57 m/s.
• The pipe used is commercial steel, schedule 40, 2-
in, nominal diameter.
• The viscosity of the liquid is 4.46 cp and the density
801 kg/m3.
• Calculate the mechanical-energy friction loss Ff in
J/kg for a 36.6 m section of pipe.
Solution
From Table, D = 0.0525 m,
v = 4.57 m/s,  = 801 kg/m3
L = 36.6 m
 = (4.46 cp)(110-3) = 4.4610-3 kg/ms
Calculate Reynolds number
Dv 0.0525(4.57)(801)
N Re    4.310  10 4

 4.46 10 3
So the flow is turbulent
For commercial steel pipe from the table in previous Figure, the
equivalent roughness is 4.610-5 m.
 4.6 10 5 m
  0.00088
D 0.0525 m
Solution
For NRe = 4.310104 the friction factor from Figure is f = 0.0060
Substitute in to equation:
L v 2 4(0.0060 )(36.6)( 4.57 ) 2 J  ft  lb f 
Ff  4 f   174 .8  58.5 
D 2 (0.0525 )( 2) kg  lb m 
 
FB  d p3 g L
6

 v 2p
FG  d gp
3
p FD  CD Ap  L
6 2
When terminal velocity is reached, vs is constant (vterm),
and Fnet = 0:

FG  FB  FD  0

 2
d g   p   L   CD Ap  L
v
3
p
term
0
6 2

If Re is less than ~100, CD  24/Re, and:

d p2 g   p   L 
vterm 
18
Laminar (Stokes) vs. Turbulent (Gibbs) settling

Comparison of Stokes and Gibbs

150

Settling Velocity, cm/s

100

Stokes
50
Gibbs
0
0 0.05 0.1 0.15
Diameter, cm
Stoke’s Law has several limitations:
i) It applies well only to perfect spheres.

The drag force (3pdmvt) is derived experimentally only for

spheres.
Non-spherical particles will experience a different distribution of
viscous drag.

ii) It applies only to still water.

Settling through turbulent waters will alter the rate at which a

particle settles; upward-directed turbulence will decrease vt
whereas downward-directed turbulence will increase vt.
 iii) It applies to particles 0.1 mm or finer.
Coarser particles, with larger settling velocities, experience
different forms of drag forces.

Stoke’s Law overestimates

the settling velocity of
quartz density particles
larger than 0.1 mm.
 When settling velocity is low When settling velocity is high
(d<0.1mm) flow around the (d>0.1mm) flow separates
particle as it falls smoothly from the sphere and a wake of
follows the form of the sphere. eddies develops in its lee.
Drag forces (FD) are only due to the Pressure forces acting on the
viscosity of the fluid. sphere vary.

Negative pressure in the

lee retards the passage of
the particle, adding a new
resisting force.

Stoke’s Law neglects

resistance due to
pressure.
iv) Settling velocity is
temperature dependant
because fluid viscosity and
density vary with temperature.

Temp. m r vt
°C Ns/m2 Kg/m3 mm/s

0 1.792 ´ 10-3 999.9 5

100 2.84 ´ 10-4 958.4 30

 Grain size is sometimes described as a linear dimension based on
Stoke’s Law:

Stoke’s Diameter (dS): the diameter of a sphere with a Stoke’s settling velocity
equal to that of the particle.

vt 
 f   P gds
2

18
Set ds = dP and solve for dP.

18vt
dp 
 f   P g
 Zone in settling tank
1. Inlet zone
decrease velocity of incoming water
distribute the flow evenly
2. Settling zone
provide calm area for the suspended materials to
settle
3. Outlet zone
provide a smooth transition from settling zone to
effluent flow area
currents or eddies should not develop in this area
(could stir up any settled solids and carry them into
the effluent)
4. Sludge zone
receive the settled solids
keep them separate from other particles
 Types of settling

1. Discrete settling

2. Flocculent settling

3. Hindered settling (Zone settling)

4. Compression settling
Gravity separation can obviously be applied only to
those particles which have density greater than water.
But this density must be significantly greater than that
of water due to particle surface effects and turbulence
in the sedimentation tanks.
Goals of gravity sedimentation:

1) Produce a clarified (free of suspended solids)

effluent.
2) Produce a highly concentrated solid sludge
stream.
 Review of Type I and II sedimentation

Type I (Discrete sedimentation):

•Occurs in dilute suspensions, particles which have

very little interaction with each other as they settle.

•Particles settle according to Stokes law

•Design parameter is surface overflow rate (Q/As)

Type II (flocculent sedimentation)

• Particles flocculate as they settle

• Floc particle velocity increase with time
• Design parameters:

1. Surface overflow rate

2. Depth of tank
or,
3. Hydraulic retention time
Comparison of Type I and II sedimentation
Zone Settling &Compression (Type III and IV)

Zone settling occurs when a flocculent suspensions

with high initial concentration (on the order of 500
mg/L) settles by gravity. Flocculant forces between
particles causes settling as a matrix (particles remain
in a fixed position relative to each other as they settle).
When matrix sedimentation is constrained from the
bottom the matrix begins to compress. Such a
situation occurs when the matrix encounters the
bottom of tank in which it is settling. This is called
compression (Type IV) settling.