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CoagulationandFlocculation
CHEMICALADDITION>MIXING>COAGULATION>FLOCCULATION>thento
SedimentationortoaTertiaryFiltrationProcess
TheBASICS:Theverysmallsizeoftheparticlesisthe
mostimportantfactorinthestabilityofacolloidal
suspension.Thesurfaceelectricalchargeontheparticles
andthecombinationwithwater(stateofhydration)are
alsofactors.Theflocsizeisprimarilycontingentuponthe
factorsofthephysicalagitationandthechemical
intermolecularforces.Ionicstrength,pH,temperature,
otherpropertiesofthewateraffectthecoagulation
activities.Forexamples,Ihavetakensomeactivated
sludgemixedliquorsamplesfrommywastewater
treatmentplant.Now,theactivatedsludgewantstoform
afloconitsown,withoutchemicalsadded,butIwishtousetheimageatthelefttoillustrate
a"colloidalsuspension."(Pleaseworkwithmeonthis!!!)
MIXING:Thefirststepistomixthecoagulationchemical(s)intothewatertobetreated.This
isusuallydonewithmechanicalmixers,hydraulicjetting,diffusers,orblendingpumpsareto
mixthecoagulantchemical(s)intothetreatmentstreamascompletelyandasvigorouslyas
possible.Thedetentiontimeisnotgreaterthan30seconds.Thechemicalfeedpumpsshould
becalibratedandcheckedonaspecifiedschedule.Themixingbasinsarebestlocatedcloseto
thedownstreamflocculationbasins.Squaremixbasinortankissuperiortoaroundmixbasin
ortankbafflesadvantageous:withgoaltoreducevortexactionabouttheimpeller.Itis
usuallybestifthechemicalsareintroducedclosetotheimpellerlevelwithvigorousmixing.
COAGULATION:
Afterthecoagulantchemical(s)is/aremixedintothe
processstream,mixing/coagulationmayoccurinthe
channels/pipesorspecialchambersastheprocessstream
movestotheflocculationbasins.Coagulation:tocurdle,
congeallargelyachemicalprocesswherethecoagulant
causesthenonsettleableparticlestodestabilizeand
clumptogether.Particlesmaybeclassifiedascolloidal
(bacteria,finesilts,virus,colorcausing),dissolved(any
inorganicororganic(salts,gases,chemicals)orsuspended
solids(particlesoflessthan0.01mminsize).Overdosing
andunderdosingofcoagulant(s)resultsinpoorcoagulation.Higherwatertemperaturerequires
lessmixingturbulence,asthewaterislessdense.Turbiditygivesusanindirectmeasurement
ofparticles,butdoesnotdescribeparticledensity,volume,size,northeabilityofthe
sedimentationprocesstosettlethemnorthetertiaryfiltrationprocesstocapturethem.Low
turbiditiesintherawwatermeansfewerparticles,hardertoclumptogether:recyclesolidsto
providesufficientcollisionsoraddweightingagentsuchasclay(bentonite).Ionceoperateda
wastewatertreatmentplantthatutilizedthissolidsrecyclefromthebottomoftheclarifiers
backtothemixingbasinswhentheincomingwastewaterwaslowinsuspendedsolids.We
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wereremovingalgaeandbacteriafromwastewatertreatmentponds.Therecycleelementwas
beneficialunderthelowparticlecondition.
FLOCCULATION:
islargelyaphysicalprocesswherethecoagulatedclumpsare
gentlymovedintocontactwitheachothertoformmassesasa
cloud,oras"aprecipitate."Thisisusuallyaccomplishedin
basinswithverticalturbinesorwithhorizontalpaddlewheel
types.Pleasenote:theflocisfragile.Utilizeaslow,easy,
gentlemixingactiontobuildit,butnotenoughenergytoshear
it(breakitup).Preventshortcircuitingbestifflocbasinsare
locatedveryclosetodownstreamsedimentationbasinsor
filtersflowfromflocbasinstosedimentationbasinsorfiltersbestifitisverygentle,
minimizingturbulence,donotshearflocintransportflowvelocityinflocbasinsandin
downstreamchannelsnotlessthan0.5ft/minnorgreaterthan1.5ft/min.Wastewater:
detentiontimesof15to20minutesforsedimentation.

OPERATION:

Measureandmonitorthefollowingwaterqualityparameters:pH,
turbidityorsuspendedsolids,temperature,chemicalusage,and
alkalinity.

INTERACTIONS:
Wastewatersedimentationimpacts:
Manyoftheparticlesaretoosmallandwillnotsettleproperly
duetogravitationalforcesalone.Bycoagulatingthemand
thenflocculatingthemintolargerparticlesthatwillsettledue
togravitationalforces,thesedimentationprocessbecomes
moreeffective.Thisalsomeansthattherewillbeamarked
increaseinthevolumeofsludgeproducedutilizing
coagulation/flocculationupstream.Ihavebeenabletogetup
to90%suspendedsolidsremovaland60to70%BOD
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removalinprimarywastewatersedimentationwithupstreamcoag/floc.treatment.
Thisismoreofa"snakeoilscience",whereaseriesofexperimentsareperformed(jartests&
fieldtesting),thanatrueappliedscience!Thisisbestshownwhereweperform"jartests."This
iswhereaseriesofexperimentswithknownchemicaldosagesareperformed(jartests&field
testing)andtheresultsutilizedtomakechemicalfeed(dosage)adjustments,mixingand
flocculationenergyadjustmentstotheactualwatertreatmentfacilityprocess'.Askany
operatorwhohasabroadexperienceinthisarea,andtheywillallpointtojartestsworking
wellwithoneseriesofchemicalsandarawwater,andnotwithothers.Ihavepersonallyhad
sosojartestresultswithaparticularchemical,onlytohaveitexcelintheactualtreatment
plant.Othershavelookedgreatinjartests,onlytohavepoorresultsinthefacility.Thekeyis
tobringintoyourlabforjartestingthekeyelementsofhowyourfacilityoperates.Ittakeslots
oftime,butoncethecorrelationismade,itwillprovetobeanimmensebenefit.Neverforget
thatasyourrawwatersourcechangesintemperature,turbidity,etc,youwillhavetomake
adjustmentsinyourdosages.Itisatrueartmorethananappliedscienceatthispoint!
(Coagulationandflocculationinsludgeswillbediscussedinthesolidshandlingtopics.)

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