Updated: 19 November 2015 Print version

CEE 370
Environmental Engineering
Principles
Lecture #28
Water Treatment II: Coagulation,
Flocculation
Reading M&Z: Chapter 8
Reading: Davis & Cornwall, Chapt 4-4 to 4-7
Reading: Davis & Masten, Chapter 10-4 to 10-6

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 Coagulation: Purpose
 Initiate the chemical reactions that render
conventional treatment effective
 When combined with subsequent physical
removal, it achieves:
 Removal of turbidity
 historically the reason for coagulation
 Requires that particles be “destabilized”
 Removal of natural organic matter
 more recently of importance
 Some removal of pathogens
 Giardia, Cryptosporidium

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 Overview of conventional
treatment
Direct Filtration
coagulant
Settling
Water Rapid Filtration
Flocculation
Supply Mix
Flotation
Coagulation

Dissolved
Organics Unstable Settleable
Stable Particles Particles
Particles
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 Conventional Treatment
 rapid mix,
flocculation,
sedimentation in
one long tank with
baffles

H&H, Fig 7-4, pg. 212

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 Coagulant Addition: Rapid Mix
 Purpose
 to provide rapid and complete mixing of chemicals
at the head of a plant
 Two types: tank mixer or in-line
 Tank Mixer
 Tank
 3 to 10 ft diameter
 flow through, top to bottom
 10 to 60 second detention time
 vertical shaft turbine impeller
 G=600-1000 s-1
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 Rapid mix Tank
 Impeller
 Iron
deposits

Reading, MA

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 Rapid Mix Design
 Detention Time
 10-60 seconds is most common
 Mixing Energy
 differences in fluid velocity: velocity gradient dv
 change in velocity as you move up or down vertically G≡
in a reactor dy
 since velocity is [L/T] and vertical distance is [L], the
G value is in units of reciprocal time [T-1]
 Camp: related it to power input (P), tank volume
(V) and viscosity (µ) 1
 P 
2

G =  
P = µVG 2
 µV 
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 Typical values for mixing
Type Gradient (G) in Detention Gt values
sec-1 Time
Mechanical Mixing 600-1,000 10-120s 5x104 – 5x105
In-line mixing 3,000-5,000 1s 1x103 – 1x105

Horizontal-shaft paddle 20-50 10-30 min 1x104 – 1x105

flocculator
Vertical-shaft turbine 10-50 10-30 min 1x104 – 1x105
flocculator

From: M&Z table 8.12

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 In-line static mixers
 Many manufacturers

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 Coagulant chemistry
Ferric Sulfate (also ferric chloride)
Fe2 ( SO4 )3 + 6 OH - → 2Fe(OH )3 ⇓ + 3 SO2-
4

Alum (the most common coagulant)

−2 +
Al2 ( SO4 ) 3 • 18 H2 O → 2 Al (OH ) 3 ⇓ +3SO + 6 H + 12 H2 O
4

GFW= 666 AW= 27

Alum is
Mechanisms ~8.4% Al
by wt.
Neutralized by
natural alkalinity
• Charge Neutralization (bicarbonate)
• Sweep Floc (enmeshment)
• Adsorption / complexation for Dissolved
substances
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 RESTABILIZATION ZONE
CHARGE NEUTRALIZATION
TO ZERO ZETA
POTENTIAL WITH
Common in OPTIMUM SWEEP

AlX(OH)n+
Y
/Al(OH) (s) 3 practice SWEEP COAGULATION

ALUM AS Al2(SO4)3x 14.3 H2O-mg/l

100

LOG (Al) (mol/L)

-4 30
CHARGE NEUTRALIZATION
CORONA TO ZERO ZETA 10
2 +
Al(OH) POTENTIAL WITH
C
Al(OH)3(s)
-5 3
B

Al8(OH) 420+ 1
A

Chemistry of -6
Al +3
Al(OH) -4
0.3

Aluminum +
Al TOTAL

Al(OH)3(s)
ZETA POTENTIAL

IEP IEP (IOSOELECTRIC PAINT)

UNCOATED
COLLOID
0
D E COLLOID COATED
n+
WITH ( Al(OH)3(s) )

-
2 4 6 8 10 12

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pH OF MIXED SOLUTION 11
 Colloid Stability
 DLVO theory
Repulsive
Electrostatic
Repulsive Force
Net Force
Energy

Distance
between
Primary
Minimum
Van der Waals centers
Attractive Force

Attractive
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David Reckhow CEE 370 L#28 13
 Colloid Stability
 Impact of
Repulsive
Charge
Electrostatic neutralization
Repulsive Force
Net Force
Energy

Distance
between
Van der Waals centers
Attractive Force

Attractive
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 Destabilization with Polymers
 Natural polymers
 Alginates
 Synthetic polymers
 Cationic, anionic,
non-ionic
 No need to reach
“primary minimum”
distance
 Also used to
strengthen floc

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 Coagulation: Empirical Tests

 Jar Testing
 Laboratory experiments with varying
coagulant doses at varying pHs

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 Flocculation: Purpose
 Provides slow mixing to allow
“destabilized” particles and precipitates
to grow in size
 Larger size helps with subsequent
physical removal
 Gravity settling
 Flotation
 Filtration

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 Flocculation: Purpose
 Promote agglomeration of particles into
larger floc
 Units often designed on the basis of
mixing intensity as described by the
velocity gradient, G
 some mixing is needed to keep particles in
contact with other particles
 too much mixing can cause floc break-up

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 Flocculators

Drive shaft

Usually 4 arms with 3-4 slats per arm

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 Flocculation
 Horizontal
Shaft

MWDSC
Weymouth Plant
12 Dec 05
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 Flocculation
 4 Wooden
paddles

Chicago

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 Flocculation
 2 parallel shafts

New Orleans

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Vertical Shaft Flocculator

 Motor and gear box

Andover, MA

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 Flocculation: Design
 Flow through velocity: 0.5 to 1.5 ft/min
 variable speed paddle flocculators
 peripheral velocities of 0.5-2.0 ft/sec
 horizontal shaft: slower, best for
conventional
 vertical shaft: faster, best for direct
filtration
 typical dimensions
 12 ft deep

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  To next lecture

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