I.

Introduction
1.1.BackgroundoftheStudy
Sedimentationisaunitoperation,whichdealswiththeseparationofadilute
slurry(solidliquidmixture)intotwoareas:theclearliquidpartandthepartofhigher
solidconcentration,throughgravityorbyothermeans(Foust,1980).
Thesedimentationprocesscanbecategorizedintotwotypesbasedonthe
certain force that will govern the separation. As its name implies, in gravity
sedimentationthesolidssettleatthebottomofatankorchamberduetogravitational
force acting on them. On the other hand, there are scenarios in which gravity
sedimentationisnotpreferablesinceitoperatesinalowspeedsuchaswhenthesolid
andliquidhaveroughlyequalorclosedensitiesandwhenassociationforcesofthe
mixtureisstronglikeinemulsions.Inthesecases,centrifugalsedimentationcanbe
usedinsteadofgravity sedimentationsince itincreases theforce that acts onthe
particlesmanyfold(Geankoplis,2000).Centrifugalsedimentationutilizescentrifugal
forceandtakesplaceinanequipmentcalledcentrifuge.
Sedimentationcanbefurtherclassifiedbasedonitsfunctions:clarificationand
thickening.Bothoftheseprocessesoperateinlargeopentankscalledthickenersor
clarifiers(McCabe,1993).Thedifferenceofthetwooperationsliesontheirdesired
products. Clarification is more concerned on the removal of a small number of
particulatesolidsintheslurrytoproduceaclearsupernatant(McCabe,1993).Onthe
other hand, thickening is employed if the production of a slurry of higher
concentration from that of a lower concentration is necessary (Foust, 1980).

Moreover,thedesiredproductinthickeningistheunderfloworthesludgewhereas
theclearliquidisthedesiredproductinclarification.
Several factors affect clarification efficiency in a sedimentation tank. One
factoristheparticlesizeandtype.
Sand,forexample,settleseasilybecauseofitsdensity.Meanwhile,colloidal
materialwillnotsettleuntilitiscoagulatedoraddedwithchemicals.Theyalsotend
to stay in suspension, thus, making the water cloudy. Particle shape also affects
settling characteristics. Spherical particles tend to settle faster than those with
irregular shapes. Water temperature also dictates settling rate. When the water
temperaturedecreases,settlingratebecomesslowerduetodecreaseinwaterflow
(Sedimentation,2013).
Clarification efficiency can also be enhanced through flocculation.
Flocculation is also carried out by the addition of inexpensive materials such as
sodiumsilicate,aluminaorlimethatformlooseagglomeratesthatcarrydownwith
them.Flocculatedparticleshavedifferentsettlingcharacteristicsfromsuspensionsof
dispersed dense solids (McCabe, 1993). McCabe further explained that the
coagulation,ontheotherhand,involvesalterationofthesolidspropertiesinorderfor
themtoattachtooneanother.
AccordingtoGeankoplis(2000),aparticlemovingthroughafluidisacted
uponbyexternal,buoyantanddragforcesasshowninFig.6.1.

Figure6.1.Freebodydiagramofaparticlemovingthroughafluid.
Where,
FB=buoyantforce=

FD=dragforce=

W=Fg=gravitationalforce=mg
SummationofthethreeforceswillresulttoEquation6.1.
=WFBFD

(Eqn.6.1)

(Eqn.6.2)

Tosolveforterminalvelocity,whereindv/dt=0,theequationwillbecome,

(Eqn.6.3)

Substitute

and

forsphericalparticles.

(Eqn.6.4)

ForStokeslawtobevalid,Reynoldsnumbershouldbeassumedtobeless
than1andthedragcoefficientshouldbeequalto,
(Eqn.6.5)

Theequationwillthenbecome,
(Eqn.6.6)

Where,
p=particledensity
g=gravitationalconstant
Dp=particlediameter
=fluiddensity

=liquidviscosity
Sedimentationmaybebyoperatedbybatchorcontinuously.Whenslurryis
allowed tosettle in a sedimentation tank by batch, the particles settle freely at a
certaintime,asdepictedinuniformsettlingzoneBinFig.6.2.Theparticlesinthis
zonesettleatauniformrate,resultinginaclearliquidzoneA,whichiscalledthe
clarificationzone.Themotionoftheparticlesinthiszonealsoresultinconstantdrop
ofinterfaceheight,z.AdistinctinterfaceexistsbetweenzonesAandB.After,some
time,thesettledparticlesatthebottombecomevisible.Thus,labeledaszoneD.A
transitionlayerwhosesolidsconcentrationvariesformthatinzonesBandD.This
zoneisreferredtoaszoneCorthickeningzone.TheinterfacebetweenzonesCandD
isindistinctinactualprocesses.TheinterfacebetweenzonesBandC,however,is
distinct and is called the mud bed interface (Vietti & Dunn, 2014).After further
settling,zonesBandCdisappearduetocontinuousdownwardcollapseofzoneBand
upwardaccumulationofzoneC.Themomentthecompressionofparticlesappearsis
calledthecriticalpoint.Duringthispoint,liquidisejectedupwardfromzoneD,
resultingindecreaseofthethicknessinzoneDorthecompressionzone(Geankoplis,
1993).

Figure6.2.Batchsedimentation:(a)slurryatinitialtime;(b)differentsettlingzones;
and(c)compressionzoneD
Source:Geankoplis,1993
Therearetwogeneraltypesofsettling:freesettlingandhindered.Freeor
particulatesettlingoccursindilutesolutionsandtheparticlesarefarenoughsothat
theycanfreelyfall(Rampersad,2008).However,hinderedsettlingtakesplaceina
concentratedconditionandthereisinteractionbetweenthesolidparticles.Figure6.3
showsthatatthefirstpartweretheenvironmentisroughlydilute,theinterfaceheight
isplottedasafunctionofthetimeandtheresultisastraightlinedescribedbythe
equation,
z=kt

(Eqn.6.7)

Figure6.3.Batchsettlingresultscurve
Source:Foust,1980
Integrating both sides with their corresponding variables, will result to
equation,

(Eqn.6.8)
Where,
zc=interfaceheightatcriticalpoint
z0=initialinterfaceheight
tc=timeatcriticalpoint

t0=initialtime
k=freesettlingrate
However,accordingtoPerry(1997),hinderedsettlingismoreappropriately
describedbythisequation,

(Eqn.6.9)
Integrating both sides with their corresponding variables, will result to
equation,

(Eqn.6.10)
Where,
z=interfaceheightatinfinitetime
z=interfaceheightatanytimet
kc=rateatcriticalpoint
AccordingtoFoust(1980),continuoussedimentationtakesplaceinalarge
diameter,shallowdepthtankwithslowlyrevolvingrakes.Thefeedispositionedat
thecentertopofthetank.Similartothefeedlocation,Foustfurtherexplainedthatthe
dischargeispositionedatthecenterbottombecausetherevolvingrakesscrapethe
sludgetowardsthecenter.Moreover,therakesaidsinstirringbutonlythethickened
layer.Thishelpstheremovalofwaterinthesludgearea.

Continuoussedimentationalsohasthe4regionsorzonesfromthatofthe
batchprocess.Theonlydifferenceisthatatsteadystateconditiontheheightsofeach
respectivezonedonotchangeunlikethatinbatchsedimentation.Figure6.4shows
thezonesinacontinuousthickener.

Figure6.4.Zonesinacontinuousthickener
Source:Geankoplis,1993
Thedesignofacontinuousthickenerisbasedonitsrequireddiameterand
depth. According to Foust (1980), the design of an equipment for continuous
sedimentationisbasedoninformationderivedfromthebatchsedimentation.Because
ofthis,batchsedimentationisusuallyemployedbeforethecontinuousprocess.
UsingthelaboratorymeasurementsderivedinFigure6.3,aninterfaceheight
vs.timegraphwasplottedasshowninthefigure.Slopesofthegraphwillpertainto
respectivevelocitiesatdifferentsedimentationzones.Thecurvecanthenbedivided
intotwoparts.Thefirstpartoratinitialtime,thecurveappearstobelinearwhichis

equivalenttoa constantratesettling ofthesolidparticles.Oncethe constantrate

region is passed, the interface height seemed to be almost constant as the time
increases.Thisoccursinthethickenedzoneorinthelastzone.Moreover,asshown
bythegraph,asthetimeincreases,thevelocityorslopedecreases(Foust,1980).
FoustfurtherelaboratedthatCoeandClevenger1916andKynchin1952explained
this occurrence throughamodel.They assumedthatthe settling velocityand the
suspendedsolidsconcentrationareproportionaltoeachother.However,thegraphis
restrictedtotheslurrytestedandtheconditionsinthelaboratories.
Asmentionedpreviously,mostassumptionsinvolvetherelationshipofthe
solidsconcentrationtothesettlingvelocity.AccordingtoFoust(1980),thegraph
fromthebatchsedimentationresultsshowedthatatincreasingsolidsconcentration,
the settling rate decreases. However, the graph also showed that the increase in
concentration is much faster than the decrease in concentration. Further, it was
explainedthatbecauseinitially,thetopmostpartofthethickenerisdiluted,then,it
can accommodate the settling particles. But, as the settling continues, the
concentration greatly increases and thus this zone may have a hard time
accommodatingthesettlingsolids(Foust,1980).
AccordingtoFoust(1980),inadesigncalculation,itisdesiredtodetermine
theratelimitinglayer,wherethelowestcapacityofsolidspassagehappens.
FromFig.6.5,amassbalancecanbecomputed.

(Eqn.6.11)

Figure6.5.Selectedconcentrationlayerinthickener
Source:Foust,1980

Solvingfor

andneglectingd,resultsto,

(Eqn.6.12)

(Eqn.6.13)

The

canbeassumedtobeintheratelimitingzoneandmaybeusedto

determinethesolidsconcentrationattheupperboundaryofthelayerfromasingle
batchsettling test. Let c0 and z0 represent the initial concentration and the initial
interfaceheight,respectively.AndcLz0Sasthetotalweightoftheslurryas(Foust,
1980).

(Eqn.6.14)

(Eqn.6.15)
Substitutingthevalueofresultsto,

(Eqn.6.16)
Thezvs.(time)isplottedandtheslopeisasshowninFigure6.6.

Figure6.6.Interfaceheightvs.timeplotofabatchsedimentation
Source:Foust,1980
CombiningEquation6.18and6.16gives,

(Eqn.6.17)

Thisstatesthatziistheheightoftheslurrywouldoccupyiftheconcentration
ofthesolidsisatthelimitorc L.Thus,theminimumconcentrationatwhichboundary
layerinterfereiscL(Foust,1980).
AccordingtoMcCabe(1993),thetotaldownwardsolidsfluxinacontinuous
sedimentationprocessiscomposedoftwoparts.Thefirstpartiscalledthetransport
flux,Ft,whichisthefluxofthesolidscarriedbytheliquidflowingdownward.Itis
theproductofthesolidsconcentration,c,andthedownwardvelocity,u.Thesecond
partistheadditionalfluxthatresultsfromthesettlingofthesolidsthroughtheliquid
orthesettlingflux,Fs.Itistheproductofthesolidsconcentrationandthesettling
rate,dZ/dt,asindicatedbythebatchresults(McCabe,1993).

(Eqn.6.19)
Amongthemethodsproposedtoestablishthesettlingfluxcurve,Coeand
Clevengeristheonemostcommonlyutilized.InthemethodofCoeandClevengeras
discussed by McCabe (1993), the initial settling velocity is measure for several
suspensionswiththeircorrespondingconcentrationsbetweentheoverflowandthe
underflow. The settling velocity is then multiplied to the initial concentration to
obtainthesettlingflux.Hence,assumingthatthesettlingvelocityonlydependsonthe
solidsconcentration.Equation6.20showstheCoeandClevengerequation.

(Eqn.6.20)
Where,
FL=limitingsolidsflux

FB=batchflux
FU=underflowflux
c=criticalvelocity
U=underflowvelocity
Thelimitingsolidsflux,FL,asshowninFigure6.7,islessthanthesolidsflux
atanyotherconcentrationbetweenthatofthefeedanddischargeandthus,setsthe
limit.Anareamustbeprovidedsothatthefluxdoesnotexceedthelimiting.Hence,
the required minimum area that must be provided by a steadystate continuous
sedimentationisgivenbytheequation,

(Eqn.6.21)
Where,
A=minimumarea
L0=volumetricflowrateoffeed

=concentrationoffeed

Figure6.7.Solidsfluxforacontinuousthickener
Source:Foust,1980
AnotherapproachondeterminingthethickenerareaistheTalmadgeandFitch
methodin1955(Vietti&Dunn,2014).Inthismethod,thefeedsolidsconcentration
isknownandsettlingiscontinueduntilunderflowconcentrationisachievedinthe
cylinder.Itisassumedthattheupwardvelocityofazoneofconstantconcentrationis
constant,too.Thus,itcanbeusedtoobtainsolidsconcentrationofthemudline.This
velocitycanbemeasuredfromtheslopeofthesettlingcurveattheappropriatepoint.
In 1912, Gaudin and Fuerstenau provided evidences that both proved and
disprovedTalmadgeandFitch.Theyfoundoutthattheisoconcentrationlineswhen
plottedwerenotstraight,thus,rejectingtheassumptionsestablishedbyTalmadgeand
Fitch.However,theyalsofoundoutthatallexperimentaldatafortherelationship
betweenconcentrationsandsettlingratelayonasinglecurve,thereby,confirming
thatthevelocityisafunctionofconcentration(Tarleton&Wakeman,2007).

Todeterminetheunitarea,anequationwasproposedbyTalmadgeandFitch,

(Eqn.6.22)
Where,

=time

=initialconcentration

=initialinterfaceheight
Inordertodetermineinaheightvs.timeplot,drawtangentlinestotheinitial
andfinallegsofthesettlingcurve.Theangleofintersectionofthetangentsistobe
bisectedandextendedtothecurvetogettheconcentrationatcriticalpoint,c c.A
tangent line is to be drawn through c c. Locate the underflow height, zu, on the
abscissa.Extendahorizontallinetothetangentlinedrawnthroughcc.Averticalline
from the intersection is to be used to read the time, tu, at which the sludge
concentrationiscu.ThegraphicalprocessdescribedispresentedinFigure6.8.

Figure6.8.GraphicaldeterminationoftuusingTalmadgeandFitchmethod
Source:Foust,1980
Factorsaffectingthesedimentationprocessaremostlyduetotheproperties
andcharacteristicsofthecomponentsoftheslurrysuchasthesizeandtheproperties
ofthesolids,theviscosityoftheliquidandthedensitiesofboththesolidandthe
liquid(Perry,1997)
Settleablesolidsweregenerallygroupedintotwoclassificationsbasedontheir
particlesizes:discreteandflocculent.Discreteparticlesareusuallygreaterthan20
mandmayincludesaltcrystals,mineralparticlesandsimilarsubstancesthathave
little tendency to cohere. Particles that are smaller than 20 m are classified as
flocculent.Thesemayincludemanychemicalprecipitates,metalhydroxidesandmost
organicsubstancesotherthantruecolloids(Perry,1997).

Asageneralrule,denserparticlestendtosettlefirstthanthelighterones.
Also,particleswithlargerdiametersusuallyhavelargedensity,too.Becauseofthis,
theparticlesizeaffectsthesedimentationprocessespeciallyitsrate.
Meanwhile,ahighlyviscousliquidwillhinderafastsettlingsincetheviscous
forceswillimpedethesolidparticlesastheyflowthroughtheliquid.Moreover,asthe
Stokeslawforterminalvelocity,Equation6.6,implies,theviscosityoftheliquidis
inverselyproportionaltotheterminalvelocityoftheparticles.
Asdiscussedearlier,aparticlewithalargedensitywilltendtosettlefirstthan
thatwithasmallerone.However,asEquation6.6implies,largeparticledensityisnot
enough.Inordertohaveafasterrateofsettlement,thedensityoftheliquidshouldbe
small,too.
1.2.SignificanceoftheStudy
Sedimentationisaseparationprocessthatseparatessuspendedparticlesand
microbesfromwater,whichutilizestheuseofgravitationalforce.Inindustriesas
wellashousehold,thisprocessisprimarilyusedasapretreatmentforwaterbeforeit
issubjectedtofurtherpurificationprocesseslikefiltration(Shrestha&Dorothee).
Sedimentation, having a simple mechanism in removing particles and
microbesthatsettlesfromwater,isalowcosttechnologysinceitprimarilydepends
ongravity.Itisalsoeasytoperformandthus,requiresminimalskillsandmaterials.It
reducestheturbidityofthewater,whichincreasesitsvisualquality.Ontheotherside,
sedimentation,dependingmainlyingravity,canonlyremovesettablesolidssands,
clayandothers,aswellaslargemicrobes.Itcannotremovesmallerparticlesand

microbes, hence it can only provide a low to moderate microbe reduction. Also,
sedimentation can be timecostly especially when coagulants are not used. In
industries,coagulants areusedtoreducethetimeofsedimentation,butitcanbe
costlydependingonthecoagulantneeded(WHO).
1.3.ObjectivesoftheStudy
Attheendofthisexercise,itisexpectedtodeterminetheeffectoftheslurry
concentrationandinitialheighttothesettlingcharacteristicsoftheslurryandtouse
batchsettlingdataforthedesignofcontinuousthickenerorclarifier.
1.4.ScopeandLimitationsoftheStudy
Theexperimentwasconductedthroughabatchsedimentationoperationusing
tapwaterandcalciumcarbonate(CaCO 3)only.Theexperimentproceededwiththe
useofopaqueplasticgraduatedcylinders.
1.5.TimeandPlaceoftheStudy
The experiment was conducted at the Unit Operations Laboratory located at the
Department of Chemical Engineering, College of Engineering and Agro-Industrial
Technology, University of the Philippines Los Baos, Laguna, on November 4, 2016
from 2:00 pm to 6:00 pm.