Feature

Hydrodynamic Design, Part 9:

Flow Measurements Through Filter Beds
By C.F. Chubb Michaud, CWS-VI

as cubic feet, cubic meters or cubic miles. here are two primary flow measurements used in media If we have a bed of GAC with a recommended EBCT of five filtration: the superficial flow or flow per unit of surface area (gpm/ft2) and volumetric flow or volume of fluid per minutes, that means that we are flowing one BV of water through one BV of GAC in five minutes (or one cubic foot [7.5 gallons]) of volume of media (gpm/ft3). From these measurements, we derive water through one cubic foot of media in five minutes) or 7.5/5 = empty bed contact time (EBCT), also referred to as residence 1.5 gpm/ft3. A flowrate of 2 gpm/ft3 is (2 x 60 =) 120 gal per hour time or dwell time and loading rate (flow per unit area) (see Figure 13). or (120/7.5 =)16 BV/hr. The EBCT is 7.5/2 = Part 8, Figure 13. 3.75 minutes. One nice thing about EBCT or Measures of dynamic ow BV is that it removes the conventional size EBCT and bed volumes (BV) statement. It simply represents a relative EBCT is a volumetric rate measurement. rate of flow. 10 BV/hr can be 10 ft3 of flow/ It is called empty bed because it takes the bulk volume of the media and does not ft3 media/hr, 10 liter/liter/hr or 10 meter3/ try to figure in void space. Just like gpm/ meter3/hr. Table 7 offers a reference chart to 3 ft , it is derived from volume per volume compare EBCT with BV/hr and gpm/ft3. 3 numbers. If we express flowrate as gpm/ft If you are working with filters that have flowrates of 1 to 3 gpm/ft3, you have and convert the gpm of water figure to ft3/ min of water (by dividing by 7.5 gal/ft3), we flowrates of 8 to 24 BV/hr (gpm x 60/7.5 = BV/hr). You have EBCTs of 7.5 to 2.5 min have a new number that reads cubic feet of (1 gpm/7.5 gal media = EBCT of 7.5 min). water per minute per cubic foot of media. The empty bed concept takes into account When you divide the volume of media by only the bulk volume of the bed and makes the volume of water flow, you get time no attempt to factor in void volume. This in minutes. A flowrate of 3 gpm/ft3 then brings us to the concept of half lengths. translates to 3/7.5 = 0.4 ft3 of water/min. If that is passing through one cubic foot of media, we have a flow of 0.4 ft3/min/ft3 Half-length reaction times of media for an EBCT of 2.5 minutes. This If it takes 30 seconds for a quantity of can be converted to flow per hour, so we have (0.4 x 60 =) 24 ft3/ GAC to remove 50 percent of the organics contained in the feed stream, how long does it take to remove the other half? Sounds hr of flow/ft3 of media. This can also now be expressed as 24 like it should only be another 30 seconds. As the concentration bed volumes (BV)/hr. This measurement also does not take into of the organic is reduced, however, so is the driving force and, account voids in the bed. A bed volume can then be interpreted Figure 14. Concept of half lengths Table 7. A comparison of EBCT, BV and gpm/ft3
Water Conditioning & Purification

EBCT minutes 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Flow gpm/ft3 7.5 3.75 2.5 1.88 1.5 1.25 1.07 0.94 0.83 0.75

Flow BV/hr 60 30 20 15 12 10 8.6 7.5 6.7 6.0

September 2013

time and volume. The result is in gallons per minute or some thus, the rate of its removal. The concept of half-length removal is variation of the same. that it would only remove 50 percent of the remaining 50 percent Flow measuring devices such as meters and rotameters use over the next 30 seconds for a total removal of 75 percent, then direct measurements of something other than flow (as gpm) and another 30 seconds to remove 50 percent of the remaining 25 convert the measurement into flowrate. The flowing fluid turns percent and so on. From Figure 14, we can determine the number a turbine or paddle wheel and there is a calibration that converts of half lengths needed to remove any particular percent of the the signal to flow. Rotameters, which were invented in 1908, are contaminant. those see-through devices with a variable area that measure the From Figure 14, we can see that to reach 75-percent removal ability of the flowing fluid to suspend a shaped weight inside the of a contaminant only takes two half lengths and 90 percent column of flowing fluid. The outside of the variable area column requires about 3.5. To reach 95 percent will take nearly five can be calibrated to give a direct flow reading in gpm or Lpm. half lengths. Each contaminant will have a different half length This is shown in Figure 16. that will vary with the type of GAC, mesh size and other water These devices are sufficiently accurate to be used for setting conditions, such as pH and temperature. Half length can be flowrates such as backwash and eductor flow, rinse and service. determined by creating isotherms in a lab but there is no book or table that simply says, to remove 90 percent of X in Figure 15. An illustration of capacity versus owrate water takes Y minutes. You will have to rely on your provider for an estimate on removal rates. We know from experience that chlorine can readily be taken out of feed water with EBCTs as low as 60 seconds. From this we could deduce that the half length for chlorine is about 10 to 12 seconds (5 to 6 half lengths per minute). It is suggested that chloramine removal (with the proper GAC) requires a minimum of five minutes EBCT; we can figure the half length is about 50 to 60 seconds. Volatile organics such as trihalomethane (THM) must usually be taken out to the tune of 95 percent or more and require 10 to 15 minutes EBCT. This would suggest a half length of 2.5 minutes. Removing ppb levels of contaminants to even lower ppb levels may take up to 30 minutes EBCT. You still have to provide some capacity for longevity (see Figure 15). The shaded yellow area in Figure 15 represents the steady reduction of a contaminant through a bed of GAC. As the bed exhausts, the yellow shaded area moves They have limitations, however. Examine the drag equation down the bed closer to the exit, which could be illustrated by the presented in Equation 4, where: bed in the middle. As the bed approaches exhaustion, it would FD = the drag force, which is by definition the force component appear on the far right. The amount of bed that represents the in the direction of the flow velocity. remaining capacity is represented by brackets marked capacity. = the mass density of the fluid, If an adsorption filter such as GAC is run at too high a flowrate v = the velocity of the object relative to the fluid for the job, it may resemble the high-flow model. Even though it A = the reference area and removes 95 percent on day one, it may break through within a CD= the drag coefficient, a dimensionless coefficient related to few days. Witness the standard 10-inch cartridge. These are often the objects geometry and taking into account both friction and run at flowrates of 0.75 gpm. Since a cartridge is approximately form drag. 1/37 of a cubic foot, that is the equivalent of Equation 4. Drag dynamics 12 a flow of 27.75 gpm/ft3, an EBCT of only 16 Figure 16. The Rotameter FD = v2 CDA seconds. How is it that a cartridge run at Because the column has a variable area almost 28 gpm/ft3 can do that? The answer that increases toward the top, the fluid force is illustrated as the high-flow example in that suspends the float can reach a reproFigure 15. A cartridge may remove THMs ducible equilibrium for any given flow. The for 1,000 gallons at a flow of 0.75 gpm, the equilibrium exists between gravity, which is equivalent of a full cubic foot of GAC treating trying to pull the float down, and the force of 37,000 gallons. Under normal flowrates of 1 the fluid that is trying to carry the float out of 3 to 2 gpm/ft , GAC will typically function for the column. Please note: this only works for at least five times that levelthe longer the the density () for which it was calibrated. EBCT, the higher the capacity. The instruments are usually calibrated for Making ow determinations water. They cannot be used to measure the The surest way to get an accurate flow direct flow of brine, caustic, acid or maple measurement is to place a bucket under a syrup. The results are reproducible, howevflowing tap and use a stopwatch. You can er; they can be used on those fluids once you also measure the time it takes to fill a tank to have calibrated the reading with the actual a certain level or measure the rate of depth flow. In other words, if a reading of 25 gpm change in a tank of a given diameter. Direct for brine actaully was measuring the real measurement has no variables other than flow of brine (which by the bucket method
Water Conditioning & Purification September 2013

was determined to be 18 gpm), then it can be used to measure that particular flow for that particular concentration of brine.

References

12. www.globalspec.com/rotameters

Summary

About the author

There are two flow parameters used in designing filter beds. One is the volume of flow per volume of filter bed (used to calculate the EBCT) and the other is the surface flow of volume per area of filter, which contributes to pressure drop. Over-running too small a filter bed can result in poor removal efficiency and/ or early failure of the filter. If an EBCT of 7.5 minutes is required, the design flowrate is 1 gpm/cu ft.

S C.F. Chubb Michaud is the Technical Director and CEO of Systematix Company of Buena Park, CA, which he founded in 1982. He has served as chair of several sections, committees and task forces with WQA, is a Past Director and Governor of WQA and currently serves on the PWQA Board, chairing the Technical and Education Committees. Michaud is a past recipient of the WQA Award of Merit, PWQA Robert Gans Award and a member of the PWQA Hall of Fame. He can be reached at (714) 522-5453 or via email at AskChubb@aol.com

Water Conditioning & Purification

September 2013