APPLICATION OF DIFFERENT SEPARATION PROCESSES IN WATER PURIFICATION

P Polasek 1, S Mutl 2
1

P Polasek & Associates, P O Box 61965, Marshalltown 2107, South Africa, Cell: 082-833 4330, Fax: 012-347 4969, e-mail: polasek@mweb.co.za Institute of hydrodynamics, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Pod Patankou 5, 16612 Prague 6, Czech Republic

ABSTRACT The foundation of water purification is the change in the degree of dispersity of the particles of impurities and their subsequent removal by sedimentation, dissolved air flotation, deep bed filtration or their combination. The efficiency of the separation processes depends on the properties of the aggregates being formed during the process of their formation. The efficiency of the separation processes is also influenced by the correct design and arrangement of the separation plant. The selection of the most suitable separation process is dependent on the raw water quality. The most significant factors influencing the kinetics of aggregation of aggregation and properties of the formed aggregates are the intensity and duration of aggregation agitation and the distribution of the velocity field in the agitated volume. It was proved that these factors influence the inner structure of the formed aggregates and successively their morphological (size, shape, volume) and physical (density, compactness) properties, i.e. the parameters, which are of paramount importance for the effective design and performance of separation plants. These parameters must be optimized according to the raw water quality and its variations with respect to the method selected for their separation. The following topics are addressed in this paper: (1) Brief description of the separation processes most commonly used, their advantages and disadvantages. (2) Review of the most common design shortcomings experienced in separation plant arrangements, which prevent their successful operation. (3) Different approaches to acceleration of sedimentation process: Lamellas - gadget for acceleration of the sedimentation process, their pros and cons. The influence of agitation conditions for the formation of readily separable aggregates and optimization of their properties with respect to settleability.

INTRODUCTION The purpose of chemical purification of surface waters and industrial wastewaters the formation of aggregates and their effective removal from water. The chemical purification of water consists of a physical-chemical process of aggregational destabilisation of the particles of impurities followed by aggregation of these particles into kinetically unstable flocculent aggregates. The formed aggregates are subsequently removed from water by a suitable separation process.

Due to the variety of mechanisms that may be engaged in the formation of the suspension, the term coagulation does not reflect the basis of all partial processes taking place during transformation of various kinds of colloidal impurities into readily separable flocs. It is more accurate to call this process destabilisation and aggregation and the flocs formed aggregates [1,2]. The formation of a separable suspension is influenced by many chemical and physical factors. The chemical factors influence the process of destabilisation of the particles of impurities and determine the quality to which the raw water can be purified. These factors determine the attainable separation efficiency of the separation plant. The physical factors influence the morphological (size, shape, volume) and physical (compactness, density) properties of the formed aggregates, which are important for their separation and subsequent processing of the produced sludge [2-4]. These factors determine the separation efficiency actually attained by the separation plant. Mixing is an important operation of any water purification technology. It enables dispersion and homogenisation of added reagents with the water and, therefore, influences the efficiency of the destabilisation process. An equally important operation is the subsequent agitation. It enables mutual contacts between the particles leading to their combining into readily separable aggregates, and its intensity and duration together with the distribution of the velocity field in the agitated volume of water influences the morphological and physical properties of the formed aggregates. Therefore, the efficiency of the separation processes is, to a great extent, dependent on the agitation conditions under which the aggregation process takes place [2,5]. The separation processes most commonly used in water purification are as follows: sedimentation, filtration through a fluidised layer of flocculent suspension (sludge blanket), dissolved air flotation (DAF), deep bed filtration. Selection of the suitable separation process is determined by the raw water quality and the quantity and quality of the formed suspension. In addition, it is dependent on the manner in which the waterworks is going to be operated (continuous or intermittent operation, steady or fluctuating flow, etc). Depending on the agitation conditions, aggregates of different sizes are formed. The aggregate size-distribution that exists in the water being purified at any moment of the process can be judged by the test of aggregation, which is based on the sedimentometric analysis of the formed aggregates. Four technologically significant size-categories of aggregates are recognised [2,6,7]: 1. The non-aggregated particles (NA) their size is limited by a diameter of the order of dP < 10-6 m. These particles are not separable from water. 2. The primary aggregates (PR) their size is limited by a diameter of the order of 10-6 < dA < 10-4 m. These aggregates are particularly suitable for separation in a fully fluidised sludge blanket, by dissolved air flotation and deep bed filtration. 3. The micro-aggregates (MI) their size is limited by a diameter of the order of 10-4 < dA < 10-3 m. These aggregates are suitable for separation in a fully fluidised sludge blanket and by sedimentation, dissolved air flotation and deep bed filtration. 4. The macro-aggregates (MA) their size is limited by a diameter of the order of dA > 10-3 m. These aggregates are suitable for separation by sedimentation.

It applies

NA + PR + MI + MA = 1

INDIVIDUAL TYPES OF SEARATION PLANTS AND THEIR APPRAISAL The most effective method for the removal of a flocculent suspension is deep bed filtration. It is a cyclic process. The limiting factor of this method is the sludge holding capacity of the filtration bed. With an increasing quantity of suspension the filtration time gradually shortens up to the point where filtration becomes uneconomical. Therefore, at higher concentration of suspension it is necessary to use a two-stage separation process, where deep bed filtration is always the second stage, which serves to polish the purified water to its final quality. Selection of the first separation stage is determined by the expected fluctuations in the raw water quality as well as the manner in which the waterworks is going to be operated. The fundamental requirement of the first separation stage is its ability to economically and efficiently remove even the highest concentrations of formed suspension, thus enabling the subsequent filtration process to proceed economically. The function of the separation plants is often misunderstood, or misinterpreted. The blame for not achieving the expected purified water quality is commonly attributed to the incompetency of plant operators, i.e. they are held responsible for the poor performance efficiency of waterworks. In this regard it should be emphasized that there are two different kinds of plants: those that can and those that cannot be operated effectively. The reasons for the latter are not operator dependent. The most common reasons preventing effective operation of any waterworks can be summarized as follows: (a) The raw water quality is unsuitable for the purpose for which it is purified, (b) Unsuitable purification process has been selected, (c) Inappropriate or sub-optimal pre-purification of the raw water is being carried out, (d) Aggregates of unsuitable morphological and physical properties in respect of the selected separation method are formed, (e) Changes in water viscosity and water density, (e) The plants incorporate various design shortcomings, (f) Inadequate operating manual, (g) Combination of the above. How does the separation plant function and how can it influence the purified water quality? It is a unit operation for liquid-solid separation only. Therefore, only the suspension formed during the preceding aggregation process together with the coarse dispersion contained in the raw water is removable by a suitable separation plant. The attainable efficiency of any separation process is dependent on maintaining optimised reaction conditions under which the formation of suspension takes place. Hence, the separation plant is capable of influencing the efficiency of the removal of separable suspensions only, but cannot influence the attainable quality of the purified water because the particles of impurities that were not transformed into readily separable suspension are not removable and inevitably remain in the purified water. As already mentioned in the foregoing, the attainable quality of purified water is determined by the efficiency of transformation of the particles of impurities, mainly of colloidal size, into a readily separable suspension. The most common design shortcomings experienced with the individual types of separation plants will be summarised in the following. In this regard it should be

emphasized that correctly engineered plants for the formation of aggregates and their separation include elimination of any weather influences.

SEDIMENTATION TANKS It is well known that the aggregates formed under the accustomed low intensity agitation are large, voluminous and of a geometrically loose, widely branched, spatially extended lattice structure containing large volumes of voids filled with water. These aggregates are of low density and very fragile with a tendency to fragment. In addition, these aggregates are grossly non-homogenous in size and structure. According to Dobbins [8] and Camp [9] it is necessary to calculate sedimentation tanks for the finest suspension. At the same time suspension and flow at the inlet to the sedimentation tank must be uniformly distributed. This results in the necessity of over-sizing and, therefore, installing bigger and hence more expensive sedimentation plants than would be required should aggregates of a more uniform size be formed. The fastest and most effective suspension removal is that which consists only of the aggregates that were fully developed into micro- and even macro-aggregate size (preferably in a narrow range of size-fractions) in the preceding suspension forming unit operations. There are three types of sedimentation tanks characterised by flow through the tank: (a) Rectangular tanks with horizontal flow, (b) Circular tanks with radial flow, (c) Circular tanks with vertical flow. The Froude number is an important design tool indicating the hydraulic stability of sedimentation tanks. Testing of sedimentation tanks showed that the most suitable are tanks with a Fr > 10-5. This means in respect to the horizontal flow tanks that the most suitable tanks are narrow and long with a higher flow velocity [10,11]. The aggregates most suitable for effective removal in sedimentation tanks are of a microand macro-aggregate size. Depending on the destabilisation reagent used, sedimentation tanks can operate at hydraulic loadings up to 2.5 m3.m-2.h. Major advantages: Suitable for the removal of widely fluctuating concentrations of suspension, Suitable for operation under unsteady and widely fluctuating flow, Suitable for intermittent operations, Capable of effective operation between 0 and maximum design hydraulic loadings, Simplest and cheapest to operate and maintain. Major disadvantages: Low attainable hydraulic loadings, Long retention times, Large footprint. The most common design shortcomings: Turbulent character of flow in the tank, Non-uniform inlet causing jetting effect in the sedimentation zone, Non-uniform collection of settled water at a too high hydraulic loading of the collector,

Wide and short tanks resulting in poor hydraulic stability, Missing facility for the removal of settled and deposited sludge from the entire floor of the sedimentation tank this causes shifting of settled sludge at the bottom of the tank, wash-out of the settled sludge and reduction of the tank flow profile, Outdoor installation (weather influences detrimentally affects performance stability), A special problem associated with a specific sedimentation tank design, incorporates the placement of a hydraulically operated flocculation basin into the settling zone of the sedimentation tank and the use of the tank outlet for controlling the agitation conditions in the flocculation basin. The latter necessitates the collection of settled water from deep below the top water level in the tank and when exposed to daylight such a sedimentation tank can function as an algae producing farm.

FILTRATION THROUGH A FLUIDISED LAYER OF FLOCCULENT SUSPENSION The most suitable separation process operating at the highest attainable hydraulic loading and the lowest operating cost is the filtration through a fluidised layer of flocculent suspension (sludge blanket). This system combines the mechanisms of both adhesive and gravitational separation processes and maximizes the advantages of both. Sludge blanket clarifiers can be distinguished as follows: ! clarifiers with a mechanically agitated fluidised layer and radial flow (Pretreator), ! clarifiers with a fully fluidised sludge blanket: (a) without separate flocculation and sludge thickening chambers (Pulsator, Candy), (b) with separated flocculation and sludge thickening chambers (HR Clarifier, CSAV) ! clarifiers with sludge recirculation (Circulator). Hydraulically, the sludge blanket is a fluidised layer of highly concentrated freely dispersed flocculent aggregates. The flow through a sludge blanket is considered to be the flow through a porous medium, characterized by a continuous inflow of fresh suspension and continuous removal of excess suspension, with a state of equilibrium between the quantities of inflowing and removed suspension being maintained at all times [12]. Fluidisation occurs when water flows through a discontinuous porous environment formed by a layer of flocculent aggregates. It occurs as soon as the weight of the aggregates decreased by their buoyancy equals the hydraulic resistance offered by the layer of aggregates to the flowing water. Consequently, the fluidisation of the sludge blanket occurs when the upward velocity of water exceeds the threshold velocity of fluidisation of the flocculent aggregates. The threshold velocity is dependent on the morphological and physical properties of aggregates and water. When every single aggregate is by-passed by the flowing water, a fully fluidised state is reached. When water flows through the channels formed between the tightly deposited aggregates, channelling state exist. Technologically, the sludge blanket with a fluidised layer is a process unit for particle aggregation where the formation of a flocculent suspension takes place under conditions of low agitation intensity. There is equilibrium between the forces forming and breaking-up the aggregates inside the sludge blanket. The high concentration and very anisometric surface of the flocculent aggregates in the sludge blanket favourably influences the aggregation of particles and the opportunity for aggregate enmeshment. Thus, in principle, the sludge blanket is a continuation of orthokinetic aggregation [13-19]. Nonetheless, a sludge blanket cannot secure completion of the aggregation process on its own and,

therefore, an adequately sized pre-flocculation basin, upstream of the sludge blanket, is required. Aggregates of the most suitable size for entering a sludge blanket are of primary and micro-aggregate size. Depending on the destabilisation reagent used, sludge blanket clarifiers can operate at a maximum upflow velocity of 5.0 m.h-1 at the sludge blanket level. Major advantages: High hydraulic loadings, Smallest footprint, Simple and cheap to operate and maintain. Major disadvantages: Operates effectively under steady and only gradually changing raw water quality and flowrate, Operates effectively only at hydraulic loadings in the range between the threshold velocity of fluidisation and up to maximum attainable upflow velocity, The most common design shortcomings: Inadequate slope of the sludge blanket cone or pyramid walls, Design of an inlet arrangement into the sludge blanket resulting in excessive turbulence and non-uniform flow distribution, which disturbs the hydraulic balance of the sludge blanket, Operating flowrate is designed outside the optimum range of upflow velocities, which usually results on channelling, Pre-aggregation facility missing, Outdoor installation (weather influences detrimentally affects performance stability).

DISSOLVED AIR FLOTATION (DAF) The development of the DAF system was undoubtedly motivated by an endeavour to design a separation system of a better and more stable separation efficiency than that currently achieved by various sedimentation tanks and sludge blanket clarifiers as designed in South Africa. Particular emphasis was for the removal of fibrous organisms (algae). It should be pointed out that the low efficiency of sedimentation systems is not a reflection of their unsuitability for the removal of the fibrous organisms, but rather a result of non-optimised reaction conditions under which the entire water purification process takes place and the shortcomings in the design of the sedimentation plant. It should be emphasized, however, that without optimisation of the reaction conditions under which the transformation of the particles of impurities into readily separable suspension takes place, not even the DAF system can produce a better quality purified water than any sedimentation system. In addition, various DAF systems contain inherent features that can adversely affect the subsequent purification processes as well as pumping of the purified water. Compared to sedimentation systems, the DAF system necessitates the installation of additional auxiliary plants for preparation of water saturated with air, which considerably increases capital, operational and maintenance costs, as well as plant attendance and maintenance requirements. Therefore, based on economic considerations the DAF system should be used only when the suspension formed is spontaneously flotating and cannot settle. Only one waterworks in Southern Africa was found that requires a DAF system.

This is the Morton Jaffrey Waterworks at Hunyani supplying Harare, Zimbabwe with drinking water. The most suitable size of aggregates entering the DAF clarifier is that of the primary aggregates and micro-aggregates of the smallest size. The aggregates of larger size break-up when mixed with air saturated water to produce white water. The DAF plants are usually designed to operate at an upflow velocity of 5 m.h-1. Major advantages: Enhancement of aggregation process, High hydraulic loading, Small footprint, Removal of gas producing organisms (spontaneous flotation). Major disadvantages: Effective operation is restricted by the design maximum concentration of suspended solids at the inlet to the DAF clarifier for which the auxiliary plant is sized, Incapability of handling greater suspended solids loadings than those for which the auxiliary air saturation plant is designed - this could result in the need to install presedimentation tanks, thus duplicating the first separation stage, Necessity to install an auxiliary air saturation plant, which considerably increases capital, Considerably higher operational and maintenance costs in comparison to settling tanks or sludge blanket clarifiers, Thin sludge discharged from the DAF clarifiers by the hydraulic removal of the float, The purified water is air saturated which may cause problems, if not de-aerated, in subsequent operation of filters and pumps (potential enhancement of pump cavitation). The most common design shortcomings: Insufficient capacity of the auxiliary air saturation plant, Outdoor installation (weather influences detrimentally affects performance stability), During the last 15-20 years a combination of sedimentation tank / sludge blanket clarifier with a DAF plant became very popular in South Africa, in spite of the fact that, it is difficult to find any technological justification that is based on the quality of raw water being purified in such waterworks. Based on our experience [20] it should be emphasized that the purified water of the same or even better quality than that produced by a DAF system under the reaction conditions prevailing in Southern Africa can be attained more economically using sedimentation tank / sludge blanket clarifier purely by optimising reaction conditions under which the purification process takes place. NOTE: Generally, the installations of a DAF plant respect the necessity of eliminating the weather effect on the stability of its performance and, therefore, are installed indoor, (the feature commonly not afforded to sedimentation plants and sludge blanket clarifiers). In addition, sludge removal by mechanical scraper from the DAF clarifiers is accepted and installed without any hesitation. In contrast, in the case of sedimentation tanks the installation of mechanical scrappers is avoided in spite of the inconvenience this causes the operators who have to remove the deposited and thickened sludge manually (as operators, we would insist that the engineer responsible for such a design takes his annual vacation to do this job and brings his gum boots, pick and shovel every time the deposited sludge must be removed from such designed settling tanks).

DEEP BED FILTRATION Deep bed filtration is the most common separation process that is used in all water purification works. It is a process whereby the flocculent suspension is intercepted on the surface of filter media grains and in the voids of a filter bed. Filtration is a cyclic process whereby the retained suspension must be regularly removed from the filter bed by backwashing in order to recover its sludge holding capacity. Therefore, any filter is only as good as its backwashing efficiency. The filtration plant is the most expensive individual plant in the waterworks. Different filter arrangements are currently used and most of them incorporate design shortcomings. The cheap filters are usually cheap because of the inherent design shortcomings, resulting in operational deficiencies and inefficient backwashing preventing full utilisation of their sludge holding capacity. Therefore, each filter arrangement should always be evaluated by comparing all parameters of its design with basic requirements for the most effective operation and performance efficiency. The sludge holding capacity of a filter bed is dependent on media grading, bed depth, filtration velocity, backwashing efficiency and quality of suspension. In order to increase the sludge holding capacity multi-media bed filters and upflow type filters are commonly used. The most suitable size of aggregates entering filtration plants is that of the primary aggregates and micro-aggregates of the smallest size. Filtration plants are designed to operate at a filtration velocity between 5 and 20 m.h-1 depending on the type of filter, its arrangement, media grading and quality of suspension in terms of its filterability. Major advantages: The most efficient process for the removal of suspended solids, Enhancement of the aggregation process. Major disadvantages: Suitable for relatively low concentration of suspended solids at the inlet to filters. Polyelectrolyte formed suspension is not particularly suitable as it has a tendency of blinding the uppermost layer of filter media resulting in rapidly increasing filter head loss, producing mud-balls and the retained suspension being difficult to backwash. Limited sludge holding capacity dependent on the filter media granularity. The most common design shortcomings: Sub-optimal media grain size with respect to the quantity and quality of suspension being filtered, Inadequate depth of filter media (it is a function of media grain size d50), Inadequate operating depth of water layer above the filter bed, Inadequate depth of water between the top of media bed and backwash water outlet weir, Insufficient intensities and duration of air scour, followed by insufficient intensity and duration of water backwashing resulting in inadequate media expansion (clear spent backwash water is not an indication of removal of the retained suspension), The intensities of air + water during their combined backwash and subsequent backwash water rinse are not optimised in respect of media granularity, and filter arrangement is not designed to prevent loss of filtration media, Filter bed being too wide for effective collection of backwash water,

Intensity of backwash water applied to the lateral pipe system is too low to ensure reclassification of media, Filter floor nozzle arrangement sub-optimal density of filter nozzles and unlevelled nozzles, Non-uniform distribution of inflow to filters in the filtration mode, Filter flow control.

METHODS FOR ACCELERATION OF WATER CLARIFICATION PROCESS There is great interest in a simple and economical acceleration and improvement in efficiency of the entire purification process. The most common and popular gadgets for the acceleration of sedimentation processes are various designs of lamella packs placed into the sedimentation zone of the clarifiers and sedimentation tanks. The lamella packs are often used to suppress shortcomings resulting from sub-optimal conditions in the formation of suspension and shortcomings in the design of sedimentation tanks and their hydraulics as well as to accelerate sedimentation of the smallest size-fraction of the aggregates formed. Used on surface waters, the lamella clarifiers are usually operated at a maximum upflow velocity of about 7 m.h-1. The disadvantages of any lamella system are as follows: It does not address improvement in the process of the formation of a readily separable suspension - it only facilitates the improvement of the conditions under which the sedimentation process takes place. When the lamella packs are installed into an existing plant, the increased flow marginally increases agitation intensity but considerably shortens the retention time in the flocculation facility, which in most cases is already too short, thus adversely affecting the overall efficiency of the plant. Lamella system addresses only the symptoms and not the causes of the existing design and operational shortcomings. It prevents visual inspection and free access to the bottom of the tank (the sludge scraping mechanism), which adversely affects operation, control and maintenance of these clarifiers. Both the total capital and maintenance costs can be higher than that of a clarifier without lamella.

THE INFLUENCE OF AGITATION INTENSITY AND ITS DURATION ON THE PROPERTIES OF FORMED AGGREGATES Another way of accelerating the water purification process is by improving those properties of the aggregates that affect their settleability, namely size, shape, density and their homogeneity, during the process of their formation. The research focused on the optimisation and acceleration of the water purification process proved that both these objectives are closely inter-related and can be accomplished most effectively by the optimisation of hydrodynamic conditions under which aggregates are formed. This research also provided proof of the vital role of high agitation intensity, its duration and uniform distribution of the velocity field in the volume of agitated water on the above mentioned morphological and physical properties of aggregates as well as the properties of produced sludge. It was found that a high G employed throughout the aggregation process is the inherent means that influence very favourably the inner structure and

thereby density of aggregates during their formation. This method of aggregates formation is known as the Inline High Density Suspension (IHDS) aggregation process [1,21,23-25]. It is simple, very effective and user-friendly and, in our opinion, the most viable method. Therefore, its potential will be briefly illustrated below. Furthermore, the latest research showed that the process of formation of aggregates takes place under a different model than that currently being considered and hence a new conception and understanding of the process of formation of aggregates was established. It was found that the formation of aggregates passes through four distinctive, consecutive development phases, namely: (1) the phase of formation, (2) the phase of compaction, (3) the phase of a steady state, (4) the phase of aggregates breaking to the units of lower development stages at low agitation intensities or the phase of surface erosion at higher agitation intensities. The pattern of these phases remains the same irrespective of the agitation intensity but the times of these phases are agitation intensity dependent. The phase of a steady state corresponds to what has been called the flocculation optimum [1,21-23]. In addition to that this research proved that [1,3,4,24,25] with increasing agitation intensity the number of formed aggregates increases and their size decreases, with increasing agitation time the shape of aggregates becomes more spherical, with increasing agitation intensity and its duration the inner structure of aggregates becomes more compact and thereby more dense and the formed aggregates become more homogeneous in size, shape and density.

Table 1: Comparison of performance of different types of clarifiers installed at Bethlehem O.F.S. Municipal waterworks
TYPE OF CLARIFIER POINT OF MEASUREMENT [-] Raw Water PRETREATOR Floc. chamber outlet Hydraulic jump Clarifier outlet Floc. Chamber outlet Clarifier outlet Floc. chamber outlet Clarifier outlet 60 1.5 60 1.2 52 15.5 0.172 102 0 102 0 UPFLOW VELOCITY [m/h] DOSING RATE Alum [mg/l] SF-A110 [mg/l] TURBIDITY C [NTU] 102 102 CF [NTU] 54 4.9 4.0 1.5 4.9 2.9 1.7 1.4 75.5 17.6 1.5 75.5 1.2 50.0 2.6 14.7 57.9 2.5 14.7 1.9 32.6 1.9 6.2 22.3 1.6 6.2 1.4 16.1 1.4 3.6 2.2 1.4 3.6 2.7 1.3 1.2 TEST OF AGGREGATION MA [%] MI [%] PR [%] NA [%]

CLARIFLOCCULATOR

HR CLARIFIER

The potential of the IHDS method for the acceleration of the purification process is best illustrated by comparison of the performance efficiency of different types of clarifiers installed at the old Bethlehem Municipal Waterworks. The clarifiers installed are Clariflocculator (a radial flow type sedimentation tank), Pretreator (a radial flow type sludge blanket clarifier) and HR clarifier (a vertical flow type clarifier with a fully fluidised sludge blanket). At the time of testing, all clarifiers were producing the purified water of approximately the same residual turbidity. Both, the Clariflocculator and Pretreator were

supplied with pre-flocculated water from a common hydraulically operated meander-like flocculation basin, where the aggregation process took place under the accustomed conditions of low agitation intensity and a retention time of about 20 minutes; at the end of the flocculation basin the flow to the Pretreator was discharged over a hydraulic jump (about 600 mm deep). The HR clarifier purified the same raw water with the same destabilisation reagent but the destabilisation reagent was dosed into a separate flash mixer upstream to the flocculation compartment of the clarifier. The formation of aggregates took place in the flocculation compartment of the clarifier with G = 330 s-1. The Clariflocculator was operated at an upflow velocity of 1.2 m.h-1 and total retention time of about 4 hrs. The Pretreator was operated at an upflow velocity of 1.5 m.h-1 and total retention time of about 3.5 hrs. The HR clarifier was operated at an upflow velocity of 15.5 m.h-1, total retention time (inclusive of sludge thickener) of about 38 minutes. While the residual turbidity at the outlet from each clarifier was very similar (around 7.1 NTU), the aluminium sulphate dosage applied to the HR clarifier was about 13 % lower than that applied to the Pretreator and Clariflocculator. In addition, the lowest residual turbidity produced only by the non-separable particles of CF = 1.2 NTU was measured at the outlet from the HR clarifier and CF = 1.4 NTU at the outlet from the Pretreator. The performance efficiency attained with the Clariflocculator was considerably poorer, CF = 2.7 NTU [23,26,27,28].

CONCLUSIONS Close appraisal of the level of the design of a water purification works inevitably leads us to the conclusion that until the basics of water purification chemistry (reaction conditions), hydraulics as well as technical common sense are treated with the kind of respect they deserve, we will remain trapped in the cycle of ignorance that well keep a strangle-hold on the effectiveness of our waterworks.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The authors acknowledge very valuable support of the Grant Agency of the Czech Republic under project Nos. 103/04/0929 and AV0Z20600510.

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