ABE 482—Environmental

Engineering in Biosystems

September 10, 2008

Lecture 3
Today

Important terms/definitions

Waste treatment processes (overview)
 Pre-treatment processes

Gravity settlers

Mechanical sorting

Neutralization

Sedimentation (particle settling velocity)

Coagulation/flocculation
Terms/Definitions

Organic

Inorganic

Organic matter

Inorganic matter

Organic loading

Organic matter degradation
Terms/Definitions

Total oxygen demand (TOD)

Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD)

Chemical oxygen demand (COD)
Terms/Definitions

Total solids

Volatile solids

Fixed solids

Suspended solids

Total dissolved solids (TDS)

Volatile suspended solids (VSS)
Terms/Definitions

Total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN)

Organic nitrogen

Inorganic nitrogen
 Ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N)
 Ammonium nitrogen (NH4-N)
 Nitrate (NO3-)

Total organic carbon (TOC)

Total carbon (TC)
Terms/Definitions

More complete list available on class
website

Will discuss/define later as they
become important
Waste Treatment Processes

Physical (organic and inorganic waste)
 Screening, sedimentation, filtration, reverse
osmosis, carbon adsorption, ammonia stripping

Chemical (inorganic waste)
 Neutralization, coagulation, ion exchange,
chlorination

Biological (organic waste)
 Activated sludge, aerobic and anaerobic
digestion, composting
Pre-Treatment Processes

Mechanical sorting
Large solids

Gravity sorting

Neutralization

Sedimentation Suspended solids

Coagulation/flocculation
Mechanical Sorting

Screening (solid waste)
 Bar screens separate material based on
size
 Usually mechanically vibrated or shaken

Centrifugation (liquid waste)
 Centrifugal force used to separate large
particles
 Cost efficient only for very small volumes
Gravity Sorting

Gravity tables (solid waste)
 Perforated tables which allow certain sized particles
to pass down through them, using the force of
gravity

Gravity settling (liquid waste)
 Most common physical process for removing
suspended solids from wastewater
 Use for:

Removing grit (sand particles >0.2 mm dia)

Clarifying raw sewage and concentrating the settled
solids

Clarifying biological suspensions and settled floc

Gravity thickening of primary or secondary sludges
Neutralization

Used for wastewater that is either acidic
(low pH) or basic (high pH)
 Acid waste: add lime

Acid mine drainage
 Basic waste: add acid solution

Concrete wash water

Acid + base  Salt + H2O

Assists in precipitation of suspended solids
including metals

“Neutralizing odours” is the same process!
 Baking soda (basic) + smelly fatty acids = less
stinky fridge!
Sedimentation

Separation of larger, suspended
solids from liquid waste

Occurs when particles act as discrete
particles

Removes grit, sand, silt, iron and Mn

Use theory of particle settling to
calculate settling rate and/or settling
times of particles in liquid
Particle Settling (Stokes’ Law)

Settling velocity is when fluid drag force equals
gravitational force (terminal velocity)

For small particles and low terminal velocity, fluid flow
around particle is laminar Stokes’ Law applies
2
gd ( ρ s − ρ l )
v=
18µ
 v = terminal velocity (cm/s), g = accel due to gravity (981
cm/s2), d = particle diameter (cm), µ = viscosity of liquid
(g/cm-s), ρs, ρl = density of solid particle and liquid (g/cm3)
Particle Settling
(Reynold’s Number)

To validate assumption of laminar flow,

calculate Reynold’s Number (Re)

ρdv
Re =
µ
 ρ is density of the liquid (g/cm3)
 Re < 0.2  fluid flow is laminar (Stokes’ Law
is valid)
Particle Settling (Newton’s Law)

When Re>1000, Newton’s Law is valid for
settling of spherical particles

2 3 gd ( ρ s − ρ l )
v =
ρl
Particle Settling
(Newton-Rittinger Equation)

When 0.2<Re<1000, flow around particle

is neither laminar nor turbulent

Newton-Rittinger equation applies

2 4 ( ρ s − ρl )
v = dg
3Q ρl
 Where Q is the coefficient of resistance (from
graph)
Particle Settling
(Newton-Rittinger Equation)

Newton-Rittinger Equation must be solved

iteratively
1. Calculate estimated v using either Newton’s or
Stokes’ equation
2. Calculate Reynold’s number.
3. Find the Q value that corresponds with the
Reynold’s number.
4. Use this value of Q to calculate v using the N-R
equation.
5. Repeat steps 2, 3 and 4 until the value of Q
does not change between iterations.
Example 1
Calculate settling velocity

Assume that a silica particle (density

= 2.65 g/cm3) is spherical and has a
diameter of 1 mm. The particle is
settling in water (density = 1.0,
viscosity = 0.01 poise). What is the
particles settling velocity?
Sedimentation

Colloidal particles

www.filtration-and-separation.com/settling/settling.htm
Coagulation & Flocculation

A chemical-physical procedure where
particles too small for practical removal by
sedimentation are destabilized and
clustered together for faster settling

Particles do NOT act as discrete particles

Coagulation: chemical process used to
destabilize colloidal particles

Flocculation: gentle mixing of the
suspension to promote particle contact
Coagulation & Flocculation

The colloid particles are agglomerated to
form larger solids called floc

The most common coagulant is Aluminum
Sulfate (Al2(SO4)3)
 Organic polymers may also be used alone or in
combination with the Alum to improve
flocculation

Flocs settle via sedimentation

Remember: we still haven’t dealt with
dissolved solids yet!!  later in the term
Coagulation/Flocculation
Coagulation/Flocculation
Process for Removal of Suspended
Solids by Coagulation/Flocculation
Next Day

Waste treatment processes (overview)
 Solid treatment processes

Composting

Digestion

Activated sludge

Trickling filters

Lagoons