Water Treatment Process

Filtration
Conventional Surface Water Treatment

Raw water
Screening Filtration

sludge sludge
Alum
Coagulation Cl2 Disinfection
Polymers

Flocculation Storage

Sedimentation Distribution
sludge
Why Filtration

 Settling does not remove all flocs: further treatment is required

 Filtration provides the additional opportunity for separation of

small flocs or particles.

 Filtration
 Filtration is a process of water purification in which
water is allowed to pass through a bed of filtering
media, usually sand and gravel. The filtrate
(treated water) is collected at the bottom through
an underdrain system.

 Filtration is a polishing step to remove small flocs

or precipitated particles not removed in
sedimentation process.

 The filter media is very efficient in retaining finer

and colloidal particles including bacteria and
viruses, color, odor, Fe/Mn.
 Theory of Filtration

Filtration can remove a wide variety of particles

by a combination of different process. These
phenomena can be explained by 4 actions.

 Mechanical Staining

 Sedimentation and Adsorption

 Microbial Action

 Electrostatic Attraction.
 Mechanisms of Filtration
The theory of filtration basically involves, transport mechanisms, and attachment
mechanisms.
The transport mechanism brings small particles from the bulk solution to the surface
of the media.
 gravitational settling,
 diffusion,
 interception and
 hydrodynamics.

They are affected by physical characteristics such as size of the filter medium, filtration rate, fluid
temperature, size and density of suspended solids.
As the particles reach the surface of the filter media, an attachment mechanism is required to
retain it. This occurs due to
(i) electrostatic interactions
(ii) chemical bridging or specific adsorption.
Filtration Principles

(A) Physicochemical process

Mechanical Non-straining
straining mechanism

(Impaction, Interception,
diffusion, electrostatic
attraction etc.)

(B) Biological process

Formation of a thin layer of
microbial film around the sand grains
(‘Schmutzdecke’)
 Types of Filter

 Granular media filters

Loading rate or filtration rate
 Roughing filters
Va=Q/As m3/m2-day
 Slow sand filters (SSF)
 Rapid sand filters (RSF) Where, Q is the flow rate and As = surface area of
 Combined roughing-slow the filter, m2
sand filters
Based on loading rate, filters are classified into Two
 Pond sand filters (PSF)
types
 Membrane Filters
 SSF
 Microfiltration
 Ultrafiltration  RSF
 Nanofitration
 Filter Components
 Inlet
 Filter Box
 Under drain System
 Filter Media (Sand)
 Outlet

Sand for Filtration (desirable properties)

 Should be obtained from hard rocks such as basalt, trap and quartz
 Free from clay loam and organic matter
 Uniform in size and nature (Cu ≈ 1.0)
 Resistant and hard
 If placed in HCl for 24-hrs, it should not loss more than 5% of its wt.
Gravel
 Hard, durable, free from impurities, properly rounded.
 Density = 1600 kg/m3
9
 Slow Sand Filter (SSF)
Purpose:
 Reduce the number of microorganisms in water  The filtering action is a combination of
 Retain fine organic and inorganic solid matters straining, adsorption, and biological
flocculation.
 Oxidize organic compounds dissolved in water

~1m depth, with Fine sand

~0.1m overboard (upgraded), free
from impurities

Suitable for the development of surface water-based water supply

systems in developing countries.
Typical SSF
Slow Sand Filter (SSF)
Design
 Sand bed = 0.5 - 0.7 m (about 1.0 m)
 Water depth = 1.0 m
 Free board = 0.1 m
 Shape: rectangular, square, circular, etc.
 Box total height = 2.0 m
 Filtration rate = 0.1 - 0.3 m/hr
 Filter bed area: 5 - 200 m2/filter
 Design life: 10 -15 years
 Operation period: 24 hrs

Sand: free from clay, silt and organic matter

 D10 = 0.1 - 0.3 mm
 UC = d60/d10 < 3.0
Underdrain system: 0.3 - 0.5 m gravel layer and a perforated
pipe system
 At least 2 units should be provided.
 Slow Sand Filter (SSF)
• The number of rectangular filters required for a plant can be obtained as:

𝑛 = 0.5 𝐴
where, A=total surface area in m2 computed on the basis of filtration rate and design water demand
• SSFs perform best under continuous operation and constant flow conditions.
Characteristics of SSFs
 Rate of filtration is slow: 0.1-0.3 m3/m2-hr
 Very high removal of turbidity and color (80-85%) and bacteria (95-99.9%)
 Cleaning of filter bed by scraping and removal of top layer of sand
 No pretreatment is generally required
 Not suitable for water having turbidity > 30 NTU
 Not very effective in removing colloidal matters
 Low cost of operation and maintenance
 Perform best under continuous operation and constant flow condition.
 Slow Sand Filter
 Gelatinous slimes of bacterial growth called ‘schmutzdecke’ form on the surface and in the
upper sand layer, consists of bacteria, fungi, protozoa, rotifera and a range of aquatic insect
larvae.

 The underlying sand provides the support medium for this biological treatment layer.

 Slow sand filters slowly lose their performance as the Schmutzdecke grows and thereby
reduces the rate of flow through the filter. Requires refurbishing??
 Slow Sand Filter Cleaning

 by scraping and removal of top layer of sand

 Scrapping: the top few mm of sand is carefully scraped
off using mechanical devices and this exposes a new
layer of clean sand. Water is then decanted back into
the filter and re-circulated for a few hours to allow a
new Biological Layer (Schmutzedecke) to develop. The
filter is then filled to full depth and brought back into
service.
 Slow Sand Filter
Advantages
 Simple to construct, operation and supervise
 Suitable where sand is readily available
 Effective in bacterial removal
 Preferable for uniform quality of treated water

Disadvantages
 Large area is required
 Unsuitable for treating highly turbid waters (turbidity > 30 NTU)
 Less flexibility in operation due to seasonal variations in raw water quality
 Rapid Sand Filter (RSF)
Higher filtration rate as compared to SSF, most common type of filter for treating municipal
water supplies, widely used in Bangladesh.
Higher filtration is achievable because of the coarse sand (d10 = 0.4-1.2 mm) and relatively
uniform-sized particles that are used as the filter medium.

No of filter units can be

determined by:

N =𝟎. 𝟎𝟒 𝑸
Q = plant capacity in m3/day
Filter beds are generally
rectangular in size having a
Graded gravel, 0.5 m thick Coarse sand layer, 1 m thick
L:W ratio = 3:2.
• Can be both gravity type and pressure type
 Characteristics of RSF
 Higher filtration rate about 5-15 m3/m2-hr.
 High removal of turbidity (80-85%) and bacteria (85-95%)
 Cleaning of filter by back washing
 Pretreatment as coagulation, flocculation and
sedimentation are required
 Suitable for all types of turbid and colored water
 Relatively high cost of operation and maintenance.

Operation Difficulties of RSF

o Negative head loss and air binding
o Cracking of filter bed
o Formation of mud balls
o Jetting and sand boils
o Sand leakage into the underdrain system.
 Operation of RSF
Operation of RSF requires the following considerations
1. Careful pre-treatment of raw water
2. Routine observations important for the control of filter operation include:
 Quantity of treated water
 Length of filter run between back washings
 % of wash water required for each back washing
 Quantity of chemical used
 Quality of water at each stage of treatment.
3. Conditions in filter operation to be observed vary carefully includes:
 Formation of mud balls
 Occurrence of negative head and air binding
 Cracking of filter beds
 Jetting and sand boils, sand leakage
 Overloading of filter
 Shortening of filter runs.
 Rapid Sand Filter

Advantages
• Turbid water may be treated

• Land required is less compared to slow sand filter

• Operation is continuous.

Disadvantages
 Requires skilled personnel for operation and maintenance

 Less effective in bacteria removal

 Operational troubles
General Features of SSF and RSF
 Rouging Filter
Used for pre-treatment of surface water with very high turbidity

Consists of one to three compartments in which gravel of different sizes is arranged in

decreasing size in the direction of flow.

Three types based on flow direction through the filter media:

 Up-flow roughing filter

 Down-flow roughing filter

 Horizontal flow roughing filter.

 Roughing Filtration

Purpose:
Pretreating water
with high turbidities
Three types

Decreasing gravel size

 Example 1
Calculate the tank dimensions of a slow sand filter and a rapid gravity sand filter to treat 1200
m3/day of water. For SSF, the filtration rate is 0.15 m/hr. and for RSF, the filtration rate is 8.0
m/hr.
 Example 2
A city has to install rapid sand filters downstream of the clarifiers. The design loading rate is 160
m3/[Link]. The design capacity of the waterworks is 0.35 m3/sec. The maximum surface per
filter is limited to be 50 m2.

Design the number and size of the filters and calculate normal filtration rate.
 Example 3

A filter unit has surface area of 4.88 m x 9.144 m. After filtering 10,900 m3 for 50 hr., the
filter is backwashed at a rate of 0.65 m/min for 15 minutes. Find (a) the average filtration
rate, (b) the quantity of wash water and (c ) % of wash water to treated water.