Lessons Index

Using Operation of Water Treatment Plants Volume I Lesson 1: Introduction to Water Treatment Lesson 2: Water Supplies Lesson 3: Watersheds Lesson 4: Coagulation and Flocculation Lesson 5: Sedimentation Lesson 6: Filtration Lesson 7: Disinfection Lesson 8: Corrosion Control Lesson 9: Taste and Odor Control Lesson 10: Water Tank Design Lesson 11: Laboratory Procedures Tips for Exam 1 Using Operation of Wastewater Treatment Plants Volume I Lesson 12: Overview of the Wastewater Treatment Process Lesson 13: Racks, Screens, Comminutors and Grit Removal Lesson 14: Sedimentation and Flotation Lesson 15: Trickling Filters Lesson 16: Rotating Biological Contactors Lesson 17: Activated Sludge Lesson 18: Stabilization Ponds Lesson 19: Disinfection and Chlorination
Tips for Exam 2 http://water.me.vccs.edu/courses/env110/ENV110Lessons.htm

Lesson 1: Introduction to Water Treatment Objective In this lesson we will learn about the following concepts:

The hydrologic cycle and how it is like nature's way of treating water An introduction to water treatment

Reading Assignment Along with the online lesson, read Chapter 1: Water Treatment Plant Operator, in your textbook Operation of Water Treatment Plants Volume I. Lecture Hydrologic Cycle Hello, I'm Rosa Cooke from Mountain Empire Community College. I would like to introduce you to a subject called water and wastewater treatment. In water and wastewater, there are many concepts to learn so I thought I would start out with the way nature treats water - the hydrologic cycle. The hydrologic cycle follows water as it evaporates from the earth's surface, forms clouds, and then falls back to the earth's surface as rain. The diagram below shows an overview of the process.

Since the cycle is continuous, there is no actual beginning or end, so you can begin anywhere. However, there are five basic processes that make up the hydrologic cycle: Condensation, precipitation, infiltration, runoff, and evapotranspiration. Water vapor condenses to form clouds, which result in precipitation when the conditions are suitable. Precipitation falls to the surface and infiltrates the soil or flows to the ocean as runoff. Surface water evaporates, returning moisture to the atmosphere, while plants return water to the atmosphere by transpiration. Condensation is the process of water changing from a vapor to a liquid. Water vapor in the air rises mostly by convection. This means that warm, humid air will rise, while cooler air will flow downward. As the warmer air rises, the water vapor will lose energy, causing its temperature to drop. The water vapor then has a change of state into liquid or ice. You can see condensation in action whenever you take a cold soda from the refrigerator and set it in a room. Notice how the outside of the soda can "sweats"? The water doesn't come from inside the can, it comes from the water vapor in the air. As the air cools around the can water droplets form. Precipitation is water being released from clouds as rain, sleet, snow, or hail. Precipitation begins after water vapor, which has condensed in the atmosphere, becomes too heavy to remain in atmospheric air currents and falls. Under some circumstances precipitation actually evaporates before it reaches the surface. More often, though, precipitation reaches the Earth's surface, adding to the surface water in streams and lakes, or infiltrating the soil to become groundwater. A portion of the precipitation that reaches the Earth's surface seeps into the ground through the process called infiltration. The amount of water that infiltrates the soil varies with the degree of land slope, the amount and type of vegetation, soil type and rock type, and whether the soil is already saturated by water. The more openings in the surface (cracks, pores, joints) the more infiltration occurs. Water that doesn't infiltrate the soil flows on the surface as runoff. Precipitation that reaches the surface of the Earth but does not infiltrate the soil is called runoff. Runoff can also come from melted snow and ice. When there is a lot of precipitation, soils become saturated with water. Additional rainfall can no longer enter it. Runoff will eventually drain into creeks, streams, and rivers, adding a large amount of water to the flow. Surface water always travels towards the lowest point possible, usually the oceans. Along the way some water evaporates, percolates into the ground, or is used for agricultural, residential, or industrial purposes. Evapotranspiration is water evaporating from the ground and transpiration by plants. Evapotranspiration is also the way water vapor re-enters the atmosphere. Evaporation occurs when radiant energy from the sun heats water causing the water molecules to become so active that some of them rise into the atmosphere as vapor. Transpiration occurs when plants take in water through the roots and release it through the leaves, a process that can clean water by removing contaminants and pollution.

As you can see, many processes are at work to give you the water you need. And these processes are always at work. Just because Antarctica is frozen doesn't mean that evaporation is not taking place (ice can turn directly to water vapor by a process called sublimation). And because the Sahara Desert is so dry doesn't mean that precipitation is not happening (it evaporates before it makes it to the ground). Introduction to Water Treatment Now that you know how nature treats water, let's see how it's done in the water plant before we consume it in a glass of water. Water treatment in a typical water treatment plant is shown in the picture below. Based on the characteristics of the raw water and on other factors, this treatment process may vary considerably from place to place.

As water is pumped from the source (a well, spring, river, or lake) it is screened to remove debris. Then, at the water plant, various characteristics of the raw water are tested.

The water may be prechlorinated to kill microorganisms, control odors and taste, and aid in coagulation and setttling. The water may also be aerated, which removes carbon dioxide (CO2) and raises pH, oxidizes iron (Fe) and manganese (Mn), removes hydrogen sulfide (H2S), and removes organic contaminants. Potassium permanganate (KmnO4) may be added to the water in the collection tray of the aerator in order to remove iron and manganese from the water. Ozone may be added to the water to treat iron and manganese, remove algae, neutralize hydrogen sulfide (H2S), and aid in flocculation. Many of these are dependent upon the plant and the amount of water being distributed daily. In most cases, the water then enters a flash mix chamber. Here, various chemicals are added and are mixed into the water. Coagulants cause fine particles to clump together into larger particles. Alkali are added to adjust the pH as well as to oxidize iron and manganese. Hexametaphosphate may be added to prevent corrosion of pipes. After flowing out of the flash mix chamber, the water goes through a chamber which causes coagulation and flocculation to occur. Here, the fine particles of contaminants gather together into large clumps calledfloc. When the water flows into the sedimentation basin, some of the floc settles out of the water and is removed. Next, the water is passed through filters which remove particles too small to settle out in the sedimentation basin. Finally, chlorine is added to the water. The water may also be fluoridated to reduce tooth decay in the consumers. The water is left in the clear well for a period of time to allow the chlorine to kill bacteria in the water and to oxidize hydrogen sulfide. The water is now treated and ready to be distributed. That was a quick overview of the water treatment process and what happens to water as it goes through the plant step by step. We will get into greater detail in later lessons so that you will understand each step of the process, why it is done and how to make sure each step is being done efficiently. Review Nature treats water in its own way through the hydrologic cycle, though we still need to treat the water before we drink it due to all the pollution and bacteria in the environment. The hydrologic cycle provides the supply of water for us to use for consumption, continuously cycling through over and over. The five basic processes that make up the hydrologic cycle are condensation, precipitation, infiltration, runoff, and evapotranspiration. In the water treatment plant the water comes in from the source, is aerated and the addition of chemicals to aid in coagulation and flocculation occurs in the flash mix chamber, it is then allowed to go through coagulation and flocculation, and settle out in the sedimentation basin. The water will pass through a filtration system after the sedimentation basin, removing partilces that were too small to settle out. Chlorine is added as the final step and then the water is stored until it is distributed to the consumer.

Assignments Work the following crossword puzzle that comes from definitions in your textbook. You may either print the puzzle out, complete it and mail or fax back to the instructor or you may send an email with the correct answers numbered accordingly. Quiz Answer the questions in the Pre-Quiz and the Lesson 1 quiz. When you have gotten all the answers correct, print the page and either mail or fax it to the instructor. You may also take the quiz online and submit your grade directly into the database for grading purposes.

Lesson 2: Water Supplies Objective In this lesson we will learn the following:

What types of water supplies are available for consumption. Different types of surface water supplies Groundwater supplies

Reading Assignment Along with the online lesson, read Chapter 2: Water Sources and Treatment, in your textbook Operation of Water Treatment Plants Volume I. Lecture Introduction The total amount of water in the world is almost constant. It is estimated to be 370,000 quadrillion gallons, 97% of which is the water in the oceans, which is salty and unfit for human consumption without an expensive treatment. The remaining 3% is known as fresh water, but 2% of that is the glacier ice trapped at the North and South Poles. Only 1% is available for drinking water. Pure water is a colorless, odorless, and tasteless liquid. The depth and light give it a blue or bluish-green tint. Tastes and odors in water are due to dissolved gases, such as sulfur dioxide and chlorine, and minerals. Water exists in nature simultaneously as a solid (ice), liquid (water) and a gas (vapor). Its density is 1 g/mL or cubic centimeter. It freezes at 0C and boils at 100C. When frozen, water expands by one ninth of its original volume. Water Supplies There are two main water supplies: surface and ground. Surface Water Supply Surface water supply is the water from the lakes, reservoirs, rivers and streams. These water bodies are formed of water from direct rain, runoffs, and springs. A runoff is the part of rain water that does not infiltrate the ground or evaporate. It flows by gravity into thew water body from the surrounding land. This drainage area is known as the watershed, which we will learn more about in the next lesson. One inch of runoff rain/acre is equal to 27,000 gallons. Watershed characterists affect the water quality, therefore protection of these watersheds is very important. Surface waters can be classified into lentic (calm waters) and lotic (the running waters). Lentic Water Supplies Lentic waters are the natural lakes and impoundments or reservoirs. Natural lakes of good quality water are very good sources of water. Impoundments are useful, as they eliminate seasonal flow fluctuations and store water for adequate water supply, even under high

consumer demand periods, such as drought in summer. Impounding also helps in the pretreatment of water by reducing turbidity by sedimentation and reducing coliform bacteria and waterborne pathogens through exposure to sunlight. Algal growth and other planktons, drifters formed of free-floating algae, protozoans and rotifers, can cause taste and odor problems. Normally, a natural lake goes through an aging process called eutrophication. It starts with a beautiful young lake and ends as a fertile piece of land. This process in nature is very slow; it takes thousands of years for a lake to disappear. Humans have accelerated this process by adding nutrients and by discharging sewage, fertilizers, and detergents into lakes. There are three stages of a lake: oligotrohpic, mesotrophic, and eutrophic. Oligotrophic lakes are young, deep, and clear, with few nutrients. They have a few types of organisms with low populations. An exaple of this type of lake is Lake Superior. Mesotrophic lakes are middle aged due to nutrients and sediments being continuously added. There is a great variety of organism species, with low populatins at first. As time increases the populatins increase. At an advanced mesotrophic stage a lake may have undesirable odors and colors in certain parts. Turbidity and bacterial densities increase. An example of this type of lake is Lake Ontario. Eutrophic lakes, due to further addition of nutrients, have large algal blooms and become shallower, with fish types changing from sensitive to more pollution-tolerant ones. Over a period of time, a lake becomes a swamp and finally a piece of land. Lake Erie is progressing toward this stage. Factors affecting lentic water quality include several factors, such as temperature, sunlight, turbidity, dissolved gases and nutrients. Temperature and stratification. Water has a maximum density (1 g/cm3) at 4C. Above and below this temperature water is lighter. Temperature changes in water cause stratification, or layering, of water in lakes and reservoirs. During the summer, the top water becomes warmer than the bottom and forms two layers, with the top one warmer and lighter and the bottom one cooler and heavier. During the fall as the temperature drops and the top water reaches 4C, it sinks to the bottom and the bottom water moves to the top. This is known as fall turnover. This condition stirs the bottom mud and releases the anaerobic decomposition products such as sulfur dioxide and other odor-causing chemicals that cause severe tase and odor problems. In the winter too much snow cover for longer time periods can cause oxygen depletion by reducing light penetration, thus the lower rate of photosynthesis. This condition is can cause winter fish kill. In spring, as the ice melts, and the temperature at the surface reaches 4C water sinks once again to the bottom and results in the spring turnover, which, like fall turnover, can cause taste and odor problems. Light. Light, the source of energy for photosynthesis, is important. The rate of photosynthesis depends on the light intensity and light hours per day. The amount of

biomass and oxygen production corresponds to the rate of photosynthesis. The amount of dissolved oxygen (DO) in the lakes is maximum at 2 p.m. and minimum at 2 a.m. Turbidity. Turbidity affects the rate of the penetration of sunlight, and thus, photosynthesis. The more turbidity, the less sunlight can penetrate, which lowers the rate of photosynthesis and consequently less DO. Dissolved gases. These are mainly carbon dioxide (CO2) and oxygen (O2). Carbon dioxide is produced during respiration and is used in photosynthesis; oxygen is produced during photosynthesis and is needed for respiration. DO is consumed by the microorganisms for the aerobic decomposition of biodegradable organic matter. This oxygen demand of the water is known as biochemical oxygen demand (BOD). The more the BOD, the less DO in the water. The more the DO, the better the quality of water. The minimum amount of DO to maintain normal aquatic life, such as fish, is 5 mg/L. Lotic Water Supplies Rivers, streams and springs are lotic water supplies. Factors affecting lotic water supplies are much smaller than those affecting lakes and reservoirs. The only factors affecting running water is current and nutrients. Current. It is the velocity or rate of flow of water. The faster the current, the better it is. Current mixes the oxygen from the atmosphere and keeps the bottom of the stream clean by wasing away the settlable solids. There is more DO and less natural organic matter that would otherwise decompose in the bottom. Thus, due to the current, streams and rivers seldom go anaerobic. Nutrients. Main sources of nutrients are drainage from the watershed. Heavy rains and drought conditions can also cause serious problems, such as high turbidity and more nutrients. Surface water supply is the most contaminated supply, mainly due to discharge of sewage, used water, which is the source of waterborne pathogens, runoffs from farmland, which are the source of Cryptosporidium, pesticides, and fertlizers; and industrial discharges, which are the source of a variety of contaminants. Surface water, therefore, needs the maximum treatment for potability (satisfactory for drinking).

Groundwater Supplies Underground water is supposed to be the purest form of natural water. Sometimes, it is so pure that it does not need any further treatment for drinking purposes. It is the least contaminated and has very low turbidity due to natural filtration of the rain water. It can be contaminated by underground streams in areas with limestone deposits, septic tanks

discharge, and underground deep well leaks. Therefore, it may need disinfection. It needs only mineral removal treatment when compared to surface water supplies. It contains more dissolved minerals such as calcium, magnesium, iron, manganese and sulfur compounds than the surface supply. There are two sources of groundwater: springs and wells. If you dig a hole down through the earth, the soil initially has pockets of air between the soil particles. But as you dig deeper, soon water would fill in all of the gaps in the soil. The location where all of the holes first become filled with water is called the water table. This is the upper limit of the zone of saturation, also known as an aquifer, which is the part of the earth containing the groundwater. The bottom of the zone of saturation is marked by an impermeable layer of rocks, clay or other material. Water cannot soak through this layer, so it instead slowly flows downhill.

Springs Whenever an aquifer or an underground channel reaches the ground surface such as a valley or a side of a cliff, water starts flowing naturally. This natural flow is known as a spring. A spring may form a lake, a creek, or even a river. The quantity and velocity of a spring flow depend on the aquifer size and the position of the spring relative to the highest level of the water table. Regions with limestone deposits have large springs as the water flows in underground channels, formed by the erosion of limestone. The quality of the water depends on the nature of the soil through which the water flows. For example, a mineral spring has dissolved minerals, a sulfur spring has dissolved sulfur. Wells

Public groundwater supply is usually well water because springs are rare. A well is a device to draw the water from the aquifer. Deeper wells (more than 100 feet) have less turbidity, more dissolved minerals, and less bacterial count than shallow wells. Shallow wells have less natural filtration of water due to less depth of the soil.

Small rural communities (less than 25,000 populations) generally use the groundwater from wells. About 35% of the American population uses groundwater supply. Review There are two main water suppllies used for consumption: surface water and groundwater. Surface waters include calm waters, such as lakes and reservoirs, and running water, such as a river or stream. Factors affecting calm water quality include several factors, such as temperature, sunlight, turbidity, dissolved gases and nutrients. Factors affecting running water supplies are much smaller than those affecting lakes and reservoirs. The only factors affecting running water is current and nutrients. Underground water is supposed to be the purest form of natural water. Sometimes, it is so pure that it does not need any further treatment for drinking purposes. It is the least contaminated and has very low turbidity due to natural filtration of the rain water. The two main supplies of groundwater are springs and wells. Whenever an aquifer or an underground channel reaches the ground surface such as a valley or a side of a cliff, water starts flowing naturally. This natural flow is known as a spring. A well is a device to draw the water from the aquifer. Deeper wells (more than 100 feet) have less turbidity, more dissolved minerals, and less bacterial count than shallow wells. Assignment Complete Assignment 2 on Water Supplies. You may do the Assignment online to get credit or print it out and send it to the instructor. Quiz

Answer the questions in the Lesson 2 quiz . When you have gotten all the answers correct, print the page and either mail or fax it to the instructor. You may also take the quiz online and submit your grade directly into the database for grading purposes.

Lesson 3: Watersheds

Objective In this lesson we will answer the following questions:

What is a watershed? Why are watersheds important to water/wastewater treatment plant operators? How is contamination in water affected by the distance from the contamination source? How do we find the boundaries of a watershed on a topographical map? What problems in a watershed should a plant operator be aware of?

Reading Assignment There is no set reading assignment for this lesson. However, you should use your textbook to clarify your understanding of watersheds. Lecture The Importance of Watersheds What is a Watershed?

By definition, a watershed is an area where all rainfall collects into a common location. The common location could be a stream, a pond, a river, etc. Smaller watersheds flow into increasingly larger watersheds. For example, Mountain Empire Community College contains three small watersheds. All three watersheds eventually flow into the Powell River, so they are all part of the Powell River watershed,

also known as the Powell River basin. The water in the Powell River ends up in the Gulf of Mexico, so Mountain Empire Community College is also in the Gulf of Mexico's watershed. The headwaters of a river are made up of first order streams. The watershed of a first order stream cannot be broken down into smaller watersheds because water feeding first order streams flows directly into the streams. The water may originate as runoff from rainfall or as groundwater welling up from below the earth's surface. Each watershed has its own unique characteristics. Size, permeability of the soil, vegetation type, soil type, slope, microorganisms, pH, DO (Dissolved Oxygen), and temperature all affect the water in a watershed. As you will see, each watershed also presents its own problems for the water treatment technician. Potable Water Treatment There are many possible sources of contamination in a watershed. Septic tanks, airports, automobiles, industrial facilities, mining operations, and agricultural lands all contribute to the contamination. In addition, various other sources and processes contaminate the water supply. We are not as concerned about the microbial contamination of the water supply in potable water treatment as we are about other types of contamination. Bacteria are killed or removed during the water treatment process as we flocculate, filter, and disinfect the water. But knowing the amount and type of contamination in the treatment plant's watershed can influence how much chemical treatment (usually alum and lime) is necessary to produce floc from the water. Every watershed has different characteristics - different colloids, different pH, and so forth. The only thing that is common in water treatment with respect to a watershed is that every watershed is unique. So the reason we are interested in the front end of a watershed is to determine how best to treat the water. Waste Water Treatment Why are we interested in the sewage treatment end of a watershed? Communities must release treated sewage into streams and rivers. In addition to meeting standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), waste water treatment facilities must also consider where the released water is going. There are often endangered species, such as mussels, and other organisms of concern in the streams below waste water treatment facilities. We have to be sensitive to life downstream as we release treated sewage water into our watershed. The wastewater treatment facility strives to maintain the health of the downstream ecosystem.

Our watershed also becomes the watershed of another water treatment facility somewhere downstream. That facility will be concerned about what we're putting into their watershed for treatment purposes just as we're concerned about the waste water treatment facilities upstream. So watershed is an important concept within both water treatment and sewage treatment. Boundaries Watershed Boundaries and Contamination

How do we know the boundaries of the watershed? Edges of a watershed are usually found in the highest areas around. There, water falling as rain on one side of the mountain or hill runs down into one watershed while water falling on the other side of the mountain or hill runs down into another watershed. As I mentioned previously, there are three watersheds on the property at Mountain Empire Community College in Big Stone Gap, Virginia. All three watersheds eventually empty into the Powell River. If there is contamination in one watershed and none in the other two, contamination still reaches the Powell River.

But the contamination in the Powell River will be more dilute than it was in the source stream. The further we go from the source of contamination, the less concentrated the contamination will become until it is an insignificant component of the water running into the Gulf of Mexico. The total amount of contamination in the water is about the same when it reaches the Gulf of Mexico as it was when it left the source stream. But there is so much water in the Gulf of Mexico that the contamination becomes very diluted. You can see the same effect if you put a few drops of red dye in a small cup of water. The water is quite red. But if you pour the cup of water and dye into a gallon container of water and mix it up, the water only shows a faint hint of red color. Another example of the effect of distance and greater volume on dispersing contamination is a sneeze. When you sneeze, germ and water particles are initially very concentrated just outside your nose. But as they are blown further from your face, they disperse into the surrounding air and become much less concentrated. There is so much air around you for the germ and water particles to disperse in, that the contamination becomes insignificant.

We're interested in defining an area's watershed so that we can find potential sources of contamination to our facilities. We also need to be sensitive to downstream life when releasing pollutants into the water. As we consider sources of contamination in the watershed, we have to keep in mind the effect of distance on the concentration of the contaminant in the water. Defining Watershed Boundaries on a Topographical Map

Let's define watershed on a topographical map (also known as a topo map). First, you need to know how to read the map. The scale is usually found at the bottom of a paper map, but on the website mentioned later, the scale is found at the top of the map. A typical scale is 1:24,000 meaning that every inch on the map is equivalent to 24,000 inches on the ground. An arrow at the bottom of the map points to magnetic north. A topographical map shows differences in elevation by a series of contour lines. You can think of a contour line as a trail for a lazy hiker who never wants to climb up or down. Instead, he just walks around the side of a hill at the same elevation. On topo maps, contour lines usually show a difference in elevation of forty feet. So, the lazy hiker on one contour line is forty feet higher or lower in elevation than the lazy hiker on the neighboring contour line. Hilltops are easy to find on topographic maps because they are shown as closed circles. The lazy hiker can walk around and around the top of the hill on the same elevation. In contrast, streams are usually shown as Vs with the point of the V being the upstream end.

When examining a topo map, you will need to orient yourself by finding known objects. Look for peaks (which are often labelled by name), buildings (shown as small squares), churches, graveyards, etc. Labelled roads can also help you get your bearings. Once you are oriented, find the point you are interested in. Continuing with the sample map shown above, I have highlighted Creek X. Now you can begin to define the area's watershed boundaries.

Starting at the creek, go uphill in every direction (except directly downstream) until you reach the highest points. Sometimes the highest point above the creek may be a peak, shown as a closed circle. Other times, the highest point is a ridge, shown as an elongated U- shape. In any case, on the other side of these highest points, a new watershed begins. Connect the highest points around the creek with a line and you have drawn in the watershed boundary. This line also marks the headwaters of the watershed. Your Watershed Try finding the boundaries of the watershed in which you live or work. If you do not already have a topo map of your area, go to http://www.topozone.com/ and type in the nearest city and state in the "Place Name Search" area. If you are working from a map on topozone.com, you may want to change the scale so that you can see the entire watershed region once you find the topo map of your area. Starting at the scale of 1:200,000 or 1:100,000 will let you orient yourself and define the watershed

boundaries if you are considering a large watershed. Then change the scale to 1:25,000 so that you can see regions in the watershed which might affect the water quality. Which areas do you think are sources of contamination? Which areas do you think release clean water into your stream, river, or lake? Watershed Monitoring Aquatic life in our lakes and rivers is a good indicator of how successful our efforts are at keeping the water clean. Many organisms are unable to survive in contaminated water. We can also monitor the cleanliness of water directly by testing the concentrations of various pollutants in the water. The Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is the agency that monitors watersheds. They analyze data at stations set up in different areas. Responding to Contamination in Your Watershed As a plant operator, you need to have an understanding of what potential sources of contamination are contained within your watershed. Without this knowledge, you won't be able to respond adequately to problems as they arise. The watershed that feeds Greenville, Tennessee, goes through an industrial area that had an acid spill. A hose carrying sulfuric acid burst and emptied the contents of the tank car into the river. The water operator that was on duty noticed that the pH of the water coming into the plant was dropping. The first thing the operator did was to shut the plant down. He was able to guess that the acid came from a spill in the industrial area even though no one at the company there had noticed the problem. So the operator called the other water treatment plants downstream of the spill area to let them know about the contamination. You never know when a tank car will overturn and spill a contaminant into your watershed. Usually the amount of time that you will have to respond to such a situation is not what you would like it to be. What's a reasonable amount of time to be able to respond to a problem? Time enough to prevent irreversible damage or expensive correction. The people who are responsible for water treatment facilities want an operator who is on his toes to catch problems as they come down the stream, an operator who will take appropriate action or shut the plant down, if necessary. This prevents cleanup cost and problems with treated water. Knowing your watershed can also help you prevent problems before they occur. What would do if you found many diseased or dead animals in your watershed? You wouldn't want dead animals in the water that you were treating for consumption. Without knowing the boundaries of your watershed, you would unable to stay on top of these problems. Other Watershed Problems

You may wonder, What's the likelihood of anything in the watershed ever creating a problem anyway? Don't we floc, filter, and chlorinate the input water, thus eliminating almost any problems in the output water? Despite all of that filtration, certain organisms are able to pass through a filter. Cryptosporidium is one example. Cryptosporidium is a parasite often found in the intestines of livestock. The parasite contaminates water when the feces from the animal interact with a water source. In a healthy population, human infection results in acute diarrhea, which lasts for 2-3 weeks. But the parasite can be life threatening for people who suffer from suppressed immune systems such as AIDS patients, children, and the elderly.

Cryptosporidium Since filtration and chlorine are ineffective in treating water contaminated with Cryptosporidium, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) requires that all public water supply systems serving more than 100,000 connections must monitor for Cryptosporidium. Although we are unlikely to have Cryptosporidium in our watershed, some of the larger cities with larger watersheds might. Plant operators have to test the water flowing into their plants to determine which contaminants might be a problem. When monitoring a watershed, we take into account the accessibility of the area. People can enter the watershed at Appalachia along only one road, so sources of contamination there are relatively easy to monitor. In contrast, the Big Stone Gap watershed is accessible by two roads and fishing is allowed in the reservoir by permit only. So monitoring the Big Stone Gap watershed is a little bit more complicated. The more public access a watershed has, the more potential there is for hazard. One last concern of watershed maintenance is diversion of the water for other uses. As

water gets diverted from a watershed, there is less water for contamination to be diluted in. There is also less water available to be used by the communities downstream. Review Watershed is a very important concept for water and wastewater technicians. The watershed in which a plant is located determines the purity of the water flowing into a plant. Plant workers must also be aware of the downstream ecology and human communities which are influenced by the water they release. The technician needs to know the watershed's boundaries in order to determine potential sources of contamination. He should also know how contamination flows through a watershed, influencing all downstream watersheds but becoming more dilute as the distance from the contamination source grows. The technician who understands his watershed will be able to respond to problems quickly and efficiently. He will know when to shut the plant down, when to warn other treatment plants, and when to merely adjust the operation of his plant. Assignment Send the following assignment to the instructor: 1. View the following topo map section and print it out. 2. Mark the boundary of the watershed directly on the map. (There is one definite watershed, but find the other one on the map for 5 bonus points) 3. Mark the body of water into which the water from your watershed flows - a reservoir, river, creek, pond, etc. Quiz Answer the questions in the Lesson 3 quiz . When you have gotten all the answers correct, print the page and either mail or fax it to the instructor.

Lesson 4:

Coagulation and Flocculation

Objective In this lesson we will answer the following questions:

How do coagulation and flocculation fit into the water treatment process? Which chemical principles influence coagulation and flocculation? Which chemicals are used in coagulation? What factors influence coagulation and flocculation?

Reading Assignment Along with the online lesson, read Chapter 4: Coagulation and Flocculation, in your textbook Operation of Water Treatment Plants Volume I . Lecture Overview of the Process Location in the Treatment Plant After the source water has been screened and has passed through the optional steps of prechlorination and aeration, it is ready for coagulation and flocculation.

In theory and at the chemical level, coagulation and flocculation is a three step process, consisting of flash mixing, coagulation, and flocculation. However, in practice in the

treatment plant, there are only two steps in the coagulation/flocculation process - the water first flows into the flash mix chamber, and then enters the flocculation basin. In this lesson, we will primarily be concerned with the theory behind coagulation/flocculation. In later lessons, we will consider the practice in more detail. Purpose The primary purpose of the coagulation/flocculation process is the removal of turbidity from the water. Turbidity is a cloudy appearance of water caused by small particles suspended therein. Water with little or no turbidity will be clear.

Turbidity is not only an aesthetic problem in water. Water with a high turbidity can be very difficult or impossible to properly disinfect. As a result, the maximum allowable level of turbidity in water is 0.5 NTU, while the recommended level is about 0.1 NTU. (NTU, or TU, stands for nephelometric turbidity units, a measurement of the turbidity of water.) In addition to removing turbidity from the water, coagulation and flocculation is beneficial in other ways. The process removes many bacteria which are suspended in the water and can be used to remove color from the water. Turbidity and color are much more common in surface water than in groundwater. As surface water flows over the ground to streams, through streams, and then through rivers, the water picks up a large quantity of particles. As a result, while aeration is more commonly required for groundwater, treatment involving coagulation and flocculation is typical of surface water.

Three Steps

As I mentioned above, the chemistry of coagulation/flocculation consists of three processes - flash mix, coagulation, and flocculation. Each of these processes is briefly explained below.

In the flash mixer, coagulant chemicals are added to the water and the water is mixed quickly and violently. The purpose of this step is to evenly distribute the chemicals through the water. Flash mixing typically lasts a minute or less. If the water is mixed for less than thirty seconds, then the chemicals will not be properly mixed into the water. However, if the water is mixed for more than sixty seconds, then the mixer blades will shear the newly forming floc back into small particles. After flash mixing, coagulation occurs. During coagulation, the coagulant chemicals neutralize the electrical charges of the fine particles in the water, allowing the particles to come closer together and form large clumps. You may already be familiar with the process of coagulation from cooking. You can see coagulation occurring when preparing gelatin (jello) or when cooking an egg white. The final step is flocculation. During flocculation, a process of gentle mixing brings the fine particles formed by coagulation into contact with each other. Flocculation typically lasts for about thirty to forty-five minutes. The flocculation basin often has a number of compartments with decreasing mixing speeds as the water advances through the basin. This compartmentalized chamber allows increasingly large floc to form without being broken apart by the mixing blades. Floc The end product of a well-regulated coagulation/flocculation process is water in which the majority of the turbidity has been collected into floc, clumps of bacteria and particulate impurities that have come together and formed a cluster. The floc will then settle out in the sedimentation basin, with remaining floc being removed in the filter.

The best floc size is 0.1 to 3 mm. Larger floc does not settle as well and is more subject to breakup in the flocculation basin. Smaller floc also may not settle. Chemistry Introduction Why do we need such a complex process to remove particles from water? Some particles would settle out of the water on their own, given enough time. But other particles would resist settling for days or months due to small particle size and to electrical charges between the particles. We will consider the chemical processes which prevent and aid settling below. But first, we will list the three types of objects which can be found in water. Particles in Water There are three types of objects which can be found in water. In order from smallest to largest, these objects are chemicals in solution, colloidal solids, and suspended solids. Coagulation/flocculation will remove colloidal and suspended solids from water. Chemicals in solution have been completely dissolved in the water. They are electrically charged and can interact with the water, so they are completely stable and will never settle out of the water. Chemicals in solution are not visible, either using the naked eye or using a microscope, and are less than 1 Mu in size. (A Mu, or millimicron, is equal to 0.000000039 inches.) An example of a chemical in solution is sugar in water. Colloidal solids, also known as nonsettleable solids, do not dissolve in water although they are electrically charged. Still, the particles are so small that they will not settle out of the water even after several years and they cannot be removed by filtration alone. Colloidal solids range between 1 and 500 Mu in size and can be seen only with a high-

powered microscope. Examples include bacteria, fine clays, and silts. Colloidal solids often cause colored water, such as the "tea color" of swamp water. Finally, suspended, or settleable, solids will settle out of water over time, though this may be so slow that it is impractical to merely allow the particles to settle out in a water treatment plant. The particles are more than 1,000 Mu in size and can be seen with a microscope or, sometimes, with the naked eye. Examples of suspended solids include sand and heavy silts. Electrical Charges The chemistry of coagulation and flocculation is primarily based on electricity. Electricity is the behavior of negative and positively charged particles due to their attraction and repulsion. Like charges (two negatively charged particles or two positively charged particles) repel each other while opposite charges (a positively charged particle and a negatively charged particle) attract.

Negatively charged particles repel each other due to electricity. Most particles dissolved in water have a negative charge, so they tend to repel each other. As a result, they stay dispersed and dissolved or colloidal in the water, as shown above. The purpose of most coagulant chemicals is to neutralize the negative charges on the turbidity particles to prevent those particles from repelling each other. The amount of coagulant which should be added to the water will depend on the zeta potential, a measurement of the magnitude of electrical charge surrounding the colloidal particles. You can think of the zeta potential as the amount of repulsive force which keeps the particles in the water. If the zeta potential is large, then more coagulants will be needed.

Coagulants tend to be positively charged. Due to their positive charge, they are attracted to the negative particles in the water, as shown below.

Positively charged coagulants attract to negatively charged particles due to electricity. The combination of positive and negative charge results in a neutral, or lack, of charge. As a result, the particles no longer repel each other. The next force which will affect the particles is known as van der Waal's forces. Van der Waal's forces refer to the tendency of particles in nature to attract each other weakly if they have no charge.

Neutrally charged particles attract due to van der Waal's forces. Once the particles in water are not repelling each other, van der Waal's forces make the particles drift toward each other and join together into a group. When enough particles have joined together, they become floc and will settle out of the water.

Particles and coagulants join together into floc. Coagulant Chemicals Types of Coagulants Coagulant chemicals come in two main types - primary coagulants and coagulant aids. Primary coagulants neutralize the electrical charges of particles in the water which causes the particles to clump together. Coagulant aids add density to slow-settling flocs and add toughness to the flocs so that they will not break up during the mixing and settling processes. Primary coagulants are always used in the coagulation/flocculation process. Coagulant aids, in contrast, are not always required and are generally used to reduce flocculation time. Chemically, coagulant chemicals are either metallic salts (such as alum) or polymers. Polymers are man-made organic compounds made up of a long chain of smaller molecules. Polymers can be eithercationic (positively charged), anionic (negatively charged), or nonionic (neutrally charged.) The table below shows many of the common coagulant chemicals and lists whether they are used as primary coagulants or as coagulant aids. Different sources of water need different coagulants, but the most commonly used are alum and ferric sulfate.

Chemical Name Aluminum sulfate (Alum) Ferrous sulfate Ferric sulfate Ferric chloride Cationic polymer Calcium hydroxide (Lime) Sodium aluminate Bentonite Calcium carbonate Sodium silicate Anionic polymer Nonionic polymer

Chemical Formula Primary Coagulant Coagulant Aid Al2(SO4)3 14 H2O FeSO4 7 H2O Fe2(SO4)3 9 H2O FeCl3 6 H2O Various Ca(OH)2 Na2Al2O4 Clay CaCO3 Na2SiO3 Various Various X X X X X X* X* X* X X X X X X X X X

Calcium oxide (Quicklime) CaO

*Used as a primary coagulant only in water softening processes. Alum There are a variety of primary coagulants which can be used in a water treatment plant. One of the earliest, and still the most extensively used, is aluminum sulfate, also known as alum. Alum can be bought in liquid form with a concentration of 8.3%, or in dry form with a concentration of 17%. When alum is added to water, it reacts with the water and results in positively charged ions. Coagulant Aids Nearly all coagulant aids are very expensive, so care must be taken to use the proper amount of these chemicals. In many cases, coagulant aids are not required during the normal operation of the treatment plant, but are used during emergency treatment of water which has not been adequately treated in the flocculation and sedimentation basin. A couple of coagulant aids will be considered below. Lime is a coagulant aid used to increase the alkalinity of the water. The increase in alkalinity results in an increase in ions (electrically charged particles) in the water, some of which are positively charged. These positively charged particles attract the colloidal particles in the water, forming floc. Bentonite is a type of clay used as a weighting agent in water high in color and low in turbidity and mineral content. This type of water usually would not form floc large enough

to settle out of the water. The bentonite joins with the small floc, making the floc heavier and thus making it settle more quickly. Factors Influencing Coagulation Introduction In a well-run water treatment plant, adjustments are often necessary in order to maximize the coagulation/flocculation process. These adjustments are a reaction to changes in the raw water entering the plant. Coagulation will be affected by changes in the water's pH, alkalinity, temperature, time, velocity and zeta potential. The effectiveness of a coagulant is generally pH dependent. Water with a color will coagulate better at low pH (4.4-6) with alum. Alkalinity is needed to provide anions, such as (OH) for forming insoluble compounds to precipitate them out. It could be naturally present in the water or needed to be added as hydroxides, carbonates, or bicarbonates. Generally 1 part alum uses 0.5 parts alkalinity for proper coagulation. The higher the temperature, the faster the reaction, and the more effective is the coagulation. Winter temperature will slow down the reaction rate, which can be helped by an extended detention time. Mostly, it is naturally provided due to lower water demand in winter. Time is an important factor as well. Proper mixing and detention times are very important to coagulation. The higher velocity causes the shearing or breaking of floc particles, and lower velocity will let them settle in the flocculation basins. Velocity around 1 ft/sec in the flocculation basins should be maintained. Zeta potential is the charge at the boundary of the colloidal turbidity particle and the surrounding water. The higher the charge the more is the repulsion between the turbidity particles, less the coagulation, and vice versa. Higher zeta potential requires the higher coagulant dose. An effective coagulation is aimed at reducing zeta potential charge to almost 0. Coagulant The proper type and concentration of coagulant are essential to the coagulation process. The coagulant choice will depend on the conditions at the plant. The concentration of coagulant also depends on the water conditions, and a jar test can be used to determine the correct concentration to use at any given time. Coagulants are usually fed into the water using a gravimetric feeder or a metering pump.

Agravimetric feeder feeds dry chemicals into the water by weight. A metering pump feeds a wet solution (a liquid) into the water by pumping a volume of solution with each stroke or rotation. Improper coagulation related to coagulant may result from:

Using old chemicals Using the wrong coagulant Using the wrong concentration of coagulant. This may result from setting the wrong feed rate on the gravimetric feeder or metering pump or from a malfunction of the equipment.

Common Coagulation and Flocculation Problems

Review Coagulation/flocculation is a process used to remove turbidity, color, and some bacteria from water. In the flash mix chamber, chemicals are added to the water and mixed violently for less than a minute. These coagulants consist of primary coagulants and/or coagulant aids. Then, in the flocculation basin, the water is gently stirred for 30 to 45 minutes to give the chemicals time to act and to promote floc formation. The floc then settles out in the sedimentation basin. Coagulation removes colloids and suspended solids from the water. These particles have a negative charge, so the positively charged coagulant chemicals neutralize them during

coagulation. Then, during flocculation, the particles are drawn together by van der Waal's forces, forming floc. The coagulation/flocculation process is affected by pH, salts, alkalinity, turbidity, temperature, mixing, and coagulant chemicals. References Alabama Department of Environmental Management. 1989. Water Works Operator Manual. Belmont Water Treatment Association. 1997. Coagulation. Nearly all of the section "Factors Influencing Coagulation" is drawn directly from this site. Kerri, K.D. 2002. Water Treatment Plant Operation. California State University: Sacramento. Assignments Read about detention times on page 110 of your text and answer the following question: (25 points) 1. A water treatment plant treats a flow of 1.7 MGD. The flocculation basin is 6 feet deep, 17 feet wide and 40 feet long. Calculate the detention time in minutes. Read about chemical feeder settings on page 117 of your text and answer the following question: (25 points) 2. The optimum liquid alum dose from the jar tests is 10 mg/L. Determine the setting on the liquid alum chemical feeder in gallons per day when the flow is 2.8 MGD. The liquid alum delivered to the plant contains 4.83 pounds of alum per gallon of liquid solution.

3. Complete Assignment 4 on Coagulation and Flocculation. You may do the Assignment online to get credit or print it out and send it to the instructor.(50 points) Labs Read the following jar test lab procedure. You may have test questions come from this lab.

Quiz Answer the questions in the Lesson 4 quiz . When you have gotten all the answers correct, print the page and either mail or fax it to the instructor. You may also take the quiz online and submit your grade directly into the database for grading purposes.

Lesson 5: Sedimentation

Photo Credit: Virginia Department of Health Objective In this lesson we will answer the following questions:

How does sedimentation fit into the water treatment process? What zones are present in a sedimentation basin? How is sedimentation sludge disposed of?

Reading Assignment Along with the online lesson, read Chapter 5: Sedimentation, in your textbook Operation of Water Treatment Plants Volume I . Lecture Introduction Purpose Sedimentation is a treatment process in which the velocity of the water is lowered below the suspension velocity and the suspended particles settle out of the water due to gravity. The process is also known assettling or clarification. Most water treatment plants include sedimentation in their treatment processes. However, sedimentation may not be necessary in low turbidity water of less than 10 NTU. In this case, coagulation and flocculation are used to produce pinpoint (very small) floc which is removed from the water in the filters.

Location in the Treatment Process The most common form of sedimentation follows coagulation and flocculation and precedes filtration. This type of sedimentation requires chemical addition (in the coagulation/flocculation step) and removes the resulting floc from the water. Sedimentation at this stage in the treatment process should remove 90% of the suspended particles from the water, including bacteria. The purpose of sedimentation here is to decrease the concentration of suspended particles in the water, reducing the load on the filters. Sedimentation can also occur as part of the pretreatment process, where it is known aspresedimentation. Presedimentation can also be called plain sedimentation because the process depends merely on gravity and includes no coagulation and flocculation. Without coagulation/flocculation, plain sedimentation can remove only coarse suspended matter (such as grit) which will settle rapidly out of the water without the addition of chemicals. This type of sedimentation typically takes place in a reservoir, grit basin, debris dam, or sand trap at the beginning of the treatment process. While sedimentation following coagulation/flocculation is meant to remove most of the suspended particles in the water before the water reaches the filters, presedimentation removes most of the sediment in the water during the pretreatment stage. So presedimentation will reduce the load on the coagulation/flocculation basin and on the sedimentation chamber, as well as reducing the volume of coagulant chemicals required to treat the water. In addition, presedimentation basins are useful because raw water entering the plant from a reservoir is usually more uniform in quality than water entering the plant without such a holding basin. The rest of this lesson will be concerned with sedimentation following coagulation and flocculation. We will consider types of sedimentation basins and parts of a typical sedimentation basin, as well as the disposal of sludge. Then, in the next lesson, we will learn to design a sedimentation basin and will consider some problems which may affect sedimentation basins. Types of Basins Three common types of sedimentation basins are shown below:

Rectangular basins are the simplest design, allowing water to flow horizontally through a long tank. This type of basin is usually found in large-scale water treatment plants.

Rectangular basins have a variety of advantages predictability, cost-effectiveness, and low maintenance. In addition, rectangular basins are the least likely to shortcircuit, especially if the length is at least twice the width. A disadvantage of rectangular basins is the large amount of land area required. Double-deck rectangular basins are essentially two rectangular sedimentation basins stacked one atop the other. This type of basin conserves land area, but has higher operation and maintenance costs than a one-level rectangular basin.

Square or circular sedimentation basins with horizontal flow are often known as clarifiers. This type of basin is likely to have short-circuiting problems.

A fourth type of sedimentation basin is more complex. Solids-contact clarifiers, also known as upflow solids-contact clarifiers or upflow sludge-blanket clarifiers combine coagulation, flocculation, and sedimentation within a single basin. Solids-contact clarifiers are often found in packaged plants and in cold climates where sedimentation must occur indoors. This type of clarifier is also often used in softening operations. Zones Introduction All sedimentation basins have four zones - the inlet zone, the settling zone, the sludge zone, and the outlet zone. Each zone should provide a smooth transition between the zone before and the zone after. In addition, each zone has its own unique purpose. Zones can be seen most easily in a rectangular sedimentation basin, such as the one shown below:

In a clarifier, water typically enters the basin from the center rather than from one end and flows out to outlets located around the edges of the basin. But the four zones can still be found within the clarifier:

Inlet Zone The two primary purposes of the inlet zone of a sedimentation basin are to distribute the water and to control the water's velocity as it enters the basin. In addition, inlet devices act to prevent turbulence of the water. The incoming flow in a sedimentation basin must be evenly distributed across the width of the basin to prevent short-circuiting. Short-circuiting is a problematic circumstance in which water bypasses the normal flow path through the basin and reaches the outlet in less than the normal detention time. We will discuss short-circuiting in the next lesson. In addition to preventing short-circuiting, inlets control the velocity of the incoming flow. If the water velocity is greater than 0.5 ft/sec, then floc in the water will break up due to

agitation of the water. Breakup of floc in the sedimentation basin will make settling much less efficient. Two types of inlets are shown below. The stilling wall, also known as a perforated baffle wall, spans the entire basin from top to bottom and from side to side. Water leaves the inlet and enters the settling zone of the sedimentation basin by flowing through the holes evenly spaced across the stilling wall.

From: Water Works Operator's Manual

The second type of inlet allows water to enter the basin by first flowing through the holes evenly spaced across the bottom of the channel and then by flowing under the baffle in front of the channel. The combination of channel and baffle serves to evenly distribute the incoming water. Settling Zone After passing through the inlet zone, water enters the settling zone where water velocity is greatly reduced. This is where the bulk of floc settling occurs and this zone will make up the largest volume of the sedimentation basin. For optimal performance, the settling zone requires a slow, even flow of water. The settling zone may be simply a large expanse of open water. But in some cases, tube settlers and lamella plates, such as those shown below, are included in the settling zone.

Tube settlers and lamella plates Water flows up through slanted tubes or along slanted plates. Floc settles out in the tubes or plates and drifts back down into the lower portions of the sedimentation basin. Clarified water passes through the tubes or between the plates and then flows out of the basin.

Tube settlers and lamella plates increase the settling efficiency and speed in sedimentation basins. Each tube or plate functions as a miniature sedimentation basin, greatly increasing the settling area. Tube settlers and lamella plates are very useful in plants where site area is limited, in packaged plants, or to increase the capacity of shallow basins. Outlet Zone The outlet zone controls the water flowing out of the sedimentation basin - both the amount of water leaving the basin and the location in the basin from which the outflowing water is drawn. Like the inlet zone, the outlet zone is designed to prevent short-circuiting of water in the basin. In addition, a good outlet will ensure that only well-settled water leaves the basin and enters the filter. The outlet can also be used to control the water level in the basin. Outlets are designed to ensure that the water flowing out of the sedimentation basin has the minimum amount of floc suspended in it. The best quality water is usually found at the very top of the sedimentation basin, so outlets are usually designed to skim this water off the sedimentation basin.

A typical outlet zone begins with a baffle in front of the effluent. This baffle prevents floating material from escaping the sedimentation basin and clogging the filters. After the baffle comes the effluent structure, which usually consists of a launder, weirs, and effluent piping. A typical effluent structure is shown below:

The primary component of the effluent structure is the effluent launder, a trough which collects the water flowing out of the sedimentation basin and directs it to the effluent piping. The sides of a launder typically have weirs attached. Weirs are walls preventing water from flowing uncontrolled into the launder. The weirs serve to skim the water evenly off the tank. A weir usually has notches, holes, or slits along its length. These holes allow water to flow into the weir. The most common type of hole is the V-shaped notch shown on the picture above which allows only the top inch or so of water to flow out of the sedimentation basin. Conversely, the weir may have slits cut vertically along its length, an arrangement which allows for more variation of operational water level in the sedimentation basin. Water flows over or through the holes in the weirs and into the launder. Then the launder channels the water to the outlet, or effluent, pipe. This pipe carries water away from the sedimentation basin and to the next step in the treatment process. The effluent structure may be located at the end of a rectangular sedimentation basin or around the edges of a circular clarifier. Alternatively, the effluent may consist of finger weirs, an arrangement of launders which extend out into the settling basin as shown below.

Sludge Zone The sludge zone is found across the bottom of the sedimentation basin where the sludge collects temporarily. Velocity in this zone should be very slow to prevent resuspension of sludge. A drain at the bottom of the basin allows the sludge to be easily removed from the tank. The tank bottom should slope toward the drains to further facilitate sludge removal. In some plants, sludge removal is achieved continuously using automated equipment. In other plants, sludge must be removed manually. If removed manually, the basin should be cleaned at least twice per year, or more often if excessive sludge buildup occurs. It is best to clean the sedimentation basin when water demand is low, usually in April and October. Many plants have at least two sedimentation basins so that water can continue to be treated while one basin is being cleaned, maintained, and inspected. If sludge is not removed from the sedimentation basin often enough, the effective (useable) volume of the tank will decrease, reducing the efficiency of sedimentation. In addition, the sludge built up on the bottom of the tank may become septic, meaning that it has begun to decay anaerobically. Septic sludge may result in taste and odor problems or may float to the top of the water and become scum. Sludge may also become resuspended in the water and be carried over to the filters. Sludge Disposal Sludge Composition The sludge which is found in the bottom of a sedimentation tank is primarily composed of water. The solids in the sludge are mainly excess coagulant, such as alum. Alum sludge has a solids concentration of only about 1% when automatically removed from the basin, or about 2% if manually removed. (The greater solids concentration of manually removed sludge is due to a small amount of gravity thickening.) Many options exist for disposal of sedimentation sludge. Here we will discuss disposal in streams, sanitary sewers, lagoons, and landfills.

Disposal in Streams and Sewers In the past, sludge and backwash water was typically released into streams and other bodies of water. However, this practice is becoming much less common and is now well regulated. Backwash water and sludge can only be released into streams if a discharge permit has been granted by the NPDES. The NPDES further requires extensive daily monitoring of the water quality when the sludge is being discharged. Alternatively, sludge may be piped directly to the sanitary sewer. However, this disposal option also has its disadvantages. Sludge can cause sewer blockages. In addition, fees charged by the wastewater treatment plant can be expensive. Releasing sludge into the sewage lines in large batches makes treatment of the wastewater problematic, so sludge is typically released slowly over a long time period, which requires a large holding tank at the water treatment plant. Thickening Sludge Most of the other alternatives require transporting sludge away from the treatment plant. Sludge is typically dried before it is trucked away since the greater volume of wet sludge makes it much more expensive to transport. This drying process is known as dewatering or thickening. Alum sludge is difficult to thicken, but a variety of devices have been developed to thicken the sludge, some of which are explained below. In many cases, the sludge is treated by the addition of polymers to aid in the dewatering process. Alternatively, the sludge can be heated or frozen and thawed to increase the solids concentration. Treating the sludge to aid in thickening is known as conditioning the sludge. Once the sludge has been conditioned, it may be thickened in a lagoon, drying bed, or one of several other devices. Lagoons, which are small-volume storage ponds, are the simplest device used to thicken sludge. These lagoons are filled with sludge and the solids are allowed to settled due to gravity to the bottom of the lagoon while the clear water is pumped off the top.

After a few months, gravity and evaporation will have reduced the sludge to a 30-50% solid state. The sludge can then be covered with soil and left on site, or may be trucked to a landfill off-site.

Drying beds are often used to thicken sludge destined for a landfill more quickly than the sludge would be thickened in a lagoon.

A drying bed is similar in design to a sand filter, with a layer of sand underlain by a layer of gravel. The sludge is applied to the top of the sand and the water percolates down through the sand and gravel and is drained away. When the sludge is sufficiently dry, it is carefully removed from the top of the sand and is trucked to a landfill. When sludge is preconditioned with chemicals, dewatering in a drying bed may take only a few days or weeks. Other processes used to thicken sludge include filter presses, belt filter presses, centrifuges, and vacuum filters. These processes result in sludge with a solids content ranging from 30 to 50%. Review Sedimentation is a process used to remove suspended particles from water using gravity. Sedimentation may take place in a presedimentation device such as a reservoir, grit basin, debris dam, or sand trap; or sedimentation may follow coagulation/flocculation and take place in a rectangular sedimentation basin, a double-deck rectangular basin, a clarifier, or a solids-contact clarifier. Sedimentation basins typically have four zones - the inlet zone which controls the distribution and velocity of inflowing water, the settling zone in which the bulk of settling takes place, the outlet zone which controls the outflowing water, and the sludge zone in which the sludge collects. Sludge may be disposed of a in sewer or stream or may be conditioned and then thickened in a lagoon, drying bed, filter press, belt filter press,

centrifuge, or vacuum filter before being transported to a landfill. References Alabama Department of Environmental Management. 1989. Water Works Operator Manual. Kerri, K.D. 2002. Water Treatment Plant Operation. California State University: Sacramento. Ragsdale and Associates. Version III. New Mexico Water Systems Operator Certification Study Guide. NMED Surface Water Quality Bureau. Santa Fe.

Assignments Complete Assignment 5 on Sedimentation. You may do the Assignment online to get credit or print it out and send it to the instructor. Quiz Answer the questions in the Lesson 5 quiz . When you have gotten all the answers correct, print the page and either mail or fax it to the instructor. You may also take the quiz online and submit your grade directly into the database for grading purposes.

Filtration Objective In this lesson we will answer the following questions:

How does filtration fit into the water treatment process?

How does filtration clean water? What types of filters are used for water treatment? How are filters cleaned? What media are used in filters? What factors affect filter efficiency?

Reading Assignment Along with the online lesson, read Chapter 6: Filtration, in your textbook Operation of Water Treatment Plants Volume I .

Lecture Introduction to Filtration Purpose The purpose of filtration is to remove suspended particles from water by passing the water through a medium such as sand. As the water passes through the filter, floc and impurities get stuck in the sand and the clean water goes through. The filtered water collects in the clearwell, where it is disinfected and then sent to the customers. Filtration is usually the final step in the solids removal process which began with coagulation and advanced through flocculation and sedimentation. In the filter, up to 99.5% of the suspended solids in the water can be removed, including minerals, floc, and microorganisms.

Requirements Filtration is now required for most water treatment systems. Filters must reduce turbidity to less than 0.5 NTU in 95% of each month's measurements and the finished water turbidity must never exceed 5 NTU in any sample. As you will recall, turbidity alone does not have health implications. So, why the strict

regulations? Although turbidity is not harmful on its own, turbid water is difficult to disinfect for a variety of reasons. Microorganisms growing on the suspended particles may be hard to kill using disinfection while the particles themselves may chemically react with chlorine, making it difficult to maintain a chlorine residual in the distribution system. Turbidity can also cause deposits in the distribution system that create tastes, odors, and bacterial growths. However, turbid drinking water has other troublesome implications as well. Sand filtration removes some cyst-forming microorganisms, such as Giardia which cannot be killed by traditional chlorination. Cystsare resistant covers which protect the microorganism while it goes into an inactive state.

Regulations require that at least 99.9% of Giardia cysts and 99.99% of viruses be removed from drinking water. Since it is difficult to test directly for these microorganisms, turbidity in water can be used as an indicator for their presence. By requiring a low turbidity in the finished water, treatment plants are ensuring that few or no Giardia are present in finished drinking water. In a few locations, surface waters are used for domestic purposes without filtration. In these situations, the water is obtained from a watershed which includes only undeveloped areas. The watershed is patrolled and carefully managed to prevent contamination.

Location in the Treatment Process In the typical treatment process, filtration follows sedimentation (if present) and precedes disinfection. Depending on the presence of flocculation and sedimentation, treatment processes are divided into three groups - conventional filtration, direct filtration, and in-line filtration. The most common method of filtration is conventional filtration, where filtration follows coagulation/flocculation and sedimentation. This type of filtration results in flexible and reliable performance, especially when treating variable or very turbid source water.

Some treatment plants operate without some or all of the sediment removal processes which precede filtration. If filtration follows coagulation and flocculation, without sedimentation, it is known as direct filtration. This method can be used when raw water has low turbidity. Another type of filtration, known as in-line filtration, involves operating the filters without flocculation or sedimentation. A coagulant chemical is added to the water just before filtration and coagulation occurs in the filter. In-line filtration is often used with pressure filters, but is not as efficient with variable turbidity and bacteria levels as conventional filtration is.

Polymer Aids Although filtration does not require the addition of any chemicals, polymer aids may sometimes be added to the influent water. These chemicals improve the quality of the effluent water by helping the floc get caught in the filter. Polymer aids come in two main types. Moderate molecular weight cationic polymers (DADMA) are added ahead of flocculation to strengthen the floc while relatively high molecular weight nonionic polymers (polyacrylamides) are added just before filtration to aid in floc removal. Polymer aids can be troublesome in some respects. The powdered form of the polymer is very slippery, so spills should be cleaned up quickly. In addition, extended use of polymer aids may gum up the filters. As a result, polymer aids are often used like coagulant aids in extreme situations to improve the water quality for a short time.

Mechanisms of Filtration Introduction How are particles removed from water using filtration? Four mechanisms have been found to be part of the filtration process - straining, adsorption, biological action, and absorption. Each mechanism will be explained below.

Straining passing the water through a filter in which the pores are smaller than the particles to be removed. This is the most intuitive mechanism of filtration, and one which you probably use in your daily life. Straining occurs when you remove spaghetti from water by pouring the water and spaghetti into a strainer. The picture below shows an example of straining in a filter. As you can see, the floc cannot fit through the gaps between the sand particles, so the floc are captured. The water is able to flow through the sand, leaving the floc particles behind.

In the past, straining has been assumed to be very important in the filtration process. However, in many cases, the pores between sand particles in the filter are much larger than the particles captured by the filter. It has been suggested that small particles become wedged between sand grains as filtration occurs, making the pore spaces smaller and allowing the filter to strain out yet smaller particles. However, a clean filter will produce clean water before any of this pore size-reduction has occurred. Therefore, it is now believed that straining is not an important part of most filtration processes.

Adsorption The second, and in many cases the most important mechanism of filtration, is adsorption. Adsorption is the gathering of gas, liquid, or dissolved solids onto the surface of another material, as shown below:

Coagulation takes advantage of the mechanism of adsorption when small floc particles are pulled together by van der Waal's forces. In filtration, adsorption involves particles becoming attracted to and "sticking" to the sand particles. Adsorption can remove even very small particles from water.

Biological Action The third mechanism of filtration is biological action, which involves any sort of breakdown of the particles in water by biological processes. This may involve decomposition of organic particles by algae, plankton, diatoms, and bacteria or it may involve microorganisms eating each other. Although biological action is an important part of filtration in slow sand filters, in most other filters the water passes through the filter too quickly for much biological action to occur.

Absorption The final mechanism of filtration is absorption, the soaking up of one substance into the body of another substance. Absorption should be a very familiar concept - sponges absorb water, as do towels. In a filter, absorption involves liquids being soaked up into the sand grains, as shown below:

After the initial wetting of the sand, absorption is not very important in the filtration process.

Types of Filters Introduction Filters can be categorized in a variety of ways. The table below shows the characteristics of four types of filters which can be used in water treatment. Slow Sand Filter Rapid Sand Filter Filtration rate (GPM/ft2) Pros 0.015-0.15 2-3 Pressure Filter Diatomaceous earth filter (Diatomite filter) 2-3 1-2

Reliable. Minimum operation and maintenance requirements. Usually does not require chemical pretreatment. Large land area required. Need to manually clean filters.

Relatively small Lower and compact. installation and operation costs in small filtration plants.

Small size. Efficiency. Ease of operation. Relatively low cost. Produces high clarity water. Usually does not require chemical pretreatment. Sludge disposal problems. High head loss. Potential decreased reliability. High maintenance and repair costs.

Cons

Requires Less reliable chemical than gravity pretreatment. filters. Filter bed Doesn't remove cannot be pathogens as well observed during as slow sand operation. filters. Sand. Or sand and anthracite coal. Or sand and anthracite coal and garnet. Gravity.

Filter Media Sand.

Sand. Or sand Diatomaceous earth. and anthracite coal. Or sand and anthracite coal and garnet. Pressure. Pressure, gravity, or vacuum.

Gravity or Pressure? Filtration Mechanism

Gravity.

Biological action, Primarily Primarily Primarily straining. straining, and adsorption. Also adsorption. Also adsorption. some straining. some straining.

Cleaning Method

Manually Backwashing. removing the top 2 inches of sand. Most commonly used type of filter for surface water treatment.

Backwashing.

Backwashing.

Common Small Applications groundwater systems.

Iron and manganese removal in small groundwater systems.

Beverage and food industries and swimming pools. Smaller systems.

We will discuss two types of filters below - the slow sand filter and the rapid sand filter. The pressure sand filter is essentially a rapid sand filter placed inside a pressurized chamber while the diatomaceous earth filter is not commonly used in treatment of drinking water.

History The history of water treatment dates back to approximately the thirteenth century B.C. in Egypt. However, modern filtration began much later. John Gibb's slow sand filter, built in 1804 in Scotland, was the first filter used for treating potable water in large quantities. Slow sand filters spread rapidly, with the first one in the United States built in Richmond, VA, in 1832. A set of slow sand filters adapted from English designs was built in 1870 in Poughkeepsie, NY, and is still in operation. A few decades after the first slow sand filters were built in the U.S., the first rapid sand filters were installed. The advent of rapid sand filtration is linked to the discovery of coagulation. By adding certain chemicals (coagulants) to turbid water, the material in the water could be made to clump together and quickly settle out. Using coagulation, clear water for filtration could be produced from turbid, polluted streams. By the end of the nineteenth century, there were ten times as many rapid sand filters in service as the slow sand type. Currently, slow sand filtration is only considered economical in unusual cases. The diatomaceous earth filter was developed by the U.S. Army during WWII. They needed a filter that was easily transportable, lightweight, and able to produce pure drinking water. The diatomaceous earth filter is used in smaller systems, but is not commonly part of water treatment plants.

Slow Sand Filter The slow sand filter is the oldest type of large-scale filter. In the slow sand filter, water passes first through about 36 inches of sand, then through a layer of gravel, before entering the underdrain. The sand removes particles from the water through adsorption and straining.

Unlike other filters, slow sand filters also remove a great deal of turbidity from water using biological action. A layer of dirt, debris, and microorganisms builds up on the top of the sand. This layer is known as schmutzdecke, which is German for "dirty skin." The schmutzdecke breaks down organic particles in the water biologically, and is also very effective in straining out even very small inorganic particles from water. Maintenance of a slow sand filter consists of raking the sand periodically and cleaning the filter by removing the top two inches of sand from the filter surface. After a few cleanings, new sand must be added to replace the removed sand. Cleaning the filter removes the schmutzdecke layer, without which the filter does not produce potable water. After a cleaning the filter must be operated for two weeks, with the filtered water sent to waste, to allow the schmutzdecke layer to rebuild. As a result, a treatment plant must have two slow sand filters for continuous operation. Slow sand filters are very reliable filters which do not usually require coagulation/flocculation before filtration. However, water passes through the slow sand filter very slowly, and the rate is slowed yet further by the schmutzdecke layer. As a result, large land areas must be devoted to filters when slow sand filters are part of a treatment plant. Only a few slow sand filters are operating in the United States although this type of filter is more widely used in Europe.

Number of slow sand filters operating in each state as of 1991. (Sims)

Rapid Sand Filter The rapid sand filter differs from the slow sand filter in a variety of ways, the most important of which are the much greater filtration rate and the ability to clean automatically using backwashing. The mechanism of particle removal also differs in the two types of filters - rapid sand filters do not use biological filtration and depend primarily on adsorption and some straining. Since rapid sand filters are the primary filtration type used in water treatment in the United States, we will discuss this filter in more detail.

A diagram of a typical rapid sand filter is shown above. The filter is contained within a filter box, usually made of concrete. Inside the filter box are layers of filter media (sand, anthracite, etc.) and gravel. Below the gravel, a network of pipes makes up the underdrain which collects the filtered water and evenly distributes the backwash water. Backwash troughs help distribute the influent water and are also used in backwashing (which will be discussed in a later section.) In addition to the parts mentioned above, most rapid sand filters contain a controller, or filter control system, which regulates flow rates of water through the filter. Other parts, such as valves, a loss of head gauge, surface washers, and a backwash pump, are used while cleaning the filter.

Operation of a rapid sand filter during filtration is similar to operation of a slow sand filter. The influent flows down through the sand and support gravel and is captured by the underdrain. However, the influent water in a rapid sand filter is already relatively clear due to coagulation/flocculation and sedimentation, so rapid sand filters operate much more quickly than slow sand filters. The rest of this lesson will be concerned primarily with rapid sand filters, though many of the factors discussed can carry over to other filter types. Filter Cleaning When to Backwash Rapid sand filters, pressure filters, and diatomaceous earth filters can all be backwashed. Duringbackwashing, the flow of water through the filter is reversed, cleaning out trapped particles. Three factors can be used to assess when a filter needs backwashing. Some plants use the length of thefilter run, arbitrarily scheduling backwashing after 72 hours or some other length of filter operation. Other plants monitor turbidity of the effluent water and head loss within the filter to determine when the filter is clogged enough to need cleaning.

Head loss is a loss of pressure (also known as head) by water flowing through the filter. When water flows through a clogged filter, friction causes the water to lose energy, so that the water leaving the filter is under less pressure than the water entering the filter. Head loss is displayed on a head loss gauge. Once the head loss within the filter has reached between six and ten hours, a filter should be backwashed.

The Process of Backwashing

In order to backwash a filter, the influent valve is closed and a waste line is opened. A backwash pump or tower forces treated water from the system back up through the filter bed. The dirty backwash water is collected by the wash troughs and can be recycled to the beginning of the plant or can be allowed to settle in a tank, pond, or basin. Backwashing should begin slowly. If begun too quickly, backwash water can damage the underdrain system, gravel bed, and media due to the speed of the water. Beginning backwashing too quickly will also force air bound in the filter out, further damaging the filter. After a slow start, the backwash rate should be accelerated to reach around 10 to 25 gpm/ft.2 The backwash water must have enough velocity and volume to agitate the sand and carry away the foreign matter which has collected there. Backwashing normally takes about 10 minutes, though the time varies depending on the length of the filter run and the quantity of material to be removed. Filters should be backwashed until the backwash water is clean.

Surface Washing At the same time as backwashing is occurring, the surface of the filter should be additionally scoured using surface washers. Surface washers spray water over the sand at the top of the filter breaking down mudballs.

Filter Media Introduction The filter media is the part of the filter which actually removes the particles from the water being treated. Filter media is most commonly sand, though other types of media can be used, usually in combination with sand. The gravel at the bottom of the filter is not part of the filter media, merely providing a support between the underdrains and the media and allowing an even flow of water during filtering and backwashing. The sand used in rapid sand filters is coarser (larger) than the sand used in slow sand filters. This larger sand has larger pores which do not fill as quickly with particles out of the water. Coarse sand also costs less and is more readily available than the finer sand used in slow sand filtration.

Dual and Multi-Media Filters In many cases, multiple types of media are layered within the filter. Typically, the layers (starting at the bottom of the filter and advancing upward) are sand and anthracite coal, or

garnet, sand, and anthracite coal. The picture below shows a cross-section through a dual media filter.

Photo Credit: Christie Shinault The media in a dual or multi-media filter are arranged so that the water moves through media with progressively smaller pores. The largest particles are strained out by the anthracite. Then the sand and garnet trap the rest of the particulate matter though a combination of adhesion and straining. Since the particles in the water are filtered out at various depths in a dual or multi-media filter, the filter does not clog as quickly as if all of the particles were all caught by the top layer.

The largest particles are removed by the coal, the medium particles by the sand, and the smallest particles by the garnet. The media in a dual or multi-media filter must have varying density as well as varying pore size so that they will sort back into the correct layering arrangement after backwashing. Anthracite coal is a very light (low density) coal which will settle slowly, ending up as the top layer of the filter. Garnet is a very dense sand which will settle quickly to the bottom of the filter.

Filter Efficiency Monitoring The filter efficiency can be measured in a variety of ways. Effluent turbidity, which should be monitored continuously, gives an indication of the efficacy of the filtration process. Particle counters can be used to count the number of particles in the effluent which are within the size range of Giardia andCryptosporidium to determine how efficiently the filter has removed these microorganisms. The length of the run time between backwashing can also be used as a measure of filter efficiency. Filter run time depends largely on the clarity of the water passing through the filter since clearer water will contain less material to be filtered out and clog the filter. This clarity, in turn, usually reflects the operator's skill and knowledge at maximizing the

efficiency of coagulation/flocculation and sedimentation. Physical features of the plant can also have considerable influence on the run time. The operator should test the influent and effluent turbidity, the effluent color, and head loss. These factors, as well as the filter run time, should be recorded.

Factors Influencing Efficiency The efficiency of a filter is influenced by a variety of factors. To a large extent, the efficiency is determined by the characteristics of the water being treated and by the efficiency of previous stages in the treatment process. The chemical characteristics of the water being treated can influence both the preceding coagulation/flocculation and the filtration process. In addition, the characteristics of the particles in the water are especially important to the filtration process. Size, shape, and chemical characteristics of the particles will all influence filtration. For example, floc which is too large will clog the filter rapidly, requiring frequent backwashing, or can break up and pass through the filter, decreasing water quality. The types and degree of previous treatment processes greatly influence filtration as well. Conventional, direct, and in-line filtration will all have different levels of efficiency. Finally, the type of filter used and the operation of the filter will influence filter efficiency. The next section will discuss problems caused by improper operation of the filter.

Filter Problems

Photo Credit: Know Your Filters Mudballs are approximately round conglomerations of filter material, ranging in size from pea-sized to two inches or more in diameter. The picture above shows a very large mudball. Mudballs form on the surface of filters when adhesive materials cause particles out of the water and media grains to stick together. If the filter is not properly backwashed and surface washed, mudballs will continue accumulating material and will grow larger, eventually sinking down into the filter media. Mudballs in the media result in shortened filter runs and in loss of filter capacity, since water will not pass through the mudballs and must flow around them.

Another problem associated with filters is breakthroughs, cracking of the filter media and/or separation of the media from the filter wall. Breakthroughs are caused by running the filter at an excessive filtration rate or by extending filter runs too long between backwashing. Breakthroughs can result in untreated water flowing through the filter, which in turn results in a sudden high turbidity in the effluent water. The untreated water may contain microorganisms such as Giardia and is thus not safe to drink. Air binding is the release of dissolved gases from the water into the filter or underdrain. Air binding may result from low pressure in the filter (negative head) or from filtering very

cold, supersaturated water. The air in the filter and underdrain prevents water from passing through the filter, which in turn results in abnormally high head loss even when the filter has recently been backwashed. During backwash, the air in the filter can damage the filter media.

Filtration Math Introduction In this lesson, we will design a rapid sand filter and a clear well chamber. Once again, these calculations are similar to those used for flash mix, flocculation, and sedimentation basins. For the rapid sand filter, the most important dimension is the surface area. Filters must be designed so that the water flowing through is spread out over enough surface area that the filtration rate is within the recommended range. The clear well is a reservoir for storage of filter effluent water. In this lesson, we will design a clear well with sufficient volume to backwash the rapid sand filter we design. However, clear wells have other purposes, most important of which is to allow sufficient contact time for chlorination. We will discuss chlorination in the next lesson.

Specifications A water treatment plant will typically have several filters. Each filter in our calculations will be assumed to have the following specifications.

Square tank Basin depth: 10 ft Media depth: 2-3 ft Surface area: <2,100 ft2 Filtration rate: 2-10 gal/min-ft2 Flow through filter: 350-3,500 gpm Backwash frequency: every 24 hours Backwash period: 5-10 minutes Backwash water: 1-5% of filtered water Backwash rate: 8-20 gal/min-ft2 Filter rise rate: 12-36 in/min Bed expansion: 50% Backwash trough 3 ft above media

Backwash water piped to raw water intake

As you can see, backwashing is a very important part of filter calculations. We will briefly identify some of the backwash characteristics below. The backwash frequency is the same as filter run time. Either term can be used to signify the number of hours between backwashing. The backwash period is the length of time which backwashing lasts. The backwash water is the water used to backwash the filter. For the filters we're considering, backwash water should be 1-5% of the water filtered during the filter run. The backwash rate is the rate at which water is forced backwards through the filter during backwashing. This rate is homologous to the filtration rate, only with water moving in the other direction through the filter. The backwash rate is typically much greater than the filtration rate. The filter rise rate is the speed at which water rises up through the filter during backwashing. This is another way of measuring the backwash rate. During backwashing, the water pushes the media up until it is suspended in the water. The height to which the media rises during backwashing is known as the bed expansion. For example, if the filter media is 2 feet deep, it may rise up to 3 feet deep during backwashing. This is a 50% bed expansion:

Bed expansion = 50%

Most of these backwash specifications merely describe the type of filter we will be considering and are not used in calculations. However, two factors - the filter rise rate and the backwash period - will be used when calculating the volume of the clear well chamber.

Overview of Calculations 1. Calculate the approximate number of filters required.

2. 3. 4. 5.

Calculate the flow through one filter. Calculate the surface area of one filter. Calculate the length of the tank. Calculate the clearwell volume.

1. Number of Filters The treatment plant's flow should be divided into at least three filters. You can estimate the number of filters required using the following formula:

Where: Q = Flow, MGD So, for a plant with a flow of 1.5 MGD, then the approximate number of filters would be:

2. Flow Next, the flow through one filter is calculated just as it was for one tank of the sedimentation basin: Qc = Q / n Qc = (1.5 MGD) / 3 Qc = 0.5 MGD

So the flow through each of our three filters will be 0.5 MGD.

3. Surface Area The required filter surface area is calculated using the formula below: A = Qc / F.R. Where: A = filter surface area, ft2 Qc = flow into one filter, gpm F.R. = filtration rate, gal/min-ft2 We will use a filtration rate of 4 gal/min-ft.2 We will also have to convert from gpm to MGD. The calculations for our example are shown below: A = 500,000 gal/day (1 day / 1440 minutes) / 4 gal/min-ft2 A = 87 ft2

4. Tank Length Since the filter tank is a square, the length of the tank can be calculated with the following simple formula:

Where: L = Length, ft A = Surface area, ft2 In the case of our example, the length of one tank is calculated as follows:

This is the final calculation required for the design of the filter.

5. Clearwell Volume The volume of the clearwell must be sufficient to provide backwash water for each filter. First we calculate the total filter area: Total filter area = A (Number of filters) For our example, the total filter area is: Total filter area = 87 ft2 3 Total filter area = 261 ft2 Then we calculate the volume of the clearwell as follows: V = (Backwash period) (Total filter area) (Filter rise rate) We will assume a 5 minute backwash period and filter rise rate of 30 in/min. So, for our example, the volume of the clearwell would be calculated as follows: V = (5 min) (261 ft2) (30 in/min) (1 ft / 12 in) V = 3,263 ft3 You will notice that we translated from inches to feet.

Conclusions For our plant, we need three filters, each with a surface area of 87 ft2 and a length of 9.3 ft. In order to accommodate backwashing all three filters at once, the clearwell volume should be 3,263 ft.3

Review Filtration removes suspended particles from water by passing the water through a medium. Particles are removed through straining, adsorption, biological processes, and absorption. Four types of filters are used in water treatment - slow sand, rapid sand, pressure, and diatomaceous. Rapid sand filters are the most widely used in treating surface water. Rapid sand filters are cleaned by backwashing and surface washing. Filter media may be sand, or layers involving anthracite coal, sand, and garnet. Filter efficiency is typically monitored using effluent turbidity, particle counters, and filter run time. Problems associated with filters include mudballs, breakthroughs, and air binding.

References Alabama Department of Environmental Management. 1989. Water Works Operator Manual. American Water Works Association. Brief History of Filtration. Kerri, K.D. 2002. Water Treatment Plant Operation. California State University: Sacramento. Rust, Mary, and Katie MacArthur. 1996. Slow Sand Filtration. Virginia Tech, Blacksburg. Schmitt, Dottie, and Christie Shinault. 1996. Rapid Sand Filtration. Virginia Tech, Blacksburg. Sims, Ronald C., and Lloyd A. Slezak. 1991. "Slow Sand Filtration: Present Practice in the United States." Slow Sand Filtration. American Society of Civil Engineers: New York.

Assignments Part 1 of your Assignment: Answer the following questions. Show all of your work and circle the answer for each math problem below. If there is insufficient information to find

the answer, write "Insufficient information". When you are done, either email, mail or fax the assignment to your instructor. (Each question is worth 10 points) 1. During filtration, the filter bed is 30 inches deep. During backwashing, the filter bed is 50 inches deep. What is the percent of bed expansion? 2. Given a flow of 5 MGD, approximate the number of filters which should be used. 3. The flow into one filter is 0.75 MGD. The filtration rate is 4 gal/min-ft2. Calculate the filter's surface area. 4. The flow is 4 MGD, divided into the recommended number of filters. The filtration rate is 4 gal/min-ft2. What is the length of one filter tank? 5. A plant has 4 filters, each with an area of 75 ft2. Assume a 5 minute backwash period and filter rise rate of 30 in/min. What should the volume of the clearwell be to allow backwashing of all four filters at once? Part 2 of your Assignment: Complete Assignment 6 on Filtration. You may do the Assignment online to get credit or print it out and send it to the instructor. (50 points)

Quiz Answer the questions in the Lesson 6 quiz . When you have gotten all the answers correct, print the page and either mail or fax it to the instructor. You may also take the quiz online and submit your grade directly into the database for grading purposes.

Disinfection Objective In this lesson we will answer the following questions:

What disinfection requirements must be met in treating drinking water? How does chlorination fit into the water treatment process? How does chlorination work chemically? What factors influence the efficiency of chlorination? What equipment is used for chlorination? What other methods can be used to disinfect water?

Reading Assignment

Along with the online lesson, read Chapter 7: Disinfection, in your textbook Operation of Water Treatment Plants Volume I . Lecture Introduction What is Disinfection? Before water treatment became common, waterborne diseases could spread quickly through a population, killing or harming hundreds of people. The table below shows some common, water-transmitted diseases as well as the organisms (pathogens) which cause each disease. More information on water-borne pathogens can be found in ENV 108. Pathogen Bacteria: Anthrax Escherichia coli Myobacterium tuberculosis Salmonella Vibrio cholerae Viruses: Hepatitis Virus Polio Virus Parasites: Cryptosporidium Giardia lamblia cryptosporidiosis giardiasis Hepatitis A polio anthrax E. coli infection tuberculosis salmonellosis, paratyphoid cholera Disease Caused

The primary goal of water treatment is to ensure that the water is safe to drink and does not contain any disease-causing microorganisms. The best way to ensure pathogen-free drinking water is to make sure that the pathogens never enter the water in the first place. However, this may be a difficult matter in a surface water supply which is fed by a large watershed. Most treatments plants choose to remove or kill pathogens in water rather than to ensure that the entire watershed is free of pathogens. Pathogens can be removed from water through physical or chemical processes. You may remember that some previously discussed treatment processes, notably sedimentation and

filtration, can remove a large percentage of bacteria and other microorganisms from the water by physical means. Storage can also kill a portion of the disease-causing bacteria in water. This lesson will be concerned with disinfection, which is the process of selectively destroying or inactivating pathogenic organisms in water, usually by chemical means. Disinfection is different fromsterilization, which is the complete destruction of all organisms found in water and which is usually expensive and unnecessary. Disinfection is a required part of the water treatment process while sterilization is not.

Testing and Requirements The goal of disinfection is to remove or inactivate all disease-causing organisms in water. However, testing for each type of pathogen individually would be costly and inefficient. Instead, operators focus on three indicators of pathogen removal efficiency. The first two have been discussed in previous lessons -Giardia and viruses. The third test, total coliform, is the most frequently used indicator of disinfection efficiency. Coliform bacteria are often found in the guts of warm-blooded animals such as humans, but can also be found in plants, soil, water, or air. It is relatively simple to test for the number of coliform bacteria found in water, and their presence indicates that other pathogenic bacteria are also likely to be present. If disinfection removes all of the coliforms from the water, then the operator can safely assume that the other diseasecausing microorganisms have also been removed. You will remember that the standards for the removal of Giardia and viruses are 99.9% and 99.99%, respectively. After disinfection, standards for total coliform require that water should have 0 coliforms per hundred millimeters of water sampled. If less than 40 samples of water are tested per month, then no more than one sample can test positive for coliform bacteria. If forty or more samples are taken more month, then no more than 5% of the samples can be positive.

Chlorination Purpose Chlorination is the application of chlorine to water to accomplish some definite purpose. In this lesson, we will be concerned with the application of chlorine for the purpose of

disinfection, but you should be aware that chlorination can also be used for taste and odor control, iron and manganese removal, and to remove some gases such as ammonia and hydrogen sulfide. Chlorination is currently the most frequently used form of disinfection in the water treatment field. However, other disinfection processes have been developed. These alternatives will be discussed at the end of this lesson.

Prechlorination and Postchlorination Like several other water treatment processes, chlorination can be used as a pretreatment process (prechlorination) or as part of the primary treatment of water (postchlorination). Treatment usually involves either postchlorination only or a combination of prechlorination and postchlorination. Prechlorination is the act of adding chlorine to the raw water. The residual chlorine is useful in several stages of the treatment process - aiding in coagulation, controlling algae problems in basins, reducing odor problems, and controlling mudball formation. In addition, the chlorine has a much longer contact time when added at the beginning of the treatment process, so prechlorination increases safety in disinfecting heavily contaminated water. Postchlorination is the application of chlorine after water has been treated but before the water reaches the distribution system. At this stage, chlorination is meant to kill pathogens and to provide a chlorine residual in the distribution system. Postchlorination is nearly always part of the treatment process, either used in combination with prechlorination or used as the sole disinfection process. Until the middle of the 1970s, water treatment plants typically used both prechlorination and postchlorination. However, the longer contact time provided by prechlorination allows the chlorine to react with the organics in the water and produce carcinogenic substances known as trihalomethanes. As a result of concerns over trihalomethanes, prechlorination has become much less common in the United States. Currently, prechlorination is only used in plants where trihalomethane formation is not a problem.

Location in the Treatment Process

During prechlorination, chlorine is usually added to raw water after screening and before flash mixing. Postchlorination, in contrast, is often the last stage in the treatment process. After flowing through the filter, water is chlorinated and then pumped to the clearwell to allow a sufficient contact time for the chlorine to act. From the clearwell, the water may be pumped into a large, outdoor storage tank such as the one shown below. Finally, the water is released to the customer.

Photo Credit: Virginia Department of Health Chlorination Chemistry Introduction When chlorine is added to water, a variety of chemical processes take place. The chlorine reacts with compounds in the water and with the water itself. Some of the results of these reactions (known as thechlorine residual) are able to kill microorganisms in the water. In the following sections, we will show the chemical reactions which occur when chlorine is added to water.

Chlorine Demand When chlorine enters water, it immediately begins to react with compounds found in the water. The chlorine will react with organic compounds and form trihalomethanes. It will also react with reducing agents such as hydrogen sulfide, ferrous ions, manganous ions, and nitrite ions.

Let's consider one example, in which chlorine reacts with hydrogen sulfide in water. Two different reactions can occur: Hydrogen Sulfide + Chlorine + Oxygen Ion Elemental Chloride Ions H2S + Cl2 + O2S + H2O + 2ClSulfur + Water +

Hydrogen Sulfide + Chlorine + Water H2S + 4Cl2 + 4 H2O

Sulfuric Acid + Hydrochloric Acid H2SO4 + 8 HCl

I have written each reaction using both the chemical formula and the English name of each compound. In the first reaction, hydrogen sulfide reacts with chlorine and oxygen to create elemental sulfur, water, and chloride ions. The elemental sulfur precipitates out of the water and can cause odor problems. In the second reaction, hydrogen sulfide reactions with chlorine and water to create sulfuric acid and hydrochloric acid. Each of these reactions uses up the chlorine in the water, producing chloride ions or hydrochloric acid which have no disinfecting properties. The total amount of chlorine which is used up in reactions with compounds in the water is known as the chlorine demand. A sufficient quantity of chlorine must be added to the water so that, after the chlorine demand is met, there is still some chlorine left to kill microorganisms in the water.

Reactions of Chlorine Gas With Water At the same time that chlorine is being used up by compounds in the water, some of the chlorine reacts with the water itself. The reaction depends on what type of chlorine is added to the water as well as on the the pH of the water itself. Chlorine may be added as to water in the form of chlorine gas, hypochlorite, or chlorine dioxide. All types of chlorine will kill bacteria and some viruses, but only chlorine dioxide will effectively killCryptosporidium, Giardia, protozoans, and some viruses. We will first consider chlorine gas, which is the most pure form of chlorine, consisting of two chlorine atoms bound together. Chlorine gas is compressed into a liquid and stored in metal cylinders. The gas is difficult to handle since it is toxic, heavy, corrosive, and an irritant. At high concentrations, chlorine gas can even be fatal.

When chlorine gas enters the water, the following reaction occurs: Chlorine + Water Cl2 + H2O Hypochlorous Acid + Hydrochloric Acid HOCl + HCl

The chlorine reacts with water and breaks down into hypochlorous acid and hydrochloric acid. Hypochlorous acid may further break down, depending on pH: Hypochlorous Acid Hydrogen Ion + Hypochlorite Ion HOCl H+ + OClNote the double-sided arrows which mean that the reaction is reversible. Hypochlorous acid may break down into a hydrogen ion and a hypochlorite ion, or a hydrogen ion and a hypochlorite ion may join together to form hypochlorous acid. The concentration of hypochlorous acid and hypochlorite ions in chlorinated water will depend on the water's pH. A higher pH facilitates the formation of more hypochlorite ions and results in less hypochlorous acid in the water. This is an important reaction to understand because hypochlorous acid is the most effective form of free chlorine residual, meaning that it is chlorine available to kill microorganisms in the water. Hypochlorite ions are much less efficient disinfectants. So disinfection is more efficient at a low pH (with large quantities of hypochlorous acid in the water) than at a high pH (with large quantities of hypochlorite ions in the water.)

Hypochlorites Instead of using chlorine gas, some plants apply chlorine to water as a hypochlorite, also known as ableach. Hypochlorites are less pure than chlorine gas, which means that they are also less dangerous. However, they have the major disadvantage that they decompose in strength over time while in storage. Temperature, light, and physical energy can all break down hypochlorites before they are able to react with pathogens in water. There are three types of hypochlorites - sodium hypochlorite, calcium hypochlorite, and commercial bleach:

Sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) comes in a liquid form which contains up to 12% chlorine.

Calcium hypochlorite (Ca(OCl)2), also known as HTH, is a solid which is mixed with water to form a hypochlorite solution. Calcium hypochlorite is 65-70% concentrated. Commercial bleach is the bleach which you buy in a grocery store. The concentration ofcommercial bleach varies depending on the brand - Chlorox bleach is 5% chlorine while some other brands are 3.5% concentrated.

Hypochlorites and bleaches work in the same general manner as chlorine gas. They react with water and form the disinfectant hypochlorous acid. The reactions of sodium hypochlorite and calcium hypochlorite with water are shown below: Calcium hypochlorite + Water Ca(OCl)2 + 2 H2O Hypochlorous Acid + Calcium Hydroxide 2 HOCl + Ca(OH)2

Sodium hypochlorite + Water NaOCl + H2O

Hypochlorous Acid + Sodium Hydroxide HOCl + NaOH

In general, disinfection using chlorine gas and hypochlorites occurs in the same manner. The differences lie in how the chlorine is fed into the water and on handling and storage of the chlorine compounds. In addition, the amount of each type of chlorine added to water will vary since each compound has a different concentration of chlorine.

Chloramines Some plants use chloramines rather than hypochlorous acid to disinfect the water. To produce chloramines, first chlorine gas or hypochlorite is added to the water to produce hypochlorous acid. Then ammonia is added to the water to react with the hypochlorous acid and produce a chloramine. Three types of chloramines can be formed in water - monochloramine, dichloramine, and trichloramine. Monochloramine is formed from the reaction of hypochlorous acid with ammonia: Ammonia + Hypochlorous Acid NH3 + HOCl Monochloramine + Water NH2Cl + H2O

Monochloramine may then react with more hypochlorous acid to form a dichloramine: Monochloramine + Hypochlorous Acid NH2Cl + HOCl Dichloramine + Water NHCl2 + H2O

Finally, the dichloramine may react with hypochlorous acid to form a trichloramine: Dichloramine + Hypochlorous Acid NHCl2 + HOCl Trichloramine + Water NCl3 + H2O

The number of these reactions which will take place in any given situation depends on the pH of the water. In most cases, both monochloramines and dichloramines are formed. Monochloramines and dichloramines can both be used as a disinfecting agent, called a combined chlorine residual because the chlorine is combined with nitrogen. This is in contrast to the free chlorine residual of hypochlorous acid which is used in other types of chlorination. Chloramines are weaker than chlorine, but are more stable, so they are often used as the disinfectant in the distribution lines of water treatment systems. Despite their stability, chloramines can be broken down by bacteria, heat, and light. Chloramines are effective at killing bacteria and will also kill some protozoans, but they are very ineffective at killing viruses.

Breakpoint Chlorination The graph below shows what happens when chlorine (either chlorine gas or a hypochlorite) is added to water. First (between points 1 and 2), the water reacts with reducing compounds in the water, such as hydrogen sulfide. These compounds use up the chlorine, producing no chlorine residual.

Next, between points 2 and 3, the chlorine reacts with organics and ammonia naturally found in the water. Some combined chlorine residual is formed - chloramines. Note that if chloramines were to be used as the disinfecting agent, more ammonia would be added to the water to react with the chlorine. The process would be stopped at point 3. Using chloramine as the disinfecting agent results in little trihalomethane production but causes taste and odor problems since chloramines typically give a "swimming pool" odor to water. In contrast, if hypochlorous acid is to be used as the chlorine residual, then chlorine will be added past point 3. Between points 3 and 4, the chlorine will break down most of the chloramines in the water, actually lowering the chlorine residual. Finally, the water reaches the breakpoint, shown at point 4. The breakpoint is the point at which the chlorine demand has been totally satisfied - the chlorine has reacted with all reducing agents, organics, and ammonia in the water. When more chlorine is added past the breakpoint, the chlorine reacts with water and forms hypochlorous acid in direct proportion to the amount of chlorine added. This process, known as breakpoint chlorination, is the most common form of chlorination, in which enough chlorine is added to the water to bring it past the breakpoint and to create some free chlorine residual.

Chlorine Dioxide

There is one other form of chlorine which can be used for disinfection - chlorine dioxide. We have not discussed chlorine dioxide previously because it disinfects using neither hypochlorous acid nor chloramines and is not part of the breakpoint chlorination process. Chlorine dioxide, ClO2, is a very effective form of chlorination since it will kill protozoans, Cryptosporidium, Giardia, and viruses that other systems may not kill. In addition, chlorine dioxide oxidizes all metals and organic matter, converting the organic matter to carbon dioxide and water. Chlorine dioxide can be used to remove sulfide compounds and phenolic tastes and odors. When chlorine dioxide is used, trihalomethanes are not formed and the chlorination process is unaffected by ammonia. Finally, chlorine dioxide is effective at a higher pH than other forms of chlorination. So why isn't chlorine dioxide used in all systems? Chlorine dioxide must be generated on site, which is a very costly process requiring a great deal of technical expertise. Unlike chlorine gas, chlorine dioxide is highly combustible and care must be taken when handling the chlorine dioxide. Efficiency Residual and Dosage A variety of factors can influence disinfection efficiency when using breakpoint chlorination or chloramines. One of the most important of these is the concentration of chlorine residual in the water. The chlorine residual in the clearwell should be at least 0.5 mg/L. This residual, consisting of hypochlorous acid and/or chloramines, must kill microorganisms already present in the water and must also kill any pathogens which may enter the distribution system through cross-connections or leakage. In order to ensure that the water is free of microorganisms when it reaches the customer, the chlorine residual should be about 0.2 mg/L at the extreme ends of the distribution system. This residual in the distribution system will also act to control microorganisms in the distribution system which produce slimes, tastes, or odors. Determining the correct dosage of chlorine to add to water will depend on the quantity and type of substances in the water creating a chlorine demand. The chlorine dose is calculated as follows: Chlorine Dose = Chlorine Demand + Chlorine Residual So, if the required chlorine residual is 0.5 mg/L and the chlorine demand is known to be 2 mg/L, then 2.5 mg/L of chlorine will have to be added to treat the water. The chlorine demand will typically vary over time as the characteristics of the water change. By testing the chlorine residual, the operator can determine whether a sufficient dose of chlorine is being added to treat the water. In a large system, chlorine must be sampled every two hours at the plant and at various points in the distribution system.

It is also important to understand the breakpoint curve when changing chlorine dosages. If the water smells strongly of chlorine, it may not mean that too much chlorine is being added. More likely, chloramines are being produced, and more chlorine needs to be added to pass the breakpoint.

Contact Time Contact time is just as important as the chlorine residual in determining the efficiency of chlorination. Contact time is the amount of time which the chlorine has to react with the microorganisms in the water, which will equal the time between the moment when chlorine is added to the water and the moment when that water is used by the customer. The longer the contact time, the more efficient the disinfection process is. When using chlorine for disinfection a minimum contact time of 30 minutes is required for adequate disinfection. The CT value is used as a measurement of the degree of pathogen inactivation due to chlorination. The CT value is calculated as follows: CT = (Chlorine residual, mg/L) (Contact time, minutes) The CT is the Concentration multiplied by the Time. As the formula suggests, a reduced chlorine residual can still provide adequate kill of microorganisms if a long contact time is provided. Conversely, a smaller chlorine residual can be used as long as the chlorine has a longer contact time to kill the pathogens.

Other Influencing Factors Within the disinfection process, efficiency is influenced by the chlorine residual, the type of chemical used for chlorination, the contact time, the initial mixing of chlorine into the water, and the location of chlorination within the treatment process. The most efficient process will have a high chlorine residual, a long contact time, and thorough mixing. Characteristics of the water will also affect efficiency of chlorination. As you will recall, at a high pH, the hypochlorous acid becomes dissociated into the ineffective hypochlorite ion. So lower pH values result in more efficient disinfection. Temperature influences chlorination just as it does any other chemical reaction. Warmer water can be treated more efficiently since the reactions occur more quickly. At a lower water temperature, longer contact times or higher concentrations of chemicals must be used to ensure adequate disinfection.

Turbidity of the water influences disinfection primarily through influencing the chlorine demand. Turbid water tends to contain particles which react with chlorine, reducing the concentration of chlorine residual which is formed. Since the turbidity of the water depends to a large extent on upstream processes (coagulation, flocculation, sedimentation, and filtration), changes in these upstream processes will influence the efficiency of chlorination. Turbidity is also influenced by the source water - groundwater turbidity tends to change slowly or not at all while the chlorine demand of surface water can change continuously, especially during storms and the snow melt season. Finally, and most intuitively, the number and type of microorganisms in the water will influence chlorination efficiency. Since cyst-forming microorganisms and viruses are very difficult to kill using chlorination, the disinfection process will be less efficient if these pathogens are found in the water.

Chlorination Equipment Hypochlorinators The simplest method of continuous chlorination of systems less than 75 gpm is by the use of a hypochlorinator. Hypochlorinators are motor driven pumps which are used to added hypochlorite solutions to water. The pump pulls the hypochlorite solution out of a holding chamber and pumps it into the water to be treated. Where the pipe from the pump joins the pipe carrying the raw water, the Venturi effect creates a small vacuum and pulls the chlorine solution into the water.

It is often necessary to increase or decrease the amount of chlorine added to the water as conditions change. Hypochlorinators allow you to adjust the amount of chlorine fed into the water in three ways. You can adjust the stroke length or machine speed by varying the pulley size. Both of these adjustments change the hypochlorinator feed rate - the speed at

which the machine puts chlorine into the water. You can also adjust the amount of chlorine added by changing the strength of the hypochlorite solution.

Chlorinators and Cylinders While hypochlorinators are usually used to perform continuous chlorination in smaller systems, chlorinators are more economical when the supply source is greater than 75 gpm and may sometimes be used in smaller systems as well. Anticipated pumping periods and chlorine demand (based on the chlorine residual test) determine whether a hypochlorinator or chlorinator should be used in each situation. Chlorinators are devices which introduce chlorine gas to water using liquid chlorine supplied in steel cylinders. The following sections will explain how the proper quantity of chlorine is delivered from the cylinder to the source water. But first we need to understand how the liquid chlorine is stored.

Chlorine cylinders Liquid chlorine can be stored in 100 or 150 pound cylinders, ton containers, or 55 to 90 ton rail cars. In each case, the chlorine has been condensed into a liquid form, but expands back into a gas as it leaves the cylinder. Whenever a substance changes state from a liquid to a gaseous form, heat is required. The heat which is absorbed by the chlorine as it changes state in the cylinder comes from the surrounding air. If chlorine is drawn off from a cylinder too quickly, the temperature of the air surrounding the tank will drop and will cause frosting and lower gas flow. To prevent frosting, the draw off rate should be no greater than 350 pounds of gas/day for a 100-150 pound cylinder. If greater feed rate are required, several tanks can be connected using a manifold, which is a pipe joining the cylinders together so that chlorine gas is drawn from several cylinders at once.

The only accurate way to determine the feed rate of chlorine from a cylinder is to weigh the cylinder over time. By subtracting the tare weight (the weight of an empty cylinder), the operator can determine how much chlorine gas remains in the cylinder so that empty cylinders can be replaced in a timely manner. If the cylinders are weighed over time, the feed rate of chlorine can be determined to ensure that the proper concentration of chlorine is being added to the water. Whenever dealing with gaseous chlorine, safety is an important issue. Ammonia should be kept handy for checking for leaks and storage buildings should be well ventilated. If the operator must walk through an area with chlorine in the air, he or she should use a breathing apparatus. If no breathing apparatus is available, the operator should keep his head high since chlorine is 2.5 times as heavy as air and will tend to sink to the ground.

Vacuum Chlorinators The most typical kind of chlorinator, a vacuum chlorinator, is shown below:

In a vacuum chlorinator, chlorine gas is pulled from the cylinder into the source water by a vacuum. The vacuum is created by water flowing through the injector and creating a

negative head. This negative head forces open the pressure regulating valve on the cylinder and allows chlorine gas to flow out of the cylinder and into the chlorinator. Once the gas has entered the chlorinator, the chlorine feed rate is measured using an indicator known as a rotameter. Just beyond the rotameter, the chlorine gas flows past a regulating device (a V-notch plug or a valve) which is used to adjust the chlorine feed rate. Then the chlorine gas is pulled into the injector, also known as an ejector. The injector consists of a pipe filled with flowing water. The flowing water pulls chlorine into the water, both chlorinating the source water and creating a vacuum in the chlorine line which pulls more chlorine gas out of the cylinder. This type of chlorinator is also known as a solution feeder since the chlorine gas is dissolved into a small amount of source water, which is then piped into the main line of water to be chlorinated. Chlorinators can be controlled manually (using the regulator) or with a controller. The most common type of controller is the flow proportional controller which automatically feeds chlorine based on the flow rate of the water. Vacuum chlorinators are very safe since any break in the line with disrupt the vacuum and close the pressure regulating valve. As a result, chlorine leaks are very uncommon.

Direct Feed Chlorinators In a few cases, direct feed chlorinators are used instead of vacuum chlorinators. In a direct feed chlorinator, the chlorine gas is under pressure and is pumped directly into the main flow of water. There, the chlorine is evenly dispersed into the water using a diffuser, like the one shown below.

Since the chlorine is under pressure, a pressurized water supply is not needed for use with a direct feed chlorinator. However, the pressurized chlorine is prone to leakage, so safety

issues limit direct feed chlorinators to small installations or for use as emergency equipment. Other Disinfection Methods Types of Disinfection Up until this point, we have been concerned only with disinfection using chlorine. However, a variety of other methods can be used to disinfect water. The table below summarizes eight disinfection processes. Disinfection Method Chlorine Disinfection Process Advantages Disadvantages chemical reaction with pathogens a small dose kills bacteria rapidly; residual can be maintained in some cases, chlorination can cause the formation of trihalomethanes chemical reaction with pathogens good disinfectanthigh cost; harmful to pregnant women chemical reaction with pathogens handling difficulties; residuals hard to obtain; supply is limited Bases chemical reaction with pathogens sterilize water pipes (sodium hydroxide and bitter taste in the water; handling difficulties lime) Ozone chemical reaction with pathogens good disinfectant; better virucide than chlorine; oxidizes iron, manganese, sulfide, and organics; removes color, odor, and taste high cost; lack of residual; storage difficulties; maintenance requirements; safety problems; unpredictable disinfection; no track record disinfection; treating iron and manganese, helping flocculation, removing algae, oxidizing organics, removing color, treating tastes and odors Uses

widespread use to disinfect water; also used in color, taste, and odor removal, improving coagulation, and killing algae. emergency treatment of water supplies; disinfecting small, non-permanent water supplies very limited use, primarily for treating swimming pool water

Iodine

Bromine

Ultraviolet

UV light causes biological changes which small or local systems and kill the pathogenslack of dangerous byindustrial applications productslack of measurable residual; cost of operation; turbidity interferes with

disinfection Ultrasonic Heat sound waves destroy pathogens by vibration very expensive boiling water for about five minutes will destroy essentially all microorganismssimple, requires little equipment very energy intensive; expensive Individuals may boil their water for household quantities of water when quality of water is questionable

In the past, water treatment plants have principally relied on the use of chlorine for disinfection. The prevalent use of chlorine has come about because chlorine is an excellent disinfecting chemical and, until recently, has been available at a reasonable cost. However, chlorine has several disadvantages. Chlorine is becoming more expensive and has been shown to be toxic to fish and other biota. In addition, chlorine can combine with organic substances in water to produce trihalomethanes, which are suspected of causing cancer. As a result, future water treatment may see an increased use of ozone or ultraviolet (UV) light. Both types of treatment are effective disinfecting agents and leave no toxic residual. We will consider ozone and UV disinfection briefly below.

Ozone Oxygen in the air (O2) is composed of two oxygen atoms. Under certain conditions, three oxygen atoms can be bound together instead, forming ozone (O3).

Ozone has many advantages as a disinfectant. It kills all pathogenic organisms by a direct effect on their DNA. Disinfection with ozone occurs 30,000 times faster than with chlorine, so a prolonged contact time is unnecessary. And there is no harmful residual left in the system.

The disadvantages of an ozone disinfection system include a corrosive nature, a high cost for the initial set-up, and a high electricity consumption.

UV Light Ultraviolet, or UV, light is light outside the range usually detectable by the human eye. It can be used to deactivate protozoans so that they can't reproduce and to significantly reduce the concentration of bacteria in water.

The picture below shows a UV disinfection setup:

The primary disadvantage of UV light is a high operating cost. In addition, anything which blocks UV light from reaching the water will result in a lack of treatment, so water must be free of turbidity before being treated with UV light.

Choosing a Disinfection Method Of the many disinfection methods, five have been used extensively in water treatment. The table below lists some of the factors which may influence the choice of treatment method in a new plant. Chlorine (Gas or Hypochlorite) Produces trihalomethanes? Produces other troublesome byproducts? Impacted by lime softening? Impacted by turbidity? yes yes Chlorine Dioxide no yes Chloramine Ozone Ultraviolet

yes yes

sometimes no yes sometimes

yes somewhat

no

yes

no

yes

somewhat somewhat yes no no no

somewhat yes yes yes no no

Meets Giardia no removal standards? Meets no Cryptosporidium removal standards? Meets virus removal yes standards? Operator skill level Applicable to large utilities? Applicable to small utilities? low yes yes

yes high yes yes

no

yes

yes medium no yes

low/medium high yes yes yes yes

You may note that many of the disinfection methods do not meet standards for Giardia,Cryptosporidium, and virus removal. This does not mean that these disinfection methods cannot be used. When used in conjunction with filtration, all of the disinfection methods can be used to meet removal standards.

Review Drinking water is disinfected to kill or inactivate waterborne pathogens. The most common form of disinfection is chlorination, although ozone and UV light are also used in some plants. Chlorine may be added to the water as chlorine gas or hypochlorite (both of which produce the disinfectant hypochlorous acid), as chlorine dioxide, or ammonia may be added with chlorine to form disinfectant chloramines. Chlorination may occur as a pretreatment process or as the final step in the treatment process. A sufficient quantity of chlorine must be used to both kill microorganisms already existing in the water and to maintain a chlorine residual throughout the distribution system. Chlorination efficiency depends on chlorine residual, contact time, type of chemical used, mixing effectiveness, location in the treatment process, and on characteristics of the water being treated. Breakpoint chlorination is a common form of disinfection in which chlorine is added to water until the chlorine demand has been satisfied and some free chlorine residual has been formed. The chlorine demand involves the reaction of chlorine with compounds in water, reducing the amount of chlorine available to kill microorganisms. Once all of these reactions have occurred, any additional chlorine added to the water will produce hypochlorous acid, a free chlorine residual. Disinfection equipment depends on the type of disinfectant used. Hypochlorite is added to water using a hypochlorinator. Gaseous chlorine is added to water using a chlorinator. Disinfection equipment used for chlorine dioxide, ozone, and UV light is more complex and requires a higher level of operator skill.

New Formulas Used To calculate chlorine dose during breakpoint chlorination: Chlorine Dose = Chlorine Demand + Chlorine Residual To calculate CT value: CT = (Chlorine residual, mg/L) (Contact time, minutes)

References Alabama Department of Environmental Management. 1989. Water Works Operator Manual. Environmental Protection Agency. 1999. Alternative Disinfectants and Oxidants Guidance Manual. Kerri, K.D. 2002. Water Treatment Plant Operation. California State University: Sacramento. Ragsdale and Associates. Version III. New Mexico Water Systems Operator Certification Study Guide. NMED Surface Water Quality Bureau: Santa Fe.

Assignments Part 1 of your Assignment: Answer the following questions. Show all of your work and circle the answer for each math problem below. If there is insufficient information to find the answer, write "Insufficient information". When you are done, either email, mail or fax the assignment to your instructor. (Each question is worth 25 points) 1. A chlorinator is set to feed 15 pounds of chlorine in 24 hours to a flow of 0.75 MGD. Find the chlorine dose in mg/L. 2. Find the chlorine demand in mg/L for the water being treated in #1 with a chlorine dose of 2.4 mg/L. The chlorine residual after 30 minutes of contact time is 0.8 mg/L.

Part 2 of your Assignment: Complete Assignment 7 on Disinfection. You may do the Assignment online to get credit or print it out and send it to the instructor. (50 points)

Quiz

Answer the questions in the Lesson 7 quiz . When you have gotten all the answers correct, print the page and either mail or fax it to the instructor. You may also take the quiz online and submit your grade directly into the database for grading purposes.

Corrosion Control

Corrosion

Objective In this lesson we will answer the following questions:

What problems are associated with corrosive and scale-forming water? How does the electrochemical reaction of corrosion work? What are the types of corrosion? What factors influence the stability of water? How does stabilization fit into the water treatment process?

Reading Assignment Along with the online lesson, read Chapter 8: Corrosion Control, in your textbook Operation of Water Treatment Plants Volume I .

Lecture Corrosion What is Stabilization? Stable water is water which neither tends to be corrosive nor scale-forming. Corrosive, also known asaggressive or unstable, water will tend to corrode (rust) metal in the pipes or tanks it passes through. Scale-forming water will tend to deposit calcium carbonate scale on the surfaces of these pipes or tanks.

Corrosive and scale-forming waters are at the opposite ends of a spectrum. A variety of water characteristics (which we will discuss in a later section) combine to influence water's location along this spectrum. The goal of the treatment plant operator is to find the point along the stability spectrum at which the water is stable and will neither corrode pipes or form scale.

Scaling Problems Unstable water causes problems mainly in the distribution system, though it can also harm the treatment plant equipment and fixtures in the customers' homes. Scaling is problematic because it forms on the insides of pipes and reduces the area available to carry water. In addition, scaling can form on equipment and on hot water heaters and cause other problems. Despite these problems caused by scaling, we should be aware that a small amount of scale is beneficial because it coats the insides of pipes and retards corrosion. Typically, the water treatment plant operator will strive to produce water which is slightly scale-forming.

Corrosion Problems

Corrosive water, in contrast, is never beneficial. Corrosion, like that shown in the pictures above, can cause economic, health, and aesthetic problems. Economic problems result from damage to pipes, storage tanks, valves, and meters. Damage to pipes is the most prevalent, consisting of leaks and reduced carrying capacity. These pipe corrosion problems often result from tuberculation, which is the production of mounds of rust on the inside of the pipe, as shown in the picture below.

These mounds reduce the space in the pipe available to carry water, just as scaling does. In addition, tubercles are usually associated with pits in the pipe wall, which may go all the way through the pipe and cause leaks. Corrosion in the distribution system can also cause health hazards. When pipes are corroded, some of the metal from the pipes enters the drinking water and is consumed by the customer. If the pipes contain lead or copper - and brass pipes, for example, are made up of about 7-11% lead and a much higher percentage of copper - then the metals in the

water are hazardous to the customer's health. Lead causes a variety of problems in children and increases blood pressure in adults while copper causes stomach and intestinal problems and Wilson's Disease. As a result of these health hazards, the EPA passed a Lead and Copper Rule in 1991 which limits the amount of lead and copper that can be found in drinking water. Finally, corrosion can cause aesthetic problems. When metal pipes corrode, the rust can break free and be carried to the customer in the water. This phenomenon, known as red water, can stain laundry and plumbing fixtures. In addition, corrosion in the distribution system can result in taste problems.

Corrosion Chemistry Corrosion Cell We have already discussed scaling, so we will be primarily concerned with corrosion in the rest of this lesson. Corrosion is an electrochemical reaction involving the movement of electrons. Let's first consider a more familiar electrochemical reaction - that which occurs when electricity comes out of a battery.

In a battery, electrons build up in the negative end, also known as the anode. The positive end, known as the cathode, is attractive to electrons due to its positive charge. If the two ends of the battery are connected with a conductive object, such as a metal wire through which electrons can flow, the electrons will flow from the anode to the cathode as an electric current. The battery and the wire make up what is known as an electrolytic cell,

which is a device which causes an electric current to flow. Corrosion in a metal object, such as a pipe, acts in the same manner. A negative area of metal (the anode) is connected to a positive area (the cathode) by the pipe wall itself. As a result, electrons can flow from the anode to the cathode.

In addition to the anode, the cathode, and the connecting conductive material, the electrochemical reaction requires one more element - the electrolyte. The electrolyte is a conducting solution, which in the case of a pipe is the water within the pipe with its dissolved salts. (In a battery, the electrolyte is found within the battery - the "battery acid".) The electrolyte accepts the electrons from the cathode, making the cathode maintain a positive charge which draws more electrons to it. So, in summary, any electrochemical reaction requires four elements, all of which must be in contact - the anode, the cathode, the conductive material, and the electrolyte. In the battery, the anode and cathode are the two ends of the battery, the conductive material is a wire or other object touching both ends, and the electrolyte is found inside the battery. In the case of corrosion of a pipe, the anode, cathode, and conductive material are all found in the pipe wall while the electrolyte is the water within the pipe. If any of these four elements, which make up the corrosion cell, are absent or are not touching each other, then corrosion cannot occur.

Anode Reactions

In the last section, we discussed the electrical side of the electrochemical reaction occurring during corrosion. In order for the flow of electrons to occur, however, chemical reactions must also be happening. In this lesson, we will consider the chemical reactions which occur in an iron pipe as it corrodes. Other types of pipes will have different, but homologous, chemical reactions driving their corrosion. The main force behind corrosion is the tendency of iron to break down into its natural state. The iron found in pipe is elemental iron (Fe0) which is unstable and tends to oxidize, to join with oxygen or other elements. In nature, this oxidation produces an iron ore such as hematite (Fe2O3), magnetite (Fe3O4), iron pyrite (FeS2), or siderite (FeCO3). In corrosion, the result of this oxidation is rust, Fe(OH)2 or Fe(OH)3. Oxidation of the elemental iron occurs at the anode. First, the elemental iron breaks down as shown below. In this reaction, elemental iron leaves the pipe, so pits form in the pipe's surface at the anode. Elemental Iron Ferrous iron + Electrons Fe0 Fe2+ + 2eThe reaction produces ferrous iron and two electrons. The electrons are then able to flow through the pipe wall to the cathode. Meanwhile, the ferrous iron reacts with the water (the electrolyte) in the pipe to produce rust and hydrogen ions. Ferrous iron + Water Ferrous hydroxide + Hydrogen ions Fe2+ + 2H2O Fe(OH)2 + 2H+

The rust builds up a coating over the anode's surface. Ferrous hydroxide may then react with more water to produce another form of rust called ferric hydroxide (Fe(OH)3). These layers of rust are what creates the tubercles we mentioned earlier. Tubercles can become problematic because they decrease the carrying capacity of the pipe and can be dislodged during high water flows, resulting in red water complaints. But in the corrosion process, the tubercle actually slows the rate of corrosion by cutting the anode off from the electrolyte. When the tubercle becomes dislodged and the anode comes in contact with water again, the corrosion rate increases.

Cathode Reactions

The electrons from the breakdown of elemental iron flow through the pipe wall to the cathode. There, they leave the metal and enter the water by reacting with hydrogen ions and forming hydrogen gas: Hydrogen ions + Electrons Hydrogen gas 2H+ + 2e- H2 Hydrogen gas will coat the cathode and separate it from the water in a process called polarization. Just as the buildup of a tubercle breaks the connection between the anode and the electrolyte and slows the corrosion process, polarization breaks the connection between the cathode and the electrolyte and slows corrosion. Dissolved oxygen in the water is able to react with the hydrogen gas surrounding the cathode: Hydrogen gas + Oxygen Water 2H2 + O2 2H2O This reaction is called depolarization. Depolarization removes the hydrogen gas surrounding the cathode and speeds up the corrosion process. So, you can see why water high in dissolved oxygen is more corrosive.

The Electrochemical Reaction By combining the electrical and chemical reactions discussed above, we can see what is really happening during corrosion of a pipe.

Types of Corrosion Internal vs. External Corrosion Corrosion can occur on the outside of a pipe (due to corrosive soil) or on the inside of a pipe (due to corrosive water.) We will be most concerned with internal corrosion, although external corrosion is a similar process and can also cause problems in the distribution system. Either outside or inside a pipe, corrosion can have one of several causes. Each cause somehow sets up an anode and a cathode so that corrosion can occur. The creation of the corrosion cell can be through electrolysis, oxygen concentration cells, or through galvanic action.

Electrolysis In electrolysis, a D.C. electric current enters a metal pipe and causes flow of electrons through the pipe and to the ground. The pipe, fueled by the electric current, becomes the

anode while the soil becomes the cathode. The outside of the pipe corrodes, with the metal from the pipe plating out in the surrounding soil.

Electrolysis can occur when D.C. electric currents are grounded onto pipes. Nearby electric transit systems can also cause electrolysis.

Oxygen Concentration Cell More commonly, the water and its constituents may set up a corrosion cell within the pipe. These corrosion cells, known as oxygen concentration cells, result from varying oxygen concentration in the water. The portion of the pipe touching water with a low oxygen concentration becomes the anode while the part of the pipe in contact with a high oxygen concentration becomes the cathode. Oxygen concentration cells are probably the primary cause of corrosion in the distribution system. They may occur at dead ends in the distribution system where water is stagnant and loses its dissolved oxygen. Alternatively, oxygen concentration cells may begin in annular spaces, which are ring-shaped spaces between two pipes or between a pipe and a pipe lining. In every case, oxygen becomes depleted in these regions since they are cut

off from the normal flow of water, so a difference in oxygen concentration is set up between the dead end or annular space and the main flow of water. Oxygen concentration cells can also be caused by bits of dirt or bacteria. Both of these can become attached to the pipe walls, shielding the metal from dissolved oxygen in the water and setting up an anode.

Galvanic Corrosion Metals themselves can also set up corrosion cells. When a pipe consists of only one type of metal, impurities in the pipe wall can develop into anodes and cathodes. Alternatively, when two dissimilar metals come into contact, galvanic corrosion will occur. Galvanic corrosion is often set up in the distribution system in meter installations and at service connections and couplings. The galvanic series, shown below, arranges metals according to their tendency to corrode. This series can be used to determine whether galvanic corrosion is likely to occur and how strong the corrosion reaction will be.

As you can see on the series, some metals (such as gold and silver) are very inactive and unlikely to corrode. Many of these metals have been traditionally used as jewelry because of their low tendency to corrode even when in the presence of salts (in sweat) and oils

found on the human body. Although these inactive metals would make non-corrosive pipes, they are usually too expensive to use in the distribution system. At the other end of the galvanic series are metals which are very active and have a high tendency to corrode. These metals can be used as sacrificial anodes, which we will discuss later. They should not be used for distribution system pipes. Most of the metals used in piping - iron, steel, and copper - are found in the middle of the galvanic series. These metals have some tendency to corrode, with those higher on the galvanic series (such as iron and steel) tending more toward corrosion. The distance on the galvanic series between two metals will also influence the likelihood of galvanic corrosion when the two metals are placed in conjunction with each other. For example, if aluminum is brought in contact with a steel pipe, the likelihood of corrosion is low since aluminum and steel are close together on the galvanic series. However, if a stainless steel fitting is used on an iron pipe, the likelihood of corrosion is much higher. When galvanic corrosion occurs, the more active metals always become the anodes. This means that they are corroded, and in extreme cases can begin to leak. The less active metal becomes the cathode and is not damaged.

Characteristics Influencing Corrosion Introduction Corrosion in the distribution system is a very complex situation which is influenced by many water characteristics, by the metals used, and by any stray electrical current. We will briefly describe the influence of each characteristic in the following sections. You may want to refer back to the explanation of the chemistry behind corrosion in order to understand some of these factors better.

Primary Water Characteristics The chemical characteristics of the water flowing through a pipe will influence whether the water is stable and will also affect the extent of any corrosive reaction. Primary factors include alkalinity, hardness, and pH, but oxidizing agents, carbon dioxide, and dissolved solids can also influence corrosion and will be discussed in the next section.

Alkalinity, hardness, and pH interact to determine whether the water will produce scale or corrosion or will be stable. The table below summarizes characteristics of corrosive water and of scale-forming water. Corrosive Water

Scale-forming Water

low pH soft or with primarily noncarbonate hardness low alkalinity

high pH hard with primarily carbonate hardness high alkalinity

In general, corrosion is the result of water with a low pH. Acidic waters have lots of H+ ions in the water to react with the electrons at the cathode, so corrosion is enhanced. In contrast, water with a higher pH (basic water) lowers the solubility of calcium carbonate so that the calcium carbonate is more likely to precipitate out as scale. Scaling, as mentioned in the last lesson, tends to be the result of water with a high hardness. Hard water typically contains a lot of calcium compounds which can precipitate out as calcium carbonate. However, if the hardness in the water is primarily noncarbonate, the chlorate and sulfate ions will tend to keep the calcium in solution and will prevent scale formation. Alkalinity is a measure of how easily the pH of the water can be changed, so it can be considered to be a mitigating influence with regards to pH. Water with a high alkalinity is more likely to be scale-forming even at a relatively low pH. In contrast, low alkalinity waters lack the buffering capacity to deal with acids, so they can easily become acidic and corrosive.

The graph above is known as the Baylis Curve. It shows the relationship between pH, alkalinity, and water stability. Water above the lines is scale-forming while water below the lines is corrosive. Stable water is found in the white area between the lines.

Secondary Water Characteristics Other chemicals and compounds found in water also influence the corrosion process. The most common of these are oxygen, carbon dioxide, and dissolved solids. Oxygen, as you will remember, reacts with hydrogen gas at the cathode, causing depolarization and speeding up the corrosion. As a result, water with a high D.O. (dissolved oxygen) will tend to be corrosive. Other oxidizing agents can perform the same function, although they are less common. Nitrates and chlorine are two other oxidizing agents found in water. Carbon dioxide in water also tends to cause corrosion. The carbon dioxide gas can combine with water to form carbonic acid, which lowers the pH of the water. As mentioned in the last section, a low pH promotes corrosion. Dissolved solids are typically present in water as ions. These ions increase the electrical conductivity of the water, making the electrolyte more effective. Thus, they will increase the rate of corrosion.

Physical Water Characteristics In addition to the chemical properties of water, physical characteristics will influence corrosion. The most important of these physical characteristics are temperature and velocity of flow. Temperature speeds up the rate of corrosion just as it does most other reactions. However, the effect of temperature on corrosion can be more complex. A high water temperature reduces the solubility of calcium carbonate in water, which promotes scale formation and slows corrosion. Temperature also alters the form of corrosion. Pits and tubercles tend to form in cold water while hot water promotes uniform corrosion. Uniform corrosion spreading across the entire surface of a pipe is far less problematic than tuberculation, so high temperatures can actually seem to slow the corrosive process. The influence of flow velocity on corrosion is also rather complex. Moderate flow rates are the most beneficial since they promote the formation of scale without breaking loose tubercles. At low flow velocities, corrosion is increased and tends to be in the form of

tuberculation due to the prevalence of oxygen concentration cell corrosion. At very high flow velocities, abrasion of the water against the pipe tends to wear the pipe away in a very different form of corrosion. High flow velocities also remove protective scale and tubercles and increase the contact of the pipe with oxygen, all of which will increase the rate of corrosion.

Bacteria Bacteria can both cause and accelerate the rate of corrosion. In general, bacterial colonies on pipe walls accelerate corrosion below them due to oxygen cell concentration, causing increased pitting and tuberculation. Like humans, some bacteria produce carbon dioxide, which can combine with water to become carbonic acid and accelerate corrosion. The bacterial colonies also block the deposition of calcium carbonate scale on the pipe walls.

A colony of iron bacteria. There are two main types of corrosion-related bacteria, each of which causes its own set of additional corrosion problems. Iron bacteria use the ferrous iron created at the anode, converting it into rust which they deposit in the slime around their cells. Since they use up the ferrous iron, this increases the rate of corrosion. Their slime can also come loose during high flow velocities, causing red water complaints and a bad smell. Sulfate-reducing bacteria use up sulfate in the water to produce hydrogen sulfide. Hydrogen sulfide is an acid which can react with metals, causing corrosion. In addition, the sulfides produce a distinctive rotten egg smell.

Other Factors Factors other than water characteristics and bacteria can also influence corrosion. Characteristics of the metal pipe and electrical currents are common causes of corrosion. We have already discussed many corrosion-related characteristics of metal in the section on galvanic corrosion. To summarize, metals higher on the galvanic series tend to be more corrosive while metals further apart on the series are more likely to cause galvanic corrosion. In galvanic corrosion, the size of the cathode in relation to the anode has a large influence on corrosion as well. Larger cathodes tend to promote corrosion by speeding the electrical current's flow. When a system has very small anodes and large cathodes, corrosion is so rapid at the anodes that pinholes tend to form all the way through the metal. Stray electrical current can cause electrolytic corrosion. Electrolysis usually causes problems on the outsides of pipes.

Testing Corrosion Indicators Every treatment plant should have a corrosion control plan for its distribution system. This system may be as simple as long-term monitoring of the water to determine if water is corrosive, or it can include a complex array of chemicals or equipment. Here, we will consider methods used to monitor the stability of water. The most common indicators of corrosion in the distribution system are red water complaints and leaks. If the incidence of these problems increases in a certain area of the distribution system, then some sort of corrosion control may need to be undertaken. Red water is usually caused by tuberculation and iron bacteria while leaks are caused by the pitting below tubercles. However, the operator should be aware of other possible causes of these problems. High iron concentrations in the source water can cause red water problems while leaks can be caused by corrosive soil acting on the outside of the pipes as well as by corrosive water acting on the inside of the pipes. During routine maintenance of the distribution system, the operator should watch out for signs of corrosion and scale. When pipes are removed and replaced, the old pipes should be visually examined for signs of tubercles, pitting, or uniform corrosion, and for excessive scaling.

Long-Term Testing More active forms of corrosion monitoring include coupons and tests for flow, dissolved oxygen, and heavy metals. These tests will determine whether the treated water is corrosive over a span of a few months (in the case of coupons), weeks (for flow tests), or immediately.

Coupons, like the one shown above, are small pieces of the same type of metal used in the distribution system piping. These coupons are inserted into pipes at various locations in the distribution system and are left in place for about three months to give adequate time for corrosion to occur. By weighing the coupon before and after the test period, the amount of metal lost from the coupon due to corrosion can be determined. This is a simple method of corrosion monitoring which is widely used in many distribution systems. Flow monitoring can also be used to detect corrosion. A new piece of pipe is placed in service and the flow of water through the pipe is measured over time. If the flow becomes lower after a few weeks, then either tubercles or scale have formed on the inside of the pipe, decreasing the area available to carry water.

Short-Term Testing Dissolved oxygen and toxic heavy metals in the distribution system can be used as indicators of corrosion over a much shorter time frame. There are also a range of tests done at the water treatment plant to determine whether water is stable. Dissolved oxygen is tested at various points in the distribution system at the same time. If the dissolved oxygen concentration becomes lower further from the treatment plant, then the oxygen is probably being used up by corrosion. However, the operator should be aware of the possibility that D.O. is being used to oxidize organic matter. Toxic heavy metals, such as copper and lead, are tested at the consumer's tap. High concentrations of these metals in the water indicate corrosion in the distribution system, although in a few cases the metals may have originated in the source water.

Finally, water can be tested directly to determine whether it is stable. Both the Langelier Index and theMarble Test are laboratory tests which can determine the degree of calcium carbonate saturation in the water at the treatment plant. Water which is just saturated with calcium carbonate or which is slightly supersaturated with calcium carbonate is considered stable and safe to release into the distribution system.

Treatment Chemical Treatment Treatment of corrosive water can be either chemical or physical. In this section, we will discuss chemical methods of corrosion control. These chemical are either meant to stabilize the water, to form a protective film on the pipe surface, or to kill problematic bacteria. Stabilizing the water is often the simplest form of corrosion control. When stabilizing corrosive water, the operator usually adds alkalinity in the form of lime, soda ash, or caustic soda. The goal is to saturate or slightly supersaturate the water with calcium carbonate so that it is stable or slightly scale-forming. When these chemicals are used to stabilize water, they should be fed after filtration to prevent cementing of the filter sand and may be fed before, during, or after chlorination. Corrosion inhibitors are used to form thin protective films on pipe walls, which will prevent corrosion. The chemicals used for this purpose are more expensive than lime, but also prevent scale which can be a problem when feeding stabilizing chemicals into the water. Sodium silicate is sometimes used by individual customers as an inhibitor but is not widely used by utilities. Glassy phosphates such as sodium hexametaphosphate or tetrasodium pyrophosphate are more widely used, but can increase corrosion rates. Both types of inhibitors require continual application into the water, so dead ends in the distribution system must be flushed at intervals to ensure that fresh water containing the inhibitors reaches these areas as well. A large amount of the inhibitor chemicals ends up forming the film on the pipe walls, but some ends up in the drinking water, though this is not a problem since all inhibitor chemicals are considered safe. If bacteria are a major component of the corrosion problem, then proper disinfection may be part or all of the answer. Maintaining an adequate chlorine residual in the distribution system will kill the bacteria and prevent corrosion.

Physical Protection Physical protection against corrosion may be very simple or very complex. On the simple end of the spectrum, corrosion can be prevented by breaking the corrosion cell circuit in some manner. Metal pipes can be replaced with nonmetals which are non-conductive and will not corrode. Alternatively, pipes may be lined with portland cement or bituminous or asphaltic compounds to prevent the water from reaching the metal, serving the same purpose. If galvanic corrosion is a problem, then the two metals can be separated by dielectric couplings. Dielectric couplings are plastic, ceramic, or other non-conductive sections used between the two different types of metal. Since electrons cannot flow through the dielectric coupling, it breaks the circuit and prevents corrosion.

Cathodic protection using a sacrificial anode. At the more expensive and complicated end of the protection spectrum is cathodic protection, which is the introduction of a different electrical circuit into the pipe. Some cathodic protection systems operate as shown in the picture above, by introducing a sacrificial anode into the pipe. A sacrificial anode is a piece of very active metal (usually zinc or magnesium) which is more galvanically active than any other metal in the system. The sacrificial anode will be the only metal corroded, and even previously active anodes on the pipe wall will become cathodes and will thus be protected. Since the sacrificial anodes slowly corrode away, they must be replaced at intervals, which is the only form of maintenance required on the protection system.

Alternatively, some cathodic protection systems involve the introduction of an external direct current source, known as a rectifier. The rectifier creates a very strong anode since it is constantly producing electrons (an electric current.) This turns the rest of the pipe into a cathode, which prevents any corrosion in the pipe. To complete the circuit, the pipe must be connected back to the rectifier. Direct current cathodic protection systems have been developed which are fully automatic and will compensate for any changes without operator control. However, they also tend to be very expensive to install.

Review Stable water is neither scale-forming nor corrosive, both of which characteristics create problems in the distribution system. Scale forms when calcium carbonate precipitates out of hard water. Corrosion occurs when an anode, cathode, conductive connection, and electrolyte create a corrosive cell. In the corrosive cell, the metal of the pipe is oxidized in a series of reactions, producing rust Corrosion inside a pipe can be caused by electrolysis, oxygen concentration cells, or galvanic corrosion. Many factors can influence the corrosion, including pH, hardness, alkalinity, oxidizing agents, carbon dioxide, dissolved solids, temperature, velocity of flow, bacteria, metal characteristics, and stray electric currents. Corrosion testing includes monitoring red water complaints and leaks; inspecting old pipes; using coupons; testing flow, dissolved oxygen, and heavy metals; and using the Langelier Index and Marble Test. Chemical treatment involves addition of chemicals to stabilize the

water, use of inhibitors to form a protective film on pipes, or addition of disinfectants. Physical protection either breaks the corrosive cell or consists of cathodic protection.

References Alabama Department of Environmental Management. 1989. Water Works Operator Manual. Kerri, K.D. 2002. Water Treatment Plant Operation. California State University: Sacramento. Ragsdale and Associates. Version III. New Mexico Water Systems Operator Certification Study Guide. NMED Surface Water Quality Bureau: Santa Fe.

Assignments Complete Assignment 8 on Corrosion Control. You may do the Assignment online to get credit or print it out and send it to the instructor.

Quiz Answer the questions in the Lesson 8 quiz . When you have gotten all the answers correct, print the page and either mail or fax it to the instructor. You may also take the quiz online and submit your grade directly into the database for grading purposes. Objective In this lesson we will answer the following questions:

How does taste and odor control fit into the water treatment process? How does trihalomethane control fit into the water treatment process? What methods can be used to control taste, odor, and trihalomethanes?

Reading Assignment Along with the online lesson, read Chapter 9: Taste and Odor Control, in your textbook Operation of Water Treatment Plants Volume I . Lecture Taste and Odor Control Programs Introduction Taste and odor in drinking water are two of the most widespread causes of customer complaints. Although there are no associated health effects, the extensive public relations difficulties resulting from taste and odor make it important to treat these problems. Treatment involves the implementation of a taste and odor control program, which should be found at every treatment plant. Under some circumstances, this program may be as simple as routinely monitoring for taste and odor problems and performing preventive maintenance on the system. In other cases, treatment is more complex and can involve special equipment to treat the taste and odor problems. We will first consider prevention and testing, which are at the core of the taste and odor control program. Later in this lesson, we will introduce various techniques which can be used for active treatment of taste and odor problems. In any case, an understanding of the causes of taste and odors in water will make treatment more effective. Causes of Taste and Odor Taste and odor can enter water in a variety of manners. Surface water sources can become contaminated through algal blooms or through industrial wastes or domestic sewage introducing taste- and odor-causing chemicals into the water. Groundwater supplies can be afflicted with dissolved minerals, such as iron and manganese, which enter the water when it passes through rocks underground. Tastes and odors can also enter either type of water in the raw water transmission system and in the treatment plant due to algal growths, accumulated debris and sludge, or disinfection byproducts. The distribution system can have many of the same causes of taste and odor mentioned above, with the addition of problems resulting from cross-connections and low flow zones. The table below lists some of the chemicals which cause the most common taste and odor problems in water. Chemical cause Geosmin Taste/odor earthy or grassy odors Origin Produced by actinomycetes, blue-green algae, and green algae. Produced by actinomycetes and blue-green

2-Methylisoborneol musty odor

(MIB) 2t, 4c, 7c-decatrienal fishy odor Chlorine Chloramines Aldehydes Phenols and Chlorophenols Iron Manganese Hydrogen sulfide Methane gas Prevention

algae. Produced by blue-green algae. bleach, chlorinous, or Addition of chlorine as a disinfectant. medicinal taste and odor swimming pool, bleach, Addition of chlorine and ammonia as a or geranium odor disinfectant. fruity odor pharmaceutical or medicinal taste rusty or metallic taste rusty or metallic taste rotten egg odor garlic taste Ozonation of water for disinfection. Phenols usually originate in industrial waste. Chlorophenols are formed when phenols react with disinfecting chlorine. Minerals in the ground. Minerals in the ground. Produced by anaerobic microorganisms in surface water or by sulfates in the ground. Decomposition of organic matter.

Algal bloom The best way to treat taste and odor problems is prevention. Algal blooms in reservoirs can be prevented by using copper sulfate while algae growing on walls of the treatment plant basins can be removed through shock treatment with chlorine. Since hydrogen sulfide is produced during anaerobic conditions, preventing these conditions in the reservoir, the distribution system, and in sludge in the sedimentation basin will prevent hydrogen sulfide formation. In the distribution system, periodic flushing and maintaining an adequate chlorine residual will keep the pipes clean and odor free.

Testing An integral part of any taste and odor control program is testing the water for taste and odor problems. The two methods used for these tests - the Threshold Odor Test and the Flavor Profile Analysis - are far more subjective than the methods used to test other water characteristics since both the Threshold Odor Test and the Flavor Profile Analysis depend on human perception of the taste and odor in the water. However, despite the difficulty of performing the tests objectively, they still provide valuable information which can help the operator determine what is causing the taste or odor problem, how concentrated the problematic chemical is, and how the problem should be treated. The Threshold Odor Test is used to determine the amount of odor found in water. During the procedure, the water being tested is diluted with odor-free water and is smelled. The dilutions continue until no odor can be discerned. The last dilution at which odor is detected determines the Threshold Odor Number (TON), which is a measure of the amount of odor in the water. If several people independently perform the Threshold Odor Test, the averaged TON can be relatively accurate.

Flavor Profile Analysis While the Threshold Odor Test is used to determine the concentration of odor-causing problems in water, the Flavor Profile Analysis can be used to determine which tastes and odors are present in water. This test uses a panel of trained judges who taste the water and list which tastes they can detect. Since the tastes present are described carefully, the Flavor Profile Analysis can be helpful in determining which chemicals are at the root of the problem. These tests can be performed to find the source of a particular problem or as part of routine monitoring. To find the source of a problem, the water should be tested at various locations, from the source water to the customer's tap. In contrast, routine monitoring can be less intensive but requires good record-keeping. Past records can help the operator predict seasonal variations in taste and odor problems so that he can prevent problems before they reach the customer. Records of past treatment methods can make it much easier to determine which treatment methods will be effective during current outbreaks.

Trihalomethanes

While not a taste and odor problem, we will discuss trihalomethanes in this lesson because they can sometimes be treated with the same methods used for taste and odor control. As you will remember, trihalomethanes are by-products of chlorination and include several chemicals such as chloroform, bromodichloromethane, dibromochloromethane, and bromoform. Since these substances are suspected to cause cancer in humans, their concentrations in drinking water are carefully controlled. Trihalomethanes are formed when organic compounds in the water come in contact with chlorine. The organic matter is primarily humic substances, the organic part of the soil which results from the decay of plant matter. Humic substances are more likely to be found in surface water than in groundwater since they can enter water from algae, leaves, bark, wood, or soil. Treatment methods include prevention of trihalomethane formation, removal of trihalomethanes from treated water, or removal of trihalomethane precursors (humic substances) before chlorine is added to the water. The first treatment method - prevention involves using a disinfectant other than chlorine to treat water. If the equipment for other types of treatment are not already available at the treatment plant, then using an alternative disinfectant is usually the most economical option for trihalomethane control. The methods used to remove trihalomethanes or trihalomethane precursors will be discussed in the rest of this lesson since the same methods can be used for taste and odor control. If treatment involves removing only trihalomethanes themselves, it should be realized that more trihalomethanes can form when the chlorine residual reacts with organics in the distribution system. Therefore, it is most effective to remove the precursors before the trihalomethanes have a chance to form. Active Treatment Methods Introduction The choice of an active treatment method for taste and odor problems depends on the cause of the problem. In addition, some methods can be used to solve other problems, such as trihalomethane formation, which should be factored into the choice of a treatment method. Active treatment may involve optimizing plant processes, using ion exchange units, air stripping, performing chemical or mechanical oxidation, or performing adsorption.

Optimizing Plant Processes Chlorine smells are one of the most common problems reported by water customers and are also one of the simplest odor problems to treat. Chlorine smells can be dealt with by

simply optimizing the chlorine dosage. If the tastes and odors are associated with color and turbidity or with floating algae, then optimizing the coagulation/flocculation, sedimentation, and filtration processes may take care of the problem. This is often the simplest and most economical treatment method for taste and odor problems since the equipment is already in place. In addition, these typical plant processes can remove trihalomethane precursors in many cases if prechlorination is not used at the treatment plant.

Ion Exchange Ion exchange units are not usually used for taste and odor removal but can be used to remove trihalomethane precursors if anion exchange resins are used. However, this process can be expensive and creates the problem of waste disposal.

Air Stripping Volatile compounds can sometimes be removed from water using aerators which strip the compounds from the water. This technique is usually more helpful at controlling odors than tastes, and is very effective at removing hydrogen sulfide. Trihalomethanes can be removed from water using aeration if the aeration follows chlorination. However, in that type of setup, the operator must be aware that passing air through treated water can add contamination back into the water.

Oxidation Oxidation is another frequently used method to remove tastes, odors, and trihalomethane precursors. Oxidation can be either mechanical (using an aerator) or chemical (by adding chlorine, potassium permanganate, ozone, or chlorine dioxide.) Use of aerators is usually only effective at removing tastes associated with iron and manganese. In other cases, chemicals must be used. Chlorine is the most widespread chemical used for oxidation of tastes and odors since chlorine is already in use in many treatment plants as a disinfectant. When using chlorine

to oxidize taste and odor problems, the dosage of chlorine must be greater than that used for disinfection, a method calledsuperchlorination. After superchlorination has removed the taste and odor problems, the excess chlorine must be removed from the water, which can be achieved using granular activated carbon (which will be discussed later.) Chlorination can deal with fishy, grassy, or flowery odors and with iron and hydrogen sulfide. However, chlorination can make some problems worse, especially those caused by phenols. And, of course, chlorination will increase the trihalomethane concentration. Other chemicals used for oxidation include potassium permanganate, chlorine dioxide, and ozone. Potassium permanganate is used to treat organic contaminants while chlorine dioxide does well against phenolic and algal tastes. Ozone is a very strong oxidant which will treat more problems than chlorine and lacks the objectionable by-products. All of these methods can also be used to remove or modify trihalomethane precursors, but with variable efficiency.

Adsorption The final treatment method we will discuss is adsorption. As you will remember from the filtration lesson, adsorption occurs when Van der Waal's forces pull contaminants out of the water to stick them onto the surface of some other material. This material, known as the adsorbent, has a very large surface area to allow the removal of large amounts of contaminants. Adsorbents use large pores, such as the one shown below, to increase their surface area.

Several different materials can be used as adsorbents in water treatment. The most widespread of these materials is activated carbon which is formed when carbon from wood, coal, peat, or nut shells is exposed to heat in the absence of oxygen. Activated carbon has been used medicinally since 1500 BC in Egypt and is now used in over a quarter of water treatment plants across the U.S. The popularity of activated carbon stems from its lack of specificity which allows it to treat many different taste and odor problems. We will discuss activated carbon in more depth in a later section. The other two types of adsorbents are activated alumina and synthetic resins, both of which are typically used as filter media. Activated alumina is used to remove excess fluoride

from water as well as to remove arsenic and selenium. Synthetic resins are more relevant to this lesson since they can remove trihalomethanes from water. However, synthetic resins are very costly and their use is still in the developmental stages. Types of Activated Carbon Powdered Activated Carbon

Powdered activated carbon, or PAC, is a form of activated carbon with a very small particle size. Treatment involves adding PAC to water, allowing the PAC to interact with contaminants in the water, then removing the PAC by sedimentation or filtration. The feed location of PAC can be at any point prior to filtration. The most common locations are in the flash mixer or flocculator since these pieces of equipment will mix the PAC into the water very well. However, some plants feed PAC just before filtration so that the PAC will form a layer on top of the filter and ensure that all water comes in contact with the activated carbon. Adding PAC just before filtration can cause problems, though, since the small PAC particles can pass through the filters and cause dirty water complaints from customers or can cake filters and result in reduced filter runs. Regardless of the feed location, PAC can be added to water using either a dry feeder or as a slurry. Dry feeders are most often used in small plants when PAC is fed at intervals in response to periodic taste and odor problems. In contrast, slurries (mixtures of PAC with water) are used in larger plants or when PAC is fed continuously. Since it is difficult to make the PAC mix with water, the mixer should have an overhead spray system. The effectiveness of PAC in adsorbing tastes and odors depends on adequate mixing, contact time, dosage, and on the cause and concentration of the taste/odor problem. Mixing and contact time are determined by the location at which the PAC is added in the treatment process, so adjustments made by the operator will usually involve only dosage adjustments. The dosage usually ranges from 1 to 15 mg/L but must be much higher, in the range of 100 mg/L or more, when the PAC is being used to remove trihalomethanes or trihalomethane precursors. The operator chooses an appropriate dosage using jar tests and the results from odor and taste tests.

If PAC is fed as a slurry, then the actual concentration of PAC in each slurry tank will be different and an accurate dosage can be difficult to determine. In that case, an imhoff cone, such as the one shown above, can be used to determine the concentration of PAC in the slurry. Slurry is placed in the cone and is allowed to sit while PAC settles to the bottom of the cone. The amount of PAC can be measured using the gradations on the side of the imhoff cone.

Granular Activated Carbon

Granular activated carbon, also known as GAC, has a larger particle size than PAC with an associated greater surface area. Like PAC, GAC can remove trihalomethane precursors as well as taste and odor compounds.

GAC Contactor GAC is used as a filter medium, either as a layer in a rapid-sand filter or in a separate filter known as acontactor. When contactors are used, the contactor is placed downstream of the filter so that turbidity won't clog the contactor. Like filters, contactors must be designed to provide adequate contact time of water with the filter medium. This is done by calculating the empty bed contact time, or EBCT, which is calculated similarly to detention time, as the volume of the filter divided by the flow rate. The calculation is called "empty bed contact time" because the volume taken up by the GAC in the contactor is not taken into account. Empty bed contact time should be about ten minutes. During operation of a GAC filter or contactor, a variety of factors must be monitored. If the GAC is part of a filter designed to remove particulate matter as well as to adsorb tastes and odors, then the effluent turbidity should be monitored. Similarly, the taste and odor contaminants in the effluent should be monitored to determine whether the GAC is operating properly. The operator should make regular checks for bacteria since microorganisms often grow on GAC filters and result in clogging problems. Finally, head loss must be monitored as it would be for any other filter to determine when the unit needs to be backwashed. Washing a GAC filter involves backwashing with a 50% bed expansion and surface washing. Although GAC filters can be operated like a rapid sand filter in most ways, backwashing and surface washing are not the only cleaning required for the units. The entire surface of the GAC will eventually become covered with contaminants, just as a softener's resin will become covered with magnesium and calcium ions. A GAC filter can typically operate for months or years before reaching this state, depending on the contaminant levels in the influent water. Once the GAC has reached its adsorption capacity, it must be regenerated using the same heating process used to activate the carbon. In many plants, GAC is simply replaced rather than investing in the equipment required for regeneration.

Choosing a Type of Activated Carbon GAC and PAC each have advantages and disadvantages. In general, PAC is used more often due to the low initial cost and to the flexibility of dosage which allows the PAC concentration to be adjusted to deal with changing contaminant levels. However, PAC has a high operating cost if used continuously, cannot be regenerated, produces large quantities of sludge, and can break through filters to cause dirty water complaints by the customers. In addition, the dust resulting from the small particles of PAC make handling difficult, as does the flammability of the particles. GAC becomes a more economical choice in larger systems or where taste and odor must be controlled continuously. Disadvantages of GAC include a high initial cost to buy the filter or contactor, and the tendency of GAC filters to grow bacteria.

Review Tastes and odors can be caused by algae or bacteria, industrial waste, dissolved minerals, or disinfection reactions. Control programs are necessary at every treatment plant and may include prevention, monitoring, and active treatment. Many of the active treatment methods can also be used to treat trihalomethanes. Active treatment methods for trihalomethane, taste, and odor control include optimizing existing plant processes, ion exchange, air stripping, oxidation, and adsorption. Activated carbon is a commonly used adsorption method. Two types of activated carbon used in water treatment are PAC and GAC.

References Alabama Department of Environmental Management. 1989. Water Works Operator Manual. Hou, J., and B. Clancy. 1997. Taste and Odor Problems in Water Treatment. Virginia Tech: Blacksburg. Kerri, K.D. 2002. Water Treatment Plant Operation. California State University:

Sacramento. Letterman, R.D., ed. 1999. Water Quality and Treatment: A Handbook of Community Water Supplies. McGraw-Hill, Inc.: New York.

Assignments Complete Assignment 9 on Taste and Odor Control. You may do the Assignment online to get credit or print it out and send it to the instructor.

Quiz Answer the questions in the Lesson 9 quiz . When you have gotten all the answers correct, print the page and either mail or fax it to the instructor. You may also take the quiz online and submit your grade directly into the database for grading purposes.

Lesson 10: Water Tank Design and Maintenance

Objective In this lesson we will answer the following questions:

What are the advantages and disadvantages of different types of storage tanks? How are storage tanks designed? How is corrosion controlled in storage tanks? What does the process of tank maintenance involve?

Reading Assignment Along with the online lesson, look over Chapter 10: Plant Operationl, in your textbook Operation of Water Treatment Plants Volume I .

Lecture Types of Water Tanks Introduction As explained in Lesson 8, storage tanks are an important part of any distribution system. Water can be pumped into the tank during periods of low demand and then pumped out of the tank into the distribution system during periods of peak demand. In addition, storage tanks can provide the water pressure in the distribution system. The two types of storage tanks are ground level tanks and elevated tanks. Elevated storage facilities are also divided into two types - standpipes and tanks. In this section, we will consider the pros and cons of various types of water tanks.

Ground Tanks In the last lesson, we considered the merits of elevated storage tanks. However, in many cases, water is stored in reservoirs located at ground level due to a lower initial cost of construction, a lower maintenance cost, the ease with which water quality can be tested, greater safety, and a greater aesthetic value. The primary disadvantage of a ground tank is a lack of water pressure. The water in ground tanks is not put under a significant amount of pressure unless the tank is located at a high elevation, such as on top of a hill. Any pressure in a ground tank must be maintained through directly pumping the water. The continuous pumping can be costly and also means that water pressure in the distribution system will drop if the pumps have to be shut down.

Elevated Tanks As mentioned in Lesson 8, elevated tanks have many advantages. Elevated tanks do not require the continuous operation of pumps. Short term pump shutdown does not affect water pressure in the distribution system since the pressure is maintained by gravity. And strategic location of the tank can equalize water pressures in the distribution system. However, precise water pressure can be difficult to manage in some elevated tanks.

The pressure of the water flowing out of an elevated tank depends on the depth of the water in the tank. A nearly empty tank probably will not provide enough pressure while a completely full tank may provide too much pressure. The optimal pressure is achieved at only one depth.

The optimal depth of water for the purpose of producing pressure is even more specific for standpipes than for tanks elevated on legs. The length of the standpipe causes continual and highly unequal pressures on the distribution system. In addition, a significant quantity of the water in a standpipe is required to produce the necessary water pressure. The water below a certain level is therefore used only as a support, unless booster pumps are available for emergency use of this water. Tank Design Many factors must be considered when designing a water tank. The structural stability of the tank, the type and design of other equipment for operation, and the location of the tank must be considered in all cases. When designing an elevated tank, the required elevation and the size and shape of structural members (legs, etc.) must also be taken into account. Capacity, or the volume of water which a tank can hold, is one of the most important design factors. The capacity can be determined through an analysis known as a "mass diagram" or through a graphical solution based on a study of hourly pumping. The graphical solution takes into account the peak water demand for one hour each day. Based on this peak hourly demand, a rate of demand can be calculated. The required capacity of the water tank will, in turn, depend on the calculated rate of demand and on an estimate of the future population of the area. Corrosion Control Corrosion Corrosion is another word for rust, the breakdown of metal. In a water tank, corrosion is due to an electrochemical reaction. An electrical current flows through the water from one point on the water tank's inner surface to another. The flow of the current results in corrosion of the tank's surface as some of the metal dissolves into the water. An ampere of

current flow in a water tank over a year's time can result in 20 to 24 pounds of steel being taken into solution.

A corroding water tank works in the same way as a battery. A battery has an anode and a cathode. The anode is an area which gives off electrons (negatively charged particles which make up a current.) The electrons flow from the negatively charged anode (-) to the positively charged cathode (+). In order to flow from the anode to the cathode, electrons must pass through what is called a closure circuit or an electrolyte, a substance which forms a bridge between the anode and cathode.

In a water tank, the steel wall of the tank is the anode. It gives off electrons which flow into the water. The water is the cathode and the surface of the tank is the closure circuit which connects the anode and cathode. As the electrons flow out of the steel wall of the tank, the tank corrodes. Over time, this corrosion can discolor the water and can result in leaks in the tank wall.

Corrosion of a tank is prevented in two ways. The inner wall of the tank can be coated with paint, which forms a physical barrier between cathode and anode and prevents the electrons from moving out of the steel wall. Corrosion can also be prevented by cathodic protection which introduces electrical currents from external sources to counteract the normal corrosion reactions. Both methods of corrosion control will be explained below.

Coatings The most common method of corrosion control is coating the tank wall with paint. The coating of paint forms a physical barrier between the tank wall and the water. As a result, electrons cannot flow from the tank wall into the water and the tank wall does not corrode.

Coatings will perform well in the majority of atmospheres. However, the coating should match the design of the facility in type and application and should be properly inspected. The American Water Works Association (AWWA) has standard specifications for maintenance and painting of storage facilities, including a list of coatings for interior and exterior surfaces. The coating must be repaired at regular intervals as part of the regular maintenance of the tank. Coatings fail when the protective barrier is broken or when the dielectric strength is not sufficient to withstand the electrical-driving force of the corrosion cell. Breaks may be caused by a variety of circumstances. The paint may be too thin or may have degraded through proximity to the environment. The coating may be porous and may not form a complete barrier. Or the paint may have been applied incompletely or improperly. If the surface was not properly cleaned before applying the paint, then breaks will occur since the paint will not adhere well to contaminated surfaces or to blisters. The procedure used to repair breaks in the coating will br discussed later in the section on maintenance.

Cathodic Protection

The other type of protection from corrosion, cathodic protection, has been in use since the mid-1930s. Cathodic protection systems now protect hundreds of thousands of miles of pipe and acres of steel buried in the ground or immersed in water. Since the first cathodic protection system was invented, fully automatic and error-free cathodic protection systems have been developed. These systems both control corrosion and increase the life of the coating systems. The modern, automatic systems do not require the operator to adjust the system for changing conditions, such as varying water levels, temperature, and coating effectiveness. Instead, the automatic system will automatically compensate for these changes.

A cathodic protection system consists of a power unit, an anode, and wiring between the power unit and anode and between the tank wall and the power unit, as shown above. The power unit is a direct current source, meaning that it converts electricity from alternating current to direct current, producing a continuous flow of electrons. The electrons are fed along a wire to an anode in the water tank. The anode disperses the electrons into the water, changing the potential of the water from positive to negative.

Since the water now has a negative potential, just like the metal of the tank walls, electrons do not flow out of the tank walls into the water. Instead, the electrons from the water flow into the tank walls and then along a wire back to the power source, completing the circuit.

In essence, the cathodic protection system has created a new corrosion battery. With the addition of the anode attached to the power source, the tank walls have become cathodes which take up, rather than lose, electrons. If the cathodic protection system is properly controlled, the surface of the tank will remain corrosion-free. Corrosion occurs only in the new anode, which is easily replaceable and relatively inexpensive. Commonly used materials for the anodes in the cathodic protection system are cast iron alloyed with 14.5% silicon, aluminum and platinum wire, and ribbon forms. When water tanks are not prone to freezing, cast iron and other long-life anodes are most commonly used. As with most other components of water systems, many factors must be considered when deciding on a cathodic protection system. The dimensions of the structure to be protected, the coating, and the water characteristics all factor into the type of system to be used. The manufacturer's representative will consider these factors and choose a system which will achieve full corrosion control without providing costly over-protection. A reliable company should be used which specializes in cathodic protection and which has a service organization within one day's travel time of the tank's location. When buying a cathodic protection system, a service agreement should also be considered.

Advantages and Disadvantages Cathodic protection systems are an economic alternative to periodic repainting and the associated downtime for repair. The systems are being used quite extensively and have proved to be dependable when appropriately sized, installed, and maintained. However, cathodic protection systems will only protect the area of the tank interior where the water comes in direct contact with the metal tank wall. The area of the tank above the water line will not be protected and can still corrode. In addition, the bottom of tanks are usually covered with silt, debris, and sand of varying depths. The tank bottom below this debris covering will not be protected unless the covering is removed before installing the cathodic protection system. Coatings and cathodic protection have often stood on opposite sides of a fence as exclusive and opposing approaches to corrosion protection. Proponents of coatings often discount the advantages of cathodic protection and claim that a good, well-applied coating is the only necessary protection for steel. On the other hand, proponents of cathodic protection systems claim that any immersed or buried metal structure can best be protected by a wellengineered cathodic protection installation. Under many conditions, both sides may be correct in their assertions. However, under many more commonly occurring conditions, the ideal corrosion protection is actually a combination of both protection concepts. Maintenance

Purpose of Tank Maintenance Every water tank must be periodically maintained in order to ensure long life of the tank and quality water within the tank. Some tanks, such as the reinforced concrete tanks often used for ground level or standpipe reservoirs, have lower maintenance costs over the life of the structure when compared with steel tanks. But all types of tanks require at least some maintenance. Maintenance can be considered a cost-saving measure. Periodic maintenance is usually much cheaper than the large repairs which will be necessary in un-maintained tanks. The cost of inspection is an insurance policy against premature failure of the tank. The tank's paint coating requires the most maintenance since it must be replaced periodically. When the coating is not well maintained, the tank will have to be repaired. Repair will usually cost two and a half times more than the cost of the original coating. In addition to the financial cost associated with replacing badly maintained coats of paint, the coatings applied on such surfaces are usually lower in quality due to adverse application conditions. Seventy five percent of all coating failures are attributable to deficient surface preparation or to improper application of the paint. These failures lead to downtimes during which the tank cannot be used while it is being repaired. The downtime and loss of facility production can lead to potentially staggering costs. Formal coating inspections and the associated maintenance will vastly increase the probability of achieving a successful coat application that will protect for the design life of the system. They will prevent costly repairs and are financially responsible in the long run.

Maintenance Inspection Tanks must be inspected at intervals as the first step of the maintenance procedure. The purpose of the inspection is to determine if repairs are required and, if so, the exact nature and extent of the work required. Inspection of water tanks is expensive, but the cost is insignificant compared to the cost of premature failure of the tank. A thorough inspection must be performed every two or three years on the entire structure. Some facilities choose to have annual inspections, as will be discussed later in this section. In addition, inspections should be performed during the construction of new water tanks and during any repair, painting, and disinfection. In many cases, inspection is considered to be a non-essential part of the maintenance process. Inspectors are often hired only after there has been a costly premature failure in the tank coating.

In other cases, initial planning for coating jobs includes qualified coat inspections, but the inspection contract is dropped as a cost-saving measure. The firm contracted to apply the coating then monitors itself or the tank owner's personnel schedule spot inspections. This inspection technique usually results in improperly applied coatings which will result in tank failure. Inspection should be considered a mandatory part of the maintenance procedure and should be conducted by an independent expert who will receive no benefit from any maintenance performed on the tank. In other words, if a tank is inspected by a painting contractor or a paint manufacturer, then the inspector will probably schedule more repaintings since he will benefit financially from each paint job. Such inspectors are not independent and should not be hired to perform inspections. The inspector should be well trained by a qualified organization. A professional engineer (see the American Water Works Association Standard D 101) will be able to evaluate the structure, the grouting, the welds, the formulations, the structural alignment, the paint conditions (inside and out), the leakage, the rod adjustment, any settling, and successfully complete a corrosion evaluation in accordance with D 101. The AWWA Standard: Painting Steel Water Storage Tanks includes a brief section on inspection which should be followed but which is not adequate as a basis for the entire inspection. The inspector should outline specific maintenance needed to restore the structure. This inspection should be the basis for all maintenance of the structure - only maintenance required by the inspector should be performed. In addition, a complete record of inspections and maintenance should be kept. Following the proper guidelines and selecting a qualified engineer to perform regular inspections will help avoid serious maintenance problems in the future.

Preparing for Maintenance Inspections determine the need for maintenance. Then the tank must be dewatered and the surface prepared for maintenance. The first step during many maintenance procedures is to drain all of the water out of the tank. Before dewatering any potable water storage vessel, notice should be given to the state's Department of Environmental Management to allow time for any problems to be resolved by state and local officials. Insurance carriers should also be notified before dewatering and inspection occurs. Next the structure must be prepared for maintenance. This preparation is a very important part of the process. If preparation is poor, the maintenance job will be poor. The interior and exterior surfaces must be cleaned of all rust scale, paint scale, blisters, rust, dirt, and

growths. This cleaning can be achieved through any of several methods - using wire scrapers, sand blasting, flame cleaning, and so on. After cleaning the surface, loose rivets must be replaced and damaged seams must be welded.

Painting To prevent rust, painting should begin as soon as possible after the structure is cleaned and repaired. A coat of rust-inhibitive primer should be painted on all bare surfaces first. If the surface preparation resulted in an extensive removal of old paint, then the primer coat should cover the entire surface. A protective coating should be applied on top of the primer coat. This protective coating is applied in a thickness ranging from five to fifteen thousandths of an inch and serves to protect the tank surface from the environment. The protective coating is composed of a vehicle containing solvents, resins, pigment and inert ingredients. The pigments add color, but may also perform a variety of other functions. The pigments may provide resistance to the sun's ultraviolet light and may enhance the physical properties of the paint and the gloss.

Curing The tank must be allowed to dry, or to cure, before being refilled with water and put back into service. The paint on the inside of the tank may take longer to cure, especially during the winter. Some types of paint, such as high build epoxies, will be problematic if applied during the winter. Instead, high solid vinyl should be used during these months since they will cure more reliably.

Sterilization If a tank has been emptied for inspection, cleaning, painting, or for any other purpose, the tank must be thoroughly sterilized before being put back into service. Outside demands should never be allowed to force a tank back into service before it is properly cured and disinfected. The structure should be thoroughly disinfected and chlorinated in accordance with Plumbing Codes before being used again. Bacteriological samples must be taken and approved and a copy of the report must be sent to the Health Department.

A suggested method for sterilizing a tank is explained below: 1. Fill the tank 1/2 to 3/4 of the way full of water.

2. Mix the disinfectant into about ten gallons of water and pour into the tank. The amount of disinfectant to be added will depend on the capacity of the tank. You should add 12 pounds of HTH or Perchloron or 10 gallons of 10% sodium hypochlorite for each 20,000 gallons of water that the tank will hold. So, if you are disinfecting a 75,000 gallon tank, you can either add 45 pounds of HTH, 45 pounds of Perchloron, or 37.5 gallons of sodium hypochlorite.

3. Completely fill the tank with water. This will evenly mix the disinfectant into the water.

4. Permit the tank to stand for 24 hours if possible, but for no less than 6 hours.

An alternative method may be used by experienced personnel: 1. Wash down all surfaces thoroughly. 2. Spray the bottom, side-walls, and top with a hypochlorite solution containing at least 200 ppm of chlorine. The person in the tank must take special precautions. He or she must wear an effective gas mask and must be roped to an attendant on the outside of the tank. 3. Fill the tank and collect samples for bacteriological analysis.

Annual Maintenance Service

Annual maintenance service contracts are an alternative to hiring an inspector to periodically inspect a water tank and recommend maintenance. Under this type of plan, a company is hired to clean the tank once a year, inspect the tank, and make all necessary repairs including painting, if necessary. In most plants, the entire tank is thoroughly cleaned and given a coat of paint every fifth year. Annual maintenance service contracts have become popular in municipalities with tanks and towers with capacities of less than 250,000 gallons. The company hired will often require that their own company restores the tank before entering into a contract for annual maintenance service. Then the company agrees to inspect and maintain the tank yearly for a set length of time, often for twenty years. Due to municipal changes, some companies will allow a municipality the right to cancel or renew the contract on a yearly basis on the anniversary date. Since the maintenance company will be given exclusive responsibility for the upkeep of the tank, great care should be taken in selecting such a company. The company must conduct work with integrity, honesty, and professionalism. In addition, Comprehensive Liability and Workmen's Compensation Insurance should be carried on each contract to ensure performance of the maintenance work. The water works should also demand a corporate bond, not an individual bond. If an honest, reliable contractor is selected to perform the work, then annual maintenance service contracts can be a good choice for the maintenance of water storage facilities.

Review Water tanks can be divided into two types - ground tanks and elevated storage tanks. Each type of tank has advantages and disadvantages which should be considered when planning a new facility. In addition, other factors such as structural stability, equipment design, tank location, elevation, and capacity should all be taken into account. Corrosion is a serious problem in water tanks. The metal walls break down due to an electrochemical reaction. Electrons flow from the walls of the tank (the anode) into the water (the cathode.) The third component of the corrosion battery is a closure circuit - a surface linking the anode and cathode through which electrons can flow. A paint coating protects against corrosion by forming a physical barrier between the anode and the cathode. The other type of protection, cathodic protection, provides a replacement anode so that the tank walls do not corrode. Each type of corrosion protection has advantages and disadvantages when used singly, and they can also be used in combination. Tank maintenance is essential to prevent costly tank failure. The tank should be inspected by an independent inspector at least every two or three years. Some water works choose to hire an annual maintenance service to perform yearly inspections and maintenance. In either case, the inspector will determine what type of maintenance should be performed.

The first step during painting, a common maintenance procedure, is to empty the tank and clean the tank surface. Next, a primer coat should be applied and then a protective coat. Finally, the tank is cured and sterilized before being placed back into service.

Assignment Complete Assignment 10 on Water Tank Design. You may do the Assignment online to get credit or print it out and send it to the instructor.

Quiz Answer the questions in the Lesson 10 quiz . When you have gotten all the answers correct, print the page and either mail or fax it to the instructor. You may also take the quiz online and submit your grade directly into the database for grading purposes. Lesson 11: Laboratory Procedures Objective In this lesson we will learn the following:

What laboratory procedures need to be done in the water plant.

Reading Assignment Along with the online lesson, read Chapter 11: Laboratory Procedures, in your textbook Operation of Water Treatment Plants Volume I .

Lecture A laboratory is a place for precise work to determine appropriate treatment of raw water and the quality of the finished water. It must be kept organized, well maintained, and clean. All instruments must be kept clean and routinely calibrated with proper records. A number

of lab tests are needed daily, quarterly, semiannually, annually, and at other specified intervals to monitor the water quality before, during, and after the treatment. A test is not better than the sample, and the sample is not better than the manner in which it is collected.

Sampling Valid testing starts with an adequate and representative sampling. A sample is either a grab or a composite. A grab sample, as the name indicates, is a specific volume collected at one site at one time. These samples indicate the quality of water at that time and at that site. Grab samples are taken for bacteriological and disinfection residual tests. A composite sample is a mixture of a number of portions taken at the specific intervals. This reduces the number of tests. Each portion can be proportionate to the flow or volume. For each test operators should follow the prescribed sampling size, collecting, and preserving procedure given in the Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Waste Water. Testing must be done as soon as possible and not later than the specified holding time.

Tests Various regularly performed common tests by the operating staff are for tastes and odor, turbidity, jar test, pH, alkalinity, hardness, disinfection residual, coliform bacteria, and the heterotrophic plate count. All other tests are run either by highly trained chemists and microbiologists of the lab or by certified contract laboratories.

Tastes and Odors Testing for taste and odor is important because of aesthetic value. The majority of water quality complaints are of this type. Most of the organic and some inorganic chemicals cause tastes and odors. These chemicals come from the decaying organic matter, runoffs, industrial wastes, and municipal sewage discharges. Geosmin and methyl-isobarneol (MIB) are the serious odor-causing chemicals; they are produced by bacteria, particularly actinomycetes, while decomposing dead organic matter at the bottom of the water bodies. Even a very low concentration of these chemicals can cause earthy-musty odors. The odors are common in spring and fall due to the turn over of the lakes and reservoirs. In the

groundwater, the tastes and odors can be due to iron, manganese, and hydrogen sulfide (H2S). These are general classes of odors:

Aromatic (spicy) Balsamic (flowery) Chemical Disagreeable Earthy Musty Grassy Vegetable

These are called the reference odor in the water samples.

Turbidity Turbidity is the murkiness in the water caused by colloidal (1 to 100 nanometer particles) and other suspended particles, such as clay, sand, silt, organic matter of plant and animal origin, planktons, and other microscopic organisms. Turbidity particles can be waterborne pathogens or particles harboring them. The lower the turbidity, the less is the amount of the particulate matter. It means there is less probability of the presence of waterborne pathogens, and the water is safer. Therefore, turbidity is one of the primary standards for the drinking water. The finished water turbidity is tested at least every four hours.

Turbidity is measured as the amount of scattered light by the suspended particles in the sample. Turbidity of the finished water should be equal to or less than 0.3 nephalometric turbidity unit (NTU) in 95 percent of the samples/month.

Jar Testing Jar testing is a useful tool to determine the practical optimum dose of a chemical under the simulated plant conditions. It uses a range of increasing dose of a particular chemical in a series of six jars with a stirring and illumination mechanism.

Most of the problems in the source water, particulary in the surface water, quality are due to seasonal variations or other unusual circumstances, such as drought, heavy rains, unexpected discharge of raw sewage, or runoffs from farm land. These problems can be solved by this test, which is important for coagulation, softening, sedimentation, removal of synthetic organics, and for tastes and odor control. It makes the water treatment more effective, easy, and economical.

pH pH, hydronium ion index, is the measurement of acidity (H+). Acidity in water is usually due to carbon dioxide (CO2) from rain water, mineral acids, chlorine, and heavy metal salts, such as alum. pH is an important parameter in the water utility. It is used to determine the condition of water for proper coagulation, softening, and stabilization.

Alkalinity Alkalinity of water is its capacity to neutralize acidity. Carbonates, bicarbonates, and hydroxides are the most common forms of alkalinity in natural waters. These chemicals are mostly compounds of calcium and magnesium coming from mineral deposits such as

limestone and dolomite. Industrial discharges can also cause alkalinity. Bicarbonate alkalinity is present between pH 4.3 and 8.3. Carbonate and bicarbonate alkalinity is present between pH 8.3 and 9.4, and carbonates and hydroxides are present between pH 9.4 and 14. Alkalinity does not exist below pH 4.3. Alkalinity test is important to determine proper coagulation and the stability of water.

Disinfection Residual Chlorine is one of the most effective disinfectants and is quite commonly used for water disinfection. Chlorine, combined with ammonia, forms chloramines, which are called combined residual chlorine. Total residual chlorine is the sum of the free residual chlorine and combined residual chlorine.

Coliform Bacteria Tests Bacteriological quality of water is important to determine the degree of disinfection and possible presence of waterborne pathogens. Bacteria, being small, are present almost everywhere, such as in air, water, and on lab equipment. Therefore, all equipment and handling is done in a sterile environment to ensure the accuracty of data. Media are the food for the bacteria to culture them in the laboratory. Different bacteria have different food requirements; therefore, each medium will allow certain types of bacteria to grow. Media are either liquid, known as broths, or semisolid (gelatinous), which are called agars. To ensure the absence of waterborne pathogens, the water is tested for coliform bacteria. Coliform bacteria are present in human wastes and in soil contaminated with human wastes. These bacteria in human wastes are known as fecal coliform bacteria. Those in the soil are called nonfecal coliforms. Both fecal and nonfecal coliforms are called the total coliform group. This group is used as an indicator of the presence of human wastes in water and the possible presence of waterborne pathogens. The two most common techniques for testing coliform bacteria are the membrane filter technique and the multiple tube fermentation/most probable number technique.

Heterotrophic or Standard Plate Count (HPC) This test gives the total count of almost all types of bacteria in the water sample that can grow on a general medium called the standard plate count agar or nutrient agar. A count less than 500 colonies/mL of the sample means that the water is properly disinfected, and vice versa. Furthermore, a count of higher than 500 colonies/mL interferes with the growth of total coliform bacteria.

Review A number of lab tests are needed daily, quarterly, semiannually, annually, and at other specified intervals to monitor the water quality before, during, and after the treatment. A sample is either a grab or a composite. A grab sample, as the name indicates, is a specific volume collected at one site at one time. These samples indicate the quality of water at that time and at that site. Grab samples are taken for bacteriological and disinfection residual tests. A composite sample is a mixture of a number of portions taken at the specific intervals. This reduces the number of tests. Each portion can be proportionate to the flow or volume. Various regularly performed common tests by the operating staff are for tastes and odor, turbidity, jar test, pH, alkalinity, hardness, disinfection residual, coliform bacteria, and the heterotrophic plate count. All other tests are run either by highly trained chemists and microbiologists of the lab or by certified contract laboratories.

Assignment Complete Assignment 11 on Laboratory Procedures. You may do the Assignment online to get credit or print it out and send it to the instructor.

Quiz

Answer the questions in the Lesson 11 quiz . When you have gotten all the answers correct, print the page and either mail or fax it to the instructor. You may also take the quiz online and submit your grade directly into the database for grading purposes. Lesson 12: Overview of the Wastewater Treatment Process

Objective In this lesson we will learn the following:

What the different sources of wastewater include. What the different steps include in the treatment process.

Reading Assignment Along with the online lesson, read Chapter 1: The Treatment Plant Operator, Chapter 2: Why Treat Wastes? and Chapter 3: Wastewater Treatment Facilities, in your textbook Operation of Wastewater Treatment Plants Volume I .

Lecture Introduction This lesson begins the second half of ENV 110. This half of the course is concerned with the treatment of wastewater. Before beginning this lesson, you should have taken Exam 1 and visited two water treatment plants to conclude the water treatment portion of the course. Lessons 1 through 11 considered the water treatment process. Water flows from the source through the treatment plant and to the consumer. But what happens to the water after it reaches the consumer? The second half of this course will concern itself with wastewater - the used water and solids from a community as well as the storm water which runs off streets and other surfaces during storms. You will remember that water is naturally cleaned and reused as part of the hydrologic cycle in the outside world. In the human world, water is also cleaned and reused. Our

wastewater is channeled to a wastewater treatment plant where it is cleaned and released back into lakes and rivers. This water reenters the hydrologic cycle and will eventually be pumped back up by another water treatment plant to be purified and released to customers.

Sources of Wastewater You can classify wastewater as domestic, industrial, or storm, according to its origin. Domestic sources include water used for normal activity in homes, businesses and institutions. Domestic wastewater is readily treatable. The character of industrical wastewater depends on the type of industry using the water. Some industrial wastewaters can be treated the same as domestic wastes without difficulty. Others may contain toxic substances or high percentages of organic materials or solids which make treatment difficult. In such cases, the industrial plant may have to pretreat its wastewater to remove these pollutants or reduce them to treatable levels before they are accepted into a publicly-owned treatment facility. Storm water often goes to a treatment plant, although it is usually low in pollutants. Great amounts of storm water can interfere with treatment efficiency in two ways: Storm water may cause too much dilution of the wastewater. At the same time, it may cause hydraulic overloading of the plant. In most cases, wastewater systems now call for separate storm sewers.

In the Treatment Plant In the treatment plant there are many steps involved in treating wastewater. Below is a quick overview of the possible steps involved. We will learn more about each step as the course goes on.

The general principle in wastewater treatment is to remove pollutants from the water by getting them either to settle or to float, and then removing this material. Some pollutants are easily removable. Others must be converted to a settleable form before they can be removed. Treatment facilities are designed in stages. Each stage either removes particles from the wastewater or changes dissolved and suspended material to a form that can be removed. A modern wastewater treatment plant may include these stages:

influent primary treatment secondary treatment tertiary treatment disinfection and effluent discharge

Influent Influent is the raw material that has been collected and conveyed to the plant for treatment. It includes all the water and debris that entered the collection system.

Primary Treatment To prevent damage to pumps and clogging of pipes, raw wastewater passes through mechanically raked bar screens to remove large debris, such as rags, plastics, sticks, and cans. Smaller inorganic material, such as sand and gravel, is removed by a grit removal system. The ligher organic solids remain suspended in the water and flow into large tanks, called primary clarifiers. Here, the heavier organic solids settle by gravity. These settled solids, called primary sludge, are removed along with floating scum and grease and pumped to anaerobic digesters for further treatment.

Secondary Treatment The primary effluent is then transferred to the biological or secondary stage. Here, the wastewater is mixed with a controlled population of bacteria and an ample supply of oxygen. The microorganisms digest the fine suspended and soluble organic materials, thereby removing them from the wastewater. The effluent is then transferred to secondary clarifiers, where the biological solids or sludges are settled by gravity. As with the primary clarifier, these sludges are pumped to anaerobic digesters, and the clear secondary effluent may flow directly to the receiving environment or to a disinfection facity prior to release. There are several variations of secondary treatment, including:

activated sludge trickling filtration

rotating biological contactors (RBC) lagoons and ponds

Tertiary Treatment Tertiary, or advanced, wastewater treatment is the term applied to additonal treatment that is needed to remove suspended and dissolved substances remaining after conventional secondary treatment. This may be accomplished using a variety of physical, chemical, or biological treatment processes to remove the targeted pollutants. Advanced treatment may be used to remove such things as color, metals, organic chemicals, and nutrients such as phosphorus and nitrogen.

Disinfection Before the final effluent is released into the receiving waters, it may be disinfected to reduce the disease-causing microorganisms that remain in it. The most common processes use chlorine gas or a chlorine-based disinfectant such as sodium hypochlorite. To avoid excess chlorine escaping to the environment, the effluent may be dechlorinated prior to discharge. Other disinfection options include untraviolet light and ozone.

Review You can classify wastewater as domestic, industrial, or storm, according to its origin. In the treatment plant there are many steps involved in treating wastewater. The general principle in wastewater treatment is to remove pollutants from the water by getting them either to settle or to float, and then removing this material. A modern wastewater treatment plant may include these stages:

influent primary treatment secondary treatment tertiary treatment

disinfection and effluent discharge

Assignment Complete Assignment 12 on Wastewater Treatment. You may do the Assignment online to get credit or print it out and send it to the instructor.

Quiz Answer the questions in the Lesson 12 quiz . When you have gotten all the answers correct, print the page and either mail or fax it to the instructor. You may also take the quiz online and submit your grade directly into the database for grading purposes. Lesson 13: Racks, Screens, Comminutors and Grit Removal

Objective In this lesson we will answer the following question:

How are racks, screens, comminutors and grit removal used during the preliminary treatment process?

Reading Assignment Along with the online lesson, read Chapter 4: Racks, Screens, Comminutors, and Grit Removal in your textbook Operation of Wastewater Treatment Plants Volume I . Lecture

The First Step The first step in the treatment of wastewater is known as Preliminary Treatment, which screens out, grinds up, or separates debris in the wastewater. Sticks, rags, large food particles, sand, gravel, toys, plastics, and other objects are removed at this stage to conserve valuable space within the treatment processes and to protect pumping and other equipment from clogs, jams or excessive wear. Treatment equipment such as bar screens, comminutors (a large version of a garbage disposal that shreds material), and grit chambers are used on the wastewater as it first enters a treatment plant. The collected debris is usually disposed of in a landfill. In this lesson we will describe and discuss each of these processes and their importance in the treatment process. Screening Preliminary treatment begins with screening. Screens remove large solids such as rags, sticks, plastics and similar materials from the wastewater.

Above is a typical bar screen that consists of a series of parallel bars or a perforated screen placed in a channel. The flow passes through the screen and the large solids are trapped on the bars for removal. The bar screen may be coarse (2-4 inch openings) or fine (0.75-2.0 inch openings). The bar screen may be manually cleaned or mechanically cleaned. Manual or mechanical cleaning is performed frequently enough to prevent solids buildup and reduce flow into the plant. The water velocity through the screen is very important and should be around 1.5 ft/s. If the velocity decreases below 1 ft/s or slower, grit will drop out of the flow and into the screening channel.

Shredding

In some plants, shredding devices are installed after the bar screen or as alternatives to screening. Shredding devices reduce solids to a size that can enter the plant without causing mechanical problems or clogging. The most common shredder is the comminutor. In this device all of the wastewater flow passes through the grinder assembly. The grinder consists of a screen or slotted basket, a rotating or oscillating cutter and a stationary cutter. Solids pass through the screen and are chopped or shredded between the two cutters. The comminutor will not remove solids that are too large to fit through the slots, and it will not remove floating objects. The materials must be removed manually.

Grit Removal The purpose of grit removal is to remove the heavy inorganic solids, which could cause excessive mechanical wear. Grit includes sand, gravel, clay, egg shells, coffee grounds, metal filings, seeds and other similiar materials. There are several devices or proceses used for grit removal. All of the processes are based on the fact that grit is heavier than the organic solids that should be kept in suspension for subsequent treatment. Grit removal processes use gravity/velocity, aeration or centrifugal force to separate the solids from the wastewater.

Gravity/Velocity Controlled Grit Removal Gravity/velocity grit removal uses a channel or tank to reduce the velocity or speed of the wastewater to approximately 1 foot per second (fps). As long as the velocity is controlled in the range of 0.7 to 1.4 fps, the grit removal process will remain effective.

Aerated Systems Aerated grit removal systems use aeration to keep the lighter organic solids in suspension while allowing the heavier grit particles to settle out.

Cyclone Degritter The cyclone degritter uses a rapid spinning motion to separate the heavy inorganic solids or grit from the light organic solids and discharge them directly to a storage container. Inlet pressure is a critical control factor for the cyclone grit removal process.

Review

Preliminary treatment screens out, grinds up, or separates debris in the wastewater. Objects are removed at this stage to conserve valuable space within the treatment processes and to protect pumping and other equipment from clogs, jams or excessive wear. Treatment equipment such as bar screens, comminutors, and grit chambers are used on the wastewater as it first enters a treatment plant. This is a valuable step in the pre-treatment of wastewater.

Assignment Complete Assignment 13 on Racks, Screens, Comminutors and Grit Removal. You may do the Assignment online to get credit or print it out and send it to the instructor.

Quiz Answer the questions in the Lesson 13 quiz . When you have gotten all the answers correct, print the page and either mail or fax it to the instructor. You may also take the quiz online and submit your grade directly into the database for grading purposes.

Lesson 14: Sedimentation and Flotation

Objective In this lesson we will learn the following:

How does sedimentation fit into the water treatment process? What zones are present in a sedimentation basin? How is sedimentation sludge disposed of?

Reading Assignment

Along with the online lesson, read Chapter 5: Sedimentation and Flotation in your textbook Operation of Wastewater Treatment Plants Volume I .

Lecture Primary Sedimentation Purpose Sedimentation is a treatment process in which the velocity of the water is lowered below the suspension velocity and the suspended particles settle out of the water due to gravity. The process is also known as settling or clarification .

Settled solids are removed as sludge, and floating solids are removed as scum. Wastewater leaves the sedimentation tank over an effluent weir to the next step of treatment. The efficiency or performance of the process is controlled by: detention time, temperature, tank design, and condition of the equipment. Most water treatment plants include sedimentation in their treatment processes. However, sedimentation may not be necessary in low turbidity water of less than 10 NTU. In this case, coagulation and flocculation are used to produce pinpoint (very small) floc which is removed from the water in the filters.

Location in the Treatment Process

The most common form of sedimentation follows coagulation and flocculation and precedes filtration. This type of sedimentation requires chemical addition (in the coagulation/flocculation step) and removes the resulting floc from the water. Sedimentation at this stage in the treatment process should remove 90% of the suspended particles from the water, including bacteria. The purpose of sedimentation here is to decrease the concentration of suspended particles in the water, reducing the load on the filters. Sedimentation can also occur as part of the pretreatment process, where it is known aspresedimentation . Presedimentation can also be called plain sedimentation because the process depends merely on gravity and includes no coagulation and flocculation. Without coagulation/flocculation, plain sedimentation can remove only coarse suspended matter (such as grit) which will settle rapidly out of the water without the addition of chemicals. This type of sedimentation typically takes place in a reservoir, grit basin, debris dam, or sand trap at the beginning of the treatment process. While sedimentation following coagulation/flocculation is meant to remove most of the suspended particles in the water before the water reaches the filters, presedimentation removes most of the sediment in the water during the pretreatment stage. So presedimentation will reduce the load on the coagulation/flocculation basin and on the sedimentation chamber, as well as reducing the volume of coagulant chemicals required to treat the water. In addition, presedimentation basins are useful because raw water entering the plant from a reservoir is usually more uniform in quality than water entering the plant without such a holding basin. The rest of this lesson will be concerned with sedimentation following coagulation and flocculation. We will consider types of sedimentation basins and parts of a typical sedimentation basin, as well as the disposal of sludge.

Types of Basins Three common types of sedimentation basins are shown below: Rectangular basins are the simplest design, allowing water to flow horizontally through a long tank. This type of basin is usually found in large-scale water treatment plants. Rectangular basins have a variety of advantages predictability, cost-effectiveness, and low maintenance. In addition, rectangular basins are the least likely to shortcircuit, especially if the length is at least twice the width. A disadvantage of rectangular basins is the large amount of land area required.

Double-deck rectangular basins are essentially two rectangular sedimentation basins stacked one atop the other. This type of basin conserves land area, but has higher operation and maintenance costs than a one-level rectangular basin.

Square or circular sedimentation basins with horizontal flow are often known as clarifiers . This type of basin is likely to have short-circuiting problems.

A fourth type of sedimentation basin is more complex. Solids-contact clarifiers , also known asupflow solids-contact clarifiers or upflow sludge-blanket clarifiers combine coagulation, flocculation, and sedimentation within a single basin. Solids-contact clarifiers are often found in packaged plants and in cold climates where sedimentation must occur indoors. This type of clarifier is also often used in softening operations.

Zones Introduction All sedimentation basins have four zones - the inlet zone, the settling zone, the sludge zone, and the outlet zone. Each zone should provide a smooth transition between the zone before and the zone after. In addition, each zone has its own unique purpose. Zones can be seen most easily in a rectangular sedimentation basin, such as the one shown below:

In a clarifier, water typically enters the basin from the center rather than from one end and flows out to outlets located around the edges of the basin. But the four zones can still be found within the clarifier:

Inlet Zone The two primary purposes of the inlet zone of a sedimentation basin are to distribute the water and to control the water's velocity as it enters the basin. In addition, inlet devices act to prevent turbulence of the water. The incoming flow in a sedimentation basin must be evenly distributed across the width of the basin to prevent short-circuiting. Short-circuiting is a problematic circumstance in which water bypasses the normal flow path through the basin and reaches the outlet in less than the normal detention time. We will discuss short-circuiting in the next lesson. In addition to preventing short-circuiting, inlets control the velocity of the incoming flow. If the water velocity is greater than 0.5 ft/sec, then floc in the water will break up due to agitation of the water. Breakup of floc in the sedimentation basin will make settling much less efficient. Two types of inlets are shown below. The stilling wall, also known as a perforated baffle wall , spans the entire basin from top to bottom and from side to side. Water leaves the inlet and enters the settling zone of the sedimentation basin by flowing through the holes evenly spaced across the stilling wall.

From: Water Works Operator's Manual

The second type of inlet allows water to enter the basin by first flowing through the holes evenly spaced across the bottom of the channel and then by flowing under the baffle in front of the channel. The combination of channel and baffle serves to evenly distribute the incoming water.

Settling Zone After passing through the inlet zone, water enters the settling zone where water velocity is greatly reduced. This is where the bulk of floc settling occurs and this zone will make up the largest volume of the sedimentation basin. For optimal performance, the settling zone requires a slow, even flow of water. The settling zone may be simply a large expanse of open water. But in some cases, tube settlers and lamella plates, such as those shown below, are included in the settling zone.

Tube settlers and lamella plates Water flows up through slanted tubes or along slanted plates. Floc settles out in the tubes or plates and drifts back down into the lower portions of the sedimentation basin. Clarified water passes through the tubes or between the plates and then flows out of the basin.

Tube settlers and lamella plates increase the settling efficiency and speed in sedimentation basins. Each tube or plate functions as a miniature sedimentation basin, greatly increasing the settling area. Tube settlers and lamella plates are very useful in plants where site area is limited, in packaged plants, or to increase the capacity of shallow basins.

Outlet Zone The outlet zone controls the water flowing out of the sedimentation basin - both the amount of water leaving the basin and the location in the basin from which the outflowing water is drawn. Like the inlet zone, the outlet zone is designed to prevent short-circuiting of water in the basin. In addition, a good outlet will ensure that only well-settled water leaves the basin and enters the filter. The outlet can also be used to control the water level in the basin.

Outlets are designed to ensure that the water flowing out of the sedimentation basin has the minimum amount of floc suspended in it. The best quality water is usually found at the very top of the sedimentation basin, so outlets are usually designed to skim this water off the sedimentation basin. A typical outlet zone begins with a baffle in front of the effluent. This baffle prevents floating material from escaping the sedimentation basin and clogging the filters. After the baffle comes the effluent structure, which usually consists of a launder, weirs, and effluent piping. A typical effluent structure is shown below:

The primary component of the effluent structure is the effluent launder , a trough which collects the water flowing out of the sedimentation basin and directs it to the effluent piping. The sides of a launder typically have weirs attached. Weirs are walls preventing water from flowing uncontrolled into the launder. The weirs serve to skim the water evenly off the tank. A weir usually has notches, holes, or slits along its length. These holes allow water to flow into the weir. The most common type of hole is the V-shaped notch shown on the picture above which allows only the top inch or so of water to flow out of the sedimentation basin. Conversely, the weir may have slits cut vertically along its length, an arrangement which allows for more variation of operational water level in the sedimentation basin. Water flows over or through the holes in the weirs and into the launder. Then the launder channels the water to the outlet , or effluent pipe . This pipe carries water away from the sedimentation basin and to the next step in the treatment process. The effluent structure may be located at the end of a rectangular sedimentation basin or around the edges of a circular clarifier. Alternatively, the effluent may consist of finger

weirs , an arrangement of launders which extend out into the settling basin as shown below.

Sludge Zone The sludge zone is found across the bottom of the sedimentation basin where the sludge collects temporarily. Velocity in this zone should be very slow to prevent resuspension of sludge. A drain at the bottom of the basin allows the sludge to be easily removed from the tank. The tank bottom should slope toward the drains to further facilitate sludge removal. In some plants, sludge removal is achieved continuously using automated equipment. In other plants, sludge must be removed manually. If removed manually, the basin should be cleaned at least twice per year, or more often if excessive sludge buildup occurs. It is best to clean the sedimentation basin when water demand is low, usually in April and October. Many plants have at least two sedimentation basins so that water can continue to be treated while one basin is being cleaned, maintained, and inspected. If sludge is not removed from the sedimentation basin often enough, the effective (useable) volume of the tank will decrease, reducing the efficiency of sedimentation. In addition, the sludge built up on the bottom of the tank may become septic , meaning that it has begun to decay anaerobically. Septic sludge may result in taste and odor problems or may float to the top of the water and become scum. Sludge may also become resuspended in the water and be carried over to the filters.

Sludge Disposal Sludge Composition

The sludge which is found in the bottom of a sedimentation tank is primarily composed of water. The solids in the sludge are mainly excess coagulant, such as alum. Alum sludge has a solids concentration of only about 1% when automatically removed from the basin, or about 2% if manually removed. (The greater solids concentration of manually removed sludge is due to a small amount of gravity thickening.) Many options exist for disposal of sedimentation sludge. Here we will discuss disposal in streams, sanitary sewers, lagoons, and landfills.

Disposal in Streams and Sewers In the past, sludge and backwash water was typically released into streams and other bodies of water. However, this practice is becoming much less common and is now well regulated. Backwash water and sludge can only be released into streams if a discharge permit has been granted by the NPDES. The NPDES further requires extensive daily monitoring of the water quality when the sludge is being discharged. Alternatively, sludge may be piped directly to the sanitary sewer. However, this disposal option also has its disadvantages. Sludge can cause sewer blockages. In addition, fees charged by the wastewater treatment plant can be expensive. Releasing sludge into the sewage lines in large batches makes treatment of the wastewater problematic, so sludge is typically released slowly over a long time period, which requires a large holding tank at the water treatment plant.

Thickening Sludge Most of the other alternatives require transporting sludge away from the treatment plant. Sludge is typically dried before it is trucked away since the greater volume of wet sludge makes it much more expensive to transport. This drying process is known as dewatering or thickening . Alum sludge is difficult to thicken, but a variety of devices have been developed to thicken the sludge, some of which are explained below. In many cases, the sludge is treated by the addition of polymers to aid in the dewatering process. Alternatively, the sludge can be heated or frozen and thawed to increase the solids concentration. Treating the sludge to aid in thickening is known as conditioning the sludge.

Once the sludge has been conditioned, it may be thickened in a lagoon, drying bed, or one of several other devices.

Lagoons, which are small-volume storage ponds, are the simplest device used to thicken sludge. These lagoons are filled with sludge and the solids are allowed to settled due to gravity to the bottom of the lagoon while the clear water is pumped off the top.

After a few months, gravity and evaporation will have reduced the sludge to a 30-50% solid state. The sludge can then be covered with soil and left on site, or may be trucked to a landfill off-site.

Drying beds are often used to thicken sludge destined for a landfill more quickly than the sludge would be thickened in a lagoon.

A drying bed is similar in design to a sand filter, with a layer of sand underlain by a layer of gravel. The sludge is applied to the top of the sand and the water percolates down through the sand and gravel and is drained away. When the sludge is sufficiently dry, it is carefully removed from the top of the sand and is trucked to a landfill. When sludge is preconditioned with chemicals, dewatering in a drying bed may take only a few days or weeks.

Other processes used to thicken sludge include filter presses, belt filter presses, centrifuges, and vacuum filters. These processes result in sludge with a solids content ranging from 30 to 50%.

Process Control Calculations As with many other wastewater treatment plant unit processes, process control calculations aid in determining the performance of the sedimentation process. Process control calculations are used in the sedimentation process to determine:

percent removal hydraulic detention time surface loading rate weir overflow rate sludge pumping percent total solids

Surface Loading Rate The surface loading rate is the number of gallons of wastewater passing over 1 square foot of tank per day. This can be used to compare actual conditions with design. (Plant designs generally use a surface loading rate of 300 to 1,200 gallons/day/ft2.) To view more examples, read on page 136 in your text.

The flow into a clarifier is 4.0 MGD in a tank 90 feet long and 35 feet wide. What is the surface loading rate?

You will have to convert 4.0 MGD to gal/day, which is 4,000,000 gpd. Then plug in the numbers:

Weir Overflow Rate The weir overflow rate is the amount of water leaving the settling tank per linear foot of weir. The results of this calculation can be compared with design. Normally weir overflow rates of 10,000 to 20,000 gal/day/ft are used in the design of a settling tank. To view more examples, read page 136 in your textbook.

The circular settling tank is 90 feet in diameter and has a weir along its circumference. This effluent flow is 2.55 MGD. What is the weir overflow rate in gal/day/foot?

Sludge Pumping For the plant operator, for process control purposes, knowing the amount of sludge pumped each day is important. This information is not only important for proper operation of the sedimentation process, but for sludge treatment processes as well. Such information includes accurate data regarding the quantity of solids and volatile solids removed from the sedimentation tank.

The sludge pump operates 15 minutes per hour. The pump delivers 30 gallons/minute of sludge. Laboratory tests indicate that the sludge is 5.1% solids and 69% volatile matter. How many pounds of volatile matter are transferred from the settling tank to the digester?

Sedimentation Expected Performance Primary sedimentation clarifiers can be expected to remove: Settleable solids Total Suspended Solids BOD5 90-95% 40-60% 25-35%

Review Sedimentation is a process used to remove suspended particles from water using gravity. Sedimentation may take place in a presedimentation device such as a reservoir, grit basin, debris dam, or sand trap; or sedimentation may follow coagulation/flocculation and take place in a rectangular sedimentation basin, a double-deck rectangular basin, a clarifier, or a solids-contact clarifier. Sedimentation basins typically have four zones - the inlet zone which controls the distribution and velocity of inflowing water, the settling zone in which the bulk of settling takes place, the outlet zone which controls the outflowing water, and the sludge zone in which the sludge collects. Sludge may be disposed of a in sewer or stream or may be conditioned and then thickened in a lagoon, drying bed, filter press, belt filter press, centrifuge, or vacuum filter before being transported to a landfill.

Assignment Read about surface loading in your text and answer the following question (make sure to read the footnotes): (25 points) 1. The settling tank is 120 feet in diameter and the flow to the unit is 4.5 MGD. What is the surface loading rate in gallons/day/ft2?

Read about weir overflow rate in your text and answer the following question: (25 points) 2. The settling tank is 120 feet in diameter and has a weir along its circumference. This effluent flow rate is 2.34 MGD. What is the weir overflow rate in gal/day/ft? 3. Complete Assignment 14 on Sedimentation and Flotation. You may do the Assignment online to get credit or print it out and send it to the instructor. (50 points)

Quiz Answer the questions in the Lesson 14 quiz . When you have gotten all the answers correct, print the page and either mail or fax it to the instructor. You may also take the quiz online and submit your grade directly into the database for grading purposes.

Lesson 15: Trickling Filters

Objective In this lesson we will answer the following questions:

What do trickling filters consist of? How is oxygen controlled in wastewater systems? How are the total flow, hydraulic loading, and organic loading calculated?

Reading Assignment Along with the online lesson, read Chapter 6: Trickling Filters in your textbook Operation of Wastewater Treatment Plants Volume I .

Lecture Fixed Media Filters Introduction to Fixed Media Filters There are many ways to treat sewage and plant designs vary greatly from one site to the next. But no matter how a plant is designed, the results are the same. Some type of

mechanical or biological treatment of the wastewater occurs. The supernate is drawn off, treated for bacterial contamination, and aerated before being released. Solid waste is produced from sludge and is graded for land application or dumping. In nearly all types of wastewater treatment, the organic waste is consumed by microbial action. This microbial action can be divided into two categories: free swimming or attached. Packaged plants and oxidation ditches are an example of the first type of microbial action. The microorganisms are free-swimming in the water, so they must be cycled through the system. After being used to break down B.O.D., they are removed from the wastewater in a clarifier and returned as RAS to the aeration chamber or oxidation ditch. In contrast, fixed media filters use microorganisms attached to a medium (rocks, plastic, metal, etc.) The microorganisms stay in place and do not need to be cycled through the system. Instead, wastewater is circulated past the fixed microorganisms. A fixed media filter mimics the treatment method used in a healthy stream in which microorganisms produce a slick coating on rocks and pebbles. This coating of microorganisms is able to trap and consume B.O.D. and ammonia in the water.

Trickling Filters Introduction In most wastewater treatment systems, the trickling filter follows primary treatment and includes secondary settling tank or clarifier as shown below. The process is a fixed film biological treatment method designed to remove BOD and suspended solids.

The trickling filter consists of several major components including distribution system, media, underdrains, effluent channel, secondary settling tank, and recirculation pumps and piping. Each of these components has one or more purposes. In operation, wastewater is distributed evenly over the surface of the trickling filter media. As the wastewater flows over the surface of the media the organisms in the slime remove the organic matter from the flow.

The organisms aerobically decompose the solids producing more organisms and stable wastes, which either become part of the zoogleal slime or are discharged back into the wastewater flowing over the media. The wastewater continues through the filter to the underdrain system where it is collected and carried out of the filter. At the same time air flows through the filter (bottom to the top or top to bommtom depending on temperature). Oxygen is transferred from the air to the wastewater and slime to maintain the aerobic conditions. Periodically the slime on the media becomes too heavy and portions will be released. This material known as sloughings is carried out of the filter with the wastewater flow and is removed in the settling tank following the filter.

Filter media showing biological activities that take place on surface area.

Trickling filters are very efficient at removing B.O.D. and ammonia from wastewater, and they use a minimal amount of power. The cost to remove B.O.D. is only a few dollars per ton.

Pretreatment The beginning of the trickling filter treatment process is like pretreatment in a packaged plant. The wastewater passes through a bar screen to remove large objects. Then the influent is passed through a grit screen or chamber to remove inorganic materials such as eggshells, corn, sand, and tissue. The comminutor shreds the solid material into smaller pieces, which allows the solids to enter the plant without causing mechanical problems or clogging the pumps.

Separator and Digester At this point, treatment begins to differ from the typical packaged plant treatment. We have previously discussed treatment systems which use only one clarifier, which is often called a secondary clarifier. But in many treatment systems, two clarifiers are used. The primary clarifier follows the grit chamber while the secondary clarifier follows the aerator, oxidation ditch, trickling filter, or other type of biological treatment.

In the case of a trickling filter system, the water from the grit chamber enters a separator, which acts as a primary clarifier. Here, organic solids are separated out of the water using changes in velocity. The mostly liquid portion of the organic matter goes on to the trickling filter while the mostly solid portion goes to the anaerobic digester.

The anaerobic digester is a closed tank in which anaerobic organisms slowly digest the organic matter in sludge. These organisms produce methane, hydrogen sulfide, and carbon dioxide in the process. The solids are removed from the tank and sent to a drying bed for eventual land application while the supernatant is drawn off and sent to the trickling filter.

Operation The liquid portion of the B.O.D. and ammonia from the separator, as well as the supernatant from the anaerobic digester, are pumped to the trickling filter. Both the B.O.D. and the ammonia are required to produce the right growth of microorganisms on the media to provide good treatment. The liquid influent is piped to the spray heads at the top of the trickling filter. The force of the water causes the spray heads to rotate above the media, acting like a sprinkler and evenly distributing water across the media. The influent trickles down through the media. The media is covered with a slime of both aerobic and anaerobic microorganisms. These microorganisms remove the organic matter from the water. As we have mentioned previously, the microorganisms in a trickling filter are especially efficient at removing ammonia from the water.

Clarifier, Disinfection, and Aeration As the water passed through the trickling filter, some of the slime was sloughed off of the

filter bed. In addition, there is still some sludge in the wastewater. These solids are removed when the water flows from the trickling filter through the secondary clarifier. The solids are sent to the anaerobic digester.

The supernate from the clarifier (now called effluent) is sent in two directions. Some of the supernate is re-circulated through the trickling filter to reduce the B.O.D. loading by watering down the influent. The rest of the clarifier's supernate is chlorinated and dechlorinate or passed through a UV light. This disinfection process helps wipe out most of the microorganisms and the coliform bacteria. The final part of the treatment process is the step aerator. As the effluent flows over the step aerator, the dissolved oxygen levels are increased. The water is now ready to be released into a stream or river.

Recirculation Factors Influencing Slime Growth Every organism requires a certain environment in order to grow and thrive. The microorganisms which make up the slime on a fixed media filter are no exception. Factors which influence the growth of these microorganisms include pH, concentration of food, and concentration of oxygen. Their growth can also be restricted by overpopulation, which will result in a buildup of enzymes and waste in the water and in a lack of space. Different microorganisms require different environments. For example, the microorganisms which are best for B.O.D. removal are most efficient at a pH of

approximately 7, while the microorganisms which remove ammonia are most effective at a pH of about 8.

Water Recirculation An important consideration in the operation of a trickling filter is that the microorganisms (the zoogleal slime) does not move. They just hang onto the media as slime waiting for the food to trickle by. To give the microorganisms another opportunity to eat food they missed, operators recycle clarified effluent. This is called recirculation. Recirculation is used to reduce the organic loading, improve sloughing, reduce odors and reduce or eliminate filter fly or ponding problems. The amount of recirculation is dependent on the design of the treatment plant and the operational requirements of the process. Recirculation flow may be expressed as a specific flow rate (2.5 MGD). In most cases, it is expressed as ratio (2:1). The recirculation is always listed as the first number and the influent flow listed as the second number. Since the second number in the ratio is always 1.0, the ratio is sometimes written as a single number, namely the initial number, with the 1.0 being dropped. Trickling filter flows can be recirculated from various points following the filter to various points before the filter. The most common form of recirculation removes flow from the filter effluent or settling tank and returns it to the influent of the trickling filter.

Calculations Total Flow A number of calculations are useful in the operation of a trickling filter. For example, along with determining total flow, determining hydraulic loading and organic loading are also important. For the settling tank, calculating the detention time, surface settling rate, hydraulic loading, and the sludge pumping rate are important. The formula below can be used to calculate the total flow, including recirculation: Total Flow, MGD = Influent Flow (Recirc. Rate + 1.0)

The trickling filter is currently operating with a recirculation rate of 1.5. What is the total flow applied to the filter when the influent flow rate is 4.25 MGD?

Total Flow, MGD = 4.25 MGD (1.5 + 1.0) Total Flow = 10.63 MGD

Let's consider a plant with an influent flow of 72 mgd and a recirculation of 0.009. The total flow would be calculated as follows:

Be sure to convert to the correct units, if necessary. I converted 72 mgd to 72,000,000 gpd. You may have also noticed that I added 0.009 to 1 before I multiplied the total by 72,000,000 gpd. It is very important to always perform any operation within parenthesis before simplifying the rest of the equation. Otherwise, you will get the wrong answer.

Hydraulic Loading Now that you know how to calculate the total flow, you can calculate the hydraulic loading. Thehydraulic loading is one of the factors which will influence the performance of the filters. It is defined as the amount of wastewater applied per day over the surface area of the media. So its units are gallons/day/square foot. The following formula can be used to calculate the hydraulic loading of a filter, including recirculation:

Given a total flow of 3 mgd and a filter area of 7,850 ft2, the hydraulic loading would be:

So the hydraulic loading is 382 gpd/ft2.

Organic Loading The organic loading also influences the performance of the filter. The organic loading is the amount of B.O.D. applied to the filter per day per volume of filter media. So the units of organic loading are typically pounds B.O.D./day/1000 ft3 of media. The organic loading can be calculated using the formula below. This formula does not include recirculation, so the flow used is the influent flow rather than the total flow.

The B.O.D. is the concentration of B.O.D. in the filter influent. The units of the filter volume are "1000 ft3", so a filter with a volume of 7,800 ft3 would have to have the units converted from "ft3" to "1000 ft3". This conversion is accomplished by dividing the filter volume by 1,000, as shown below:

So let's calculate the organic loading of a 23,500 ft3 filter with an influent B.O.D. of 200 mg/L, and a flow of 3 mgd.

So the organic loading of the filter is 213 lbs/day/1000 ft3.

Review

Fixed media filters use microorganisms attached to a medium, mimicking the water treatment method of nature in a healthy stream. These filters are very efficient at removing B.O.D. and ammonia from the water. The typical wastewater treatment process for trickling filters includes a screen, grit chamber, comminutor or grinding pump, separator or primary clarifier, trickling filter, aerobic or anaerobic digester, secondary clarifier, chlorination, dechlorination, and aeration. Some cleaned water is recirculated back from the secondary clarifier into the fixed media filter. This helps control the microorganisms' environment by decreasing the concentration of food and increasing the D.O. in the water.

New Formulas Used To calculate total flow:

To calculate hydraulic loading:

To calculate organic loading:

Assignment Answer the following questions and send in to you instructor. Each question is worth 25 points.

1. The amount of influent flowing into a wastewater treatment plant is 1 mgd. 10% of the water is recirculated back from the secondary clarifier to the trickling filter. What is the plant's total flow? 2. The influent flow of a plant is 50 mgd. The total flow is 62 mgd. What percent of the water is recirculated? 3. Using the total flow of the plant in question 1, and a filter area of 5,000 ft2, what is the hydraulic loading of the plant? 4. A plant has the following characteristics: B.O.D. of 140 mg/L, influent flow of 5 mgd, recirculation of 5%, filter volume of 20,000 ft3. What is the organic loading?

Quiz Answer the questions in the Lesson 15 quiz . When you have gotten all the answers correct, print the page and either mail or fax it to the instructor. You may also take the quiz online and submit your grade directly into the database for grading purposes.

Lesson 16: Rotating Biological Contactors

Objective In this lesson we will answer the following question:

What does Rotating Biological Contactors consist of? Where are they located in the treatment process?

Reading Assignment

Along with the online lesson, read Chapter 7: Rotating Biological Contactors in your textbookOperation of Wastewater Treatment Plants Volume I .

Lecture Rotating Biological Contactors The rotating biological contactor (RBC) is a fixed film biological secondary treatment device. The basic process is similar to that occurring in the trickling filter. In operation, a media, consisting of a series of circular disks mounted side by side on a common shaft is rotated through the wastewater flow.

The surface of the disk is covered with a biological slime similar to that on the media of a trickling filter. RBC units are usually installed in a concrete tank so that the surface of the wastewater passing through the tank almost reaches the shaft. This means that about 40% of the total surface area of the disks is always submerged. The shaft continually rotates at 1 to 2 rpm, and a layer of biological growth 2 to 4 mm thick is soon established on the wetted surface of each disk. The organisms in the slime assimilate (remove) organic matter from the wastewater for aerobic decomposition. The disk continues to rotate, leaving the wastewater and moving through the air. During this time, oxygen is transferred from the air to the slime. As the slime reenters the wastewater, excess solids and waste products are stripped off the media as sloughings. These sloughings are transported with the wastewater flow t a settling tank for removal. Typically, a single contactor is not sufficient to achieve the desired level of treatment, so a group of contactors are used in series. Each individual contactor is called a stage and the group is known as a train. Most RBC systems consist of two or more trains with three or

more stages in each. One major advantage of the RBC system is the level of nitrification that can be achieved if sufficient stages are provided.

During operation, observations of the RBC movement, slime color, and appearance are helpful in determining system performance; that is, they can indicate process conditions. If the unit is covered, observations are usually limited to that portion of the media that can be viewed through the access door. The following may be observed:

Gray, shaggy slime growth - indicates normal operation Reddish brown, golden shaggy growth - nitrification White chalky appearance - high sulfur concentrations No slime - severe temperature or pH changes

In regard to typical performance, a well-maintained, properly operated RBC typically produces a high quality effluent with BOD at 8-95% and Suspended Solids Removal at 8595%. The process may also reduce the levels of organic nitrogen and ammonia nitrogen significantly if designed for this purpose.

Advantages Advantages offered by RBCs include:

Short contact periods are required because of the large active surface. RBCs are capable of handling a wide range of flows. Sloughed biomass generally has good settling characteristics and can easily be separated from the waste stream. Operating costs are low because little skill is required in plant operation. Short retention time. Low power requirements.

Elimination of the channeling to which conventional percolators are susceptible. Low sludge production and excellent process control.

Disadvantages Disadvantages of RBCs include:

Requirement for covering RBC units in northern climates to protect against freezing. Shaft bearings and mechanical drive units require frequent maintenance.

Review The basic process of a RBC is similar to that occurring in the trickling filter. In operation, a media, consisting of a series of circular disks mounted side by side on a common shaft is rotated through the wastewater flow. The shaft continually rotates at 1 to 2 rpm, and a layer of biological growth 2 to 4 mm thick is soon established on the wetted surface of each disk. The organisms in the slime remove organic matter from the wastewater for aerobic decomposition. Typically, a single contactor is not sufficient to achieve the desired level of treatment, so a group of contactors are used in series. Each individual contactor is called a stage and the group is known as a train. There are many more advantages to using RBCs than disadvantages.

Assignment Answer the following questions and send in to your instructor. Each question is worth 25 points. (You will find the answers in your textbook) 1. Describe the rotating biological contactor process and discuss how it works. 2. Why should debris, grit, and suspended solids be removed before the wastewater being treated reaches the RBC unit? 3. What water quality indicators would you test for in the effluent from an RBC treatment plant? 4. How do the slime growths (biomass) on the plastic media look under (a) normal conditions, and (b) abnormal conditions?

Quiz Answer the questions in the Lesson 16 quiz . When you have gotten all the answers correct, print the page and either mail or fax it to the instructor. You may also take the quiz online and submit your grade directly into the database for grading purposes. Lesson 17: Activated Sludge

Objective In this lesson we will answer the following questions:

What are the principles of the activated sludge process and the factors that influence them. What are the calculations used in the process. How is it different from the other possible treatment processes available.

Reading Assignment Along with the online lesson, read Chapter 8: Activated Sludge in your textbook Operation of Wastewater Treatment Plants Volume I .

Lecture Biological Treatment Processes To this point the biological systems discussed include trickling filters and rotating biological contactors. These systems are effective unit processes in treating wastewater. However, trickling filters and RBCs are termperature sensitive, remove less BOD, and trickling filters cost more to build than activated sludge systems. Although they are more

expensive to build, the activated sludge systems are much more expensive to operate because of the need for energy to run pumps and blowers.

Activated Sludge Process Activated sludge refers to biological treatment processes that use a suspended growth of organisms to remove BOD and suspended solids. As shown below, the process requires an aeration tank and a settling tank.

In addition, support equipment, including return pumps, waste pumps, flow measurement devices for return and waste, as well as equipment to provide aeration (mixers and/or blowers) is also required. Note: Activated sludge processes may or may not follow primary treatment. The need for primary treatment is determined by the process modification selected for use. All activated sludge systems include a settling tank following the aeration tank.

Primary effluent (or plant influent) is mixed with return activated sludge to form mixed liquor. The mixed liquor is aerated for a specified length of time. During the aeration the activated sludge organisms use the available organic matter as food producing stable solids and more organisms. The suspended solids produced by the process and the additional organisms become part of the activated sludge. The solids are then separated from the wastewater in the settling tank. The solids are returned to the influent of the aeration tank (return activated sludge). Periodically the excess solids and organisms are removed from the system (waste activated sludge). Failure to remove waste solids will result in poor performance and loss of solids out of the system over the settling tank effluent weir. There are a number of factors that affect the performance of an activated sludge treatment system. These include:

temperature return rates amount of oxygen available amount of organic matter available pH waste rates aeration time wastewater toxicity

To obtain desired level of performance in an activated sludge system, a proper balance must be maintained between the amount of food (organic matter), organisms (activated sludge) and oxygen (dissolved oxygen).

Activated Sludge Modifications

Many activated sludge process modifications exist. Each modification is designed to address specific conditions or problems. Such modifications are characterized by differences in mixing and flow patterns in the aeration basin, and in the manner in which the microorganisms are mixed with the incoming wastewater. The major process modifications of the activated sludge process are: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. conventional tapered aeration complete mix step aeration contact stabilization extended aeration pure oxygen systems

Conventional Modification This configuration requires primary treatment, has the influent and returned sludge enter the tank at the head end of the basin, mixing is accomplished by the aeration system, and provides excellent treatment. On the downside, this modification requires large aeration tank capacity, higher construction costs, high initial oxygen demand, and is very sensitive to operation problems, such as bulking.

Tapered Aeration The tapered aeration system is similar to the conventional activated sludge process. The major difference is in the arrangement of the diffusers. The diffusers are close together at the influent end where more oxygen is needed. Toward the other end of the aeration basin, the spacing of the diffusers is increased.

Step Aeration In step aeration, the returned sludge is applied at several points in the aeration basin. Generally, the tank is subdivided into three or more parallel channels with around-the-end

baffles, and the sludge is applied at separate channels or steps. The oxygen demand is uniformly distributed.

Complete Mix Aeration In complete mix aeration the influent and the returned sludge are mixed and applied at several points along the length and width of the basin. The contents are mixed, and the mixed liquor suspended solids (MLSS) flows across the tank to the effluent channel. The oxygen demand and organic loading are uniform along the entire length of the basin.

Contact Stabilization In contact stabilization, primary treatment is not required. The activated sludge is mixed with influent in the contact tank where the organics are absorbed by microorganisms. The MLSS is settled in the clarifier. The returned sludge is aerated in the reaeration basin to stabilize the organics. The process requires approximately 50% less tank volume and can be prefabricated as a package plant for flows of 0.05 to 1.0 MGD. On the downside, this system is more complicated to control because many common control calculations do not work.

Extended Aeration Activated Sludge Extended aeration does not require primary treatment. It utilizes a large aeration basin where a high population of microorganisms is maintained. It is used for small flows from subdivisions, schools, etc. Prefabricated package plants utilize this process extensively. It ha a channel inthe shape of a race track, with rotors being used to supply oxygen and maintain circulation. Typically the process produces high-quality effluent and less activated sludge. (Oxidation ditch is a variation of extended aeration process).

Pure Oxygen Systems

Oxygen is diffused into covered aeration tanks. A portion of gas is wasted from the tank to reduce the concentration of carbon dioxide. The process is suitable for high-strength wastes where space may be limited. Special equipment for generation of oxygen is needed.

Operation Operation of the activated sludge process requires more operator control than the other treatment processes discussed. The operator must adjust aeration, return rates and waste rates to maintain the balance of food, organisms and oxygen. Operators must observe operation of the aeration basin to check on mixing pattern, type and amount of foam (normally small amounts of crisp white foam), color of activated sludge (normally dark, chocolate brown), and odors (normally musty or earth odor). In regard to the settling tank, observations include flow pattern (normally uniform distribution), settling, amount and type of solids leaving with the process effluent (normally very clean). In process control operations, sampling and testing are important. Testing may include settleability testing to determine the settled sludge volume; suspended solids testing to determine influent and mixed liquor suspended solids, return activated sludge solids, and waste activated sludge concentrations; determination of the volatile content of the mixed liquor suspended solids; dissolved oxygen and pH of the aeration tank; BOD and/or COD of the aeration tank influent and process effluent; and microscopic evaluation of the activated sludge to determine the predominant organism.

Activated Sludge Process Control Calculations Activated sludge process control calculations may include determination of the thiry- and sixty-minute settled sludge volume (SSV30 and SSV60), sludge volume index (SVI) and pounds of waste activated sludge removed from the process.

Settled Sludge Volume

Here is a sample problem using the above formula: A 2,000 mL sample of activated sludge is allowed to settle for thirty minutes. At the end of the settling time the sludge volume is 1,100 mL. What is the thirty-minute settled sludge volume (SSV30)?

Sludge Volume Index Sludge volume index is a quality indicator. It reflects the settling quality of the sludge. As the SVI increases, the sludge settles slower, does not compact as well, and is likely to result in more effluent suspended solids.

Here is a sample problem using the formula above: The sample used in the previous example (SSV) has an MLSS concentration of 2,800 mg/L. What is the SVI?

Waste Activated Sludge Control of the activated sludge process requires accurate information on te quantity of solids removed from the process as waste activated sludge.

The operator wastes 0.44 MGD of activated sludge. The waste activated sludge has solids concentration of 5,840 mg/L. How many pounds of waste activated sludge are removed from the process?

Review Activated sludge refers to biological treatment processes that use a suspended growth of organisms to remove BOD and suspended solids. Primary effluent (or plant influent) is mixed with return activated sludge to form mixed liquor. The mixed liquor is aerated for a specified length of time. During the aeration the activated sludge organisms use the available organic matter as food producing stable solids and more organisms. The suspended solids produced by the process and the additional organisms become part of the activated sludge. The solids are then separated from the wastewater in the settling tank. The solids are returned to the influent of the aeration tank (return activated sludge).

Assignment Answer the following questions and send in to you instructor. Each question is worth 25 points. 1. A 1,500 mL sample of activated sludge is allowed to settle for thirty minutes. At the end of the settling time the sludge volume is 1,240 mL. What is the thirtyminute settled sludge volume? 2. Calculate the SVI from the problem above if the sample used has an MLSS concentration of 2,950 mg/L. 3. The operator wastes 0.52 MGD of activated sludge. The waste activated sludge has solids concentration of 5,975 mg/L. How many pounds of waste activated sludge are removed from the process? 4. Complete Assignment 17 on Activated Sludge. You may do the Assignment online to get credit or print it out and send it to the instructor.

Quiz Answer the questions in the Lesson 17 quiz . When you have gotten all the answers correct, print the page and either mail or fax it to the instructor. You may also take the quiz online and submit your grade directly into the database for grading purposes. Lesson 18: Stabilization Ponds

Objective In this lesson we will answer the following questions:

What are the different types of ponds used in wastewater treatment? What are the process control calucations needed for pond operation?

Reading Assignment Along with the online lesson, read Chapter 9: Wastewater Stabilization Ponds in your textbookOperation of Wastewater Treatment Plants Volume I .

Lecture Introduction to Sewage Ponds Introduction Ponds are probably one of nature's most economical ways of treating sewage and producing a highly purified effluent (end product.) The degree of treatment provided by ponds depends upon the type and number of ponds used. Ponds can be used as the sole type of water treatment or can be used in conjunction with other forms of wastewater treatment. The beginning of this lesson will be concerned with raw sewage stabilization ponds in particular and with the requirements which must be met when building sewage treatment ponds in general. The second half of the lesson will consider other types of ponds used in wastewater treatment.

Advantages and Disadvantages Ponds have many advantages and disadvantages compared to treatment in plants. Both have to deal with aeration of the water being treated, but in ponds, oxygen is transferred directly into the water across the surface area without the need for any equipment. A plant, in contrast, must install an aerator to add oxygen to the water. The natural method of aeration used by a sewage pond takes much longer than an aerator does to add oxygen to the water. As a result, ponds treat sewage much more slowly than package plants do. The minimum detention time of a pond is 45 days . In contrast, a package plant has a two to four hourdetention time. And, since ponds must hold the wastewater much longer than package plants do, the ponds must also have a much larger area to retain the sewage. If the time and area are available, sewage ponds are very economical facilities to maintain. Package plants require frequent monitoring for various parameters such as ammonia and B.O.D. In contrast, ponds require only one visit per day to monitor pH and D.O.

Requirements Sewage ponds are very simple to construct. A bulldozer is used to remove soil from the ground and create a basin in which water can collect. However, the pond and surrounding area must be planned in such a way that the human and natural environments surrounding the pond are not damaged.

The first requirement of a sewage pond is that it must be surrounded by a berm (a mound or wall of earth) or an embankment (a raised structure to hold back the water, such as that shown in the photograph at the beginning of this lesson). The berm or embankment prevents storm water from running into the pond. Without a berm, a heavy storm could

cause the sewage pond to overflow and send untreated sewage out into the surrounding area. The soil in which a pond is built must be impermeable. This will prevent the sewage from being absorbed into the ground and from leaking pollutants into the area. A pond must be completely fenced to keep unwanted visitors out. In addition, the area around the fence must be mowed to keep out vermin which could dig holes into the sides of the pond. Tree growth must be restricted near the pond since roots could enter the pond and provide a way for sewage to escape if the trees died. Sewage ponds must be encircled by a windbreak, which usually consists of a row of pine trees. The windbreak will prevent the pond's odors from disturbing the nearby residents and will also make the area aesthetically pleasing. The depth of the pond is another important factor. The pond must be greater than two feet deep at all parts to exclude plant growth. Plants growing at the edge of a pond will create areas of still water in which mosquitoes will lay their eggs. But at depths of over six feet, anaerobic conditions occur, so regulations stipulate that the depth of a sewage pond can be no more than 5 feet.

Health of the Surrounding Environment The final requirement which must be met when constructing sewage ponds is to be sensitive to any streams or rivers into which the effluent from the pond will be released. This entails knowing the classification of the stream, whether the stream contains any endangered species, and whether there are any existing contaminants in the stream. One way of protecting the surrounding environment is by adding a finishing pond. A finishing pond , also known as a polishing pond , is like a finishing school - it prepares the water to go out into the world. The finishing pond is installed between the sewage pond and the stream as shown below.

One of the largest problems when water is released directly from a sewage pond into a stream is algae. Sewage ponds are perfect environments for these one-celled plants. Food is readily available, as is moisture and sunlight, so algae grow quickly and become quite numerous. When water from a sewage pond, rich in algae, is released directly into a stream the stream can be harmed. The large quantities of algae use up the water's oxygen at night or during an algal bloom(when the algae reproduce very quickly). Without the oxygen they need to survive, the fish in the stream die. A finishing pond can eliminate this problem. Finishing ponds are usually stocked with fish, such as carp, which eat the algae in the water. Finishing ponds also allow the quality of the effluent to be monitored before it is released into the stream. As a result, streams being fed by finishing ponds tend to be healthier than those fed directly from sewage ponds.

Types of Ponds by Location Introduction Ponds can be classified based upon their location in the wastewater treatment process and on what type of waste they receive. Whether wastewater is being treated in a pond or in another type of treatment facility, it follows the same general path. First, the water passes through a series of pretreatment processes including screening and shredding the sewage. Next, the wastewater receives primary treatment which allows some of the solid matter to settle out. From primary treatment, the wastewater moves to secondary treatment where biological processes convert the remaining organic matter into a form which is easier to remove from the wastewater. Treatment may stop after secondary treatment or may continue withtertiary treatment , which reduces the nutrient content of wastewater to prevent algae blooms in the body of water into which the effluent will be released.

The raw sewage stabilization pond, which we explored in depth in the last section, is a primary treatment pond. After water has been treated in a raw sewage stabilization pond or

in some other type of primary treatment facility, the water can move on to an oxidation pond, which is a type of secondary treatment. Finally, a polishing pond is a type of tertiary treatment. These three types of ponds can be used in a series, as shown in the picture above. Alternatively, they may be used in conjunction with primary, secondary, and tertiary treatment in a wastewater treatment plant. The wastewater may receive primary treatment in the treatment plant then receive secondary treatment in an oxidation pond. Or the wastewater may receive primary and secondary treatment in a treatment plant and tertiary treatment in a polishing pond. Raw Sewage Stabilization Pond The raw sewage stabilization pond is the most common type of pond. It is a primary treatment facility which receives wastewater which has had no prior treatment (except screening or shredding.) Like any other primary treatment facility, the purpose of the raw sewage stabilization pond is to settle out most of the solids in the water. In addition, aerobic, facultative, and anaerobic decomposition of organic matter begins in this pond. Oxygen is provided by diffusion from the surface of the pond and from photosynthesis by the algae in the pond. All of these processes occur over the minimum 45 day detention time during which the water stays in the stabilization pond. As shown in the previous section, the stabilization pond consists of an influent structure, berms or walls surrounding the pond, and an effluent structure designed to permit selection of the best quality effluent. The normal operating depth of the pond is 3 to 5 feet. The raw sewage stabilization pond is designed to receive no more than 50 pounds of BOD 5 per day per acre. The biochemical oxygen demand , or BOD 5 , is the amount of organic matter which can be biologically oxidized in 5 days at 20C in the dark. This is a way of measuring how much organic matter is in the water. The quality of the water discharged from a stabilization pond will depend on the time of year. During the summer, the pond removes most of the BOD 5 but not very much of the suspended solids. In contrast, during winter months, the pond will have poor BOD 5 removal but excellent suspended solids removal. In either case, the water is usually transferred from the raw sewage stabilization pond to some type of secondary treatment facility.

Oxidation Pond

Water from the stabilization pond or from primary settling tanks of a treatment plant flows into theoxidation pond . In this pond, additional settling of solids and biological treatment of organic matter in the water occurs. Some of the fecal coliform in the water is also removed. The oxidation pond is very similar in design to the stabilization pond.

Polishing Pond We have already dealt with polishing ponds to some extend in the last section. These ponds, also known as finishing ponds, receive water flowing from the oxidation pond or from some other secondary treatment systems. Here, additional BOD 5 , solids, fecal coliform, and some nutrients are removed from the water. Polishing ponds have a much shorter detention time than stabilization ponds since they rely entirely on biological processes and no settling occurs here. Water remains in polishing ponds for only 1 to 3 days. A greater detention time may result in an increased concentration of suspended solids in the effluent. In addition, polishing ponds are typically deeper than the other types of ponds, usually operating at a depth of 5 to 10 feet.

Types of Ponds by Processes Aerobic Ponds and Aerated Ponds Ponds can also be classified based on the type of processes occurring within the pond. The types refer to the three types of respiration which we treated in more depth in the lesson on oxygen. An aerobic pond is a pond in which oxygen is present throughout the pond. All biological activity in the pond is aerobic decomposition. This type of pond is not widely used because, without some type of aeration, the lower portions of a pond tend to lack oxygen and to host anaerobic bacteria, as shown in the picture below. This is why the mud on the bottom of a pond smells like sulphur when it is stirred up. A pond would have to be very shallow in order to host only aerobic decomposition without any aeration.

One way of maintaining aerobic processes throughout the pond is to add oxygen to the water using mechanical or diffused air systems. Ponds which add oxygen to the water in this way are known asaerated ponds . Aerated ponds allow the depth of the pond and/or the acceptable loading levels to be increased. The mechanical or diffused aeration systems can be used to supplement natural oxygen production or to replace it.

Facultative Pond The typical pond shown above, with an aerobic zone near the surface and an anaerobic zone near the bottom, is a facultative pond. Like a facultative bacteria, a facultative pond can carry out both aerobic and anaerobic processes based on the presence or absence of oxygen. This is the most common type of pond. Oxygen is present in the upper portions of the pond, so aerobic processes occur here. there is no oxygen present in the lower levels of the pond, so the processes here are anaerobic or anoxic (lacking sufficient oxygen.) The facultative pond must have a balance between photosynthesis and aerobic decomposition as shown in the picture below.

Oxygen is added to the water in two ways. The wind and the surface area prompt oxygen

to diffuse into the water from the air. Algae also produce oxygen during photosynthesis when the sun is present. The oxygen is then used up by bacteria in the aerobic portion of the pond. These bacteria use oxygen to break down organic matter suspended in the water. In turn, the bacteria produce the carbon dioxide which the algae use in photosynthesis. Some of the solids settle to the bottom of the pond. These solids are broken down by anaerobic bacteria which produce methane or hydrogen sulfide.

Anaerobic Pond The final type of pond is the anaerobic pond . No oxygen is present in this type of pond, so all biological activity within an anaerobic pond is anaerobic decomposition. Wastewater is not usually treated in anaerobic ponds, but these ponds are used to treat high strength industrial wastes.

Pond Process Control Calculations Wastewater operators and treatment managers use various process control operations to determine the state of operation (status) of the pond. These operations include determining pond area, pond volume, flow rate, hydraulic detention, hydraulic loading, population loading, and organic loading.

Pond Area in Acres

Pond Volume in Acre Feet

Flow Rate in Acre-feet/Day

Hydraulic Detention Time, Days

Normally in the range of 30-120 days

Hydraulic Loading, inches/day

Organic Loading

Review

When compared with other wastewater treatment systems involving biological treatment, a pond treatment system is the simplest to operate and maintain. Pond operation and maintenance activities include collecting and testing samples for dissolved oxygen and pH, removing weeds and other debris (scum) from the pond, mowing the berms, repairing erosion, and removing burrowing animals. Dissolved oxygen and pH levels in the pond will vary throughout the day. Normal operation will result in very high dissolved oxygen and pH levels due to the natural processes occurring. The three types of ponds based on location within the treatment process are raw sewage stabilization pond (primary treatment), oxidation pond (secondary treatment), and polishing or finishing pond (tertiary treatment). The four types of ponds based on type of respiration are aerobic pond (oxygen present throughout the pond; aerobic respiration), aerated pond (oxygen artificially introduced; aerobic respiration), facultative pond (oxygen present in upper portions of the pond; aerobic and anaerobic respiration), and anaerobic pond (no oxygen present; anaerobic respiration; used to treat high strength industrial wastes).

Assignment Complete Assignment 18 on Stabilization Ponds. You may do the Assignment online to get credit or print it out and send it to the instructor.

Quiz Answer the questions in the Lesson 18 quiz . When you have gotten all the answers correct, print the page and either mail or fax it to the instructor. You may also take the quiz online and submit your grade directly into the database for grading purposes.

Lesson 19: Disinfection

Objective

In this lesson we will answer the following questions:

What is disinfection? What methods can be used to disinfect water?

Reading Assignment Along with the online lesson, read Chapter 10: Disinfection and Chlorination in your textbookOperation of Wastewater Treatment Plants Volume I .

Lecture Introduction to Disinfection Control of Waterborne Diseases As mentioned, wastewatr contains many types of human enteric organisms that are associated with various waterborne diseases. Typhoid, cholera, paratyphoid, and bacillary dysentery are caused by bacteria and amebic dysentery is caused by protozoa. Disinfection refers to selective destruction of disease-causing organisms in the water supply or in wastewater effluent. Wastewater, after secondary treatment to remove BOD and solids, may still contain large numbers of microorganisms. Some of these organisms may be pathogenic and may cause epidemics if discharged to receiving waters. Wastewater treatment must reduce the possibility of this happening. As with other steps of treatment, there are many processes available to achieve disinfection. The most widely used process is chlorination. Other processes include ultra-violet (UV) light, ozonation, and bromine chloride additions. Chlorination of the water supply has been practiced since about 1850. Presently, chlorination of both water supply and wastewater effluent is an extremely widespread practice for the control of waterborne diseases. However, chlorination may result in the formation of chlorinated hydrocarbons, some of which are known to be carcinogenic. Therefore, either dechlorination or alternate methods of disinfection are used. Only the chlorination process is discussed in this lesson.

Chlorination Chlorination, which follows all other steps of treatment, reduces the population of organisms in the wastewater to levels low enough to ensure that pathogenic organisms will not be present in sufficient quantities to cause disease when the wastewater is discharged. In use, chlorine is added to the wastewater to satisfy all chemical demands. When these initial chemical demands have been satisfied, chlorine will react with substances such as ammonia to produce chloramines and other substances which, although not as effective as chlorine, have disinfecting capability. This produces a combined residual that can be measured using residual chlorine test methods. If additional chlorine is added, free residual chlorine can be produced. Due to the chemicals typically found in wastewater, chlorine residuals are normally combined rather than free residuals. Control of the disinfection process is usually based on maintaining total residual chlorine of at least 1.0 mg/L for a contact time of at least 30 minutes at design flow. Certain factors affect the disinfection process. These include residual level, contact time, and/or effluent quality. Failure to maintain the desired residual levels for the required contact time will result in lower efficiency and increased probability that disease organisms will be discharged.

Chlorination Chemicals Chorine used in the disinfection process normally is in the form of hypochlorite (similar to that used for home swimming pools) or free chlorine gas.

Chlorine Gas Chlorine can be added to the water as a gas. Once the chlorine enters the water, it produces hypochlorous acid (NaOH) and the disinfectant HOCl. This is the most concentrated form of chlorine, being 99.9% concentrated. Chlorine gas is difficult to handle since it is toxic, heavy, corrosive, and an irritant.

Hypochlorites and Bleaches Chlorine can also come in a liquid form, known as hypochlorite or bleach . These liquids work in the same general method as chlorine gas, by producing the disinfectant HOCl. They are all much less concentrated than chlorine gas. Hypochlorites have the disadvantage that they may decompose in strength over time while in storage. Temperature, light, and physical energy can all break down the hypochlorites before they are able to react with pathogens in water. We will discuss three types of hypochlorites below - sodium hypochlorite, calcium hypochlorite, and commercial bleach. Sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) is up to 12% chlorine. Like chlorine gas, it produces NaOH and HOCl when introduced to water. You may remember calcium hypochlorite (Ca(OCl)2 ), also known as HTH, from the water treatment portion of this course. This is the type of chlorine which is used in swimming pools. Calcium hypochlorite is 65-70% concentrated. The concentration of commercial bleach varies depending on the brand. Chlorox bleach is 5% chlorine while some other brands are 3.5% concentrated.

Chloramines When hypochlorites are mixed with ammonia, the result is a chloramine . The ammonia and chlorine are mixed at a ratio of 4:5 to 1. Chloramines are weaker than chlorine, but are more stable, so they are often used as the disinfectant in the distribution lines of water treatment systems. Despite their stability, chloramines can be broken down by bacteria, heat, and light. Chloramines are effective at killing bacteria and will also kill some protozoans, but they are very ineffective at killing viruses.

Chlorine Dioxide Chlorine dioxide , ClO2 , is a very effective form of chlorination since it will kill protozoans, Cryptosporidium, Giardia, and viruses that other systems may not kill. In addition, chlorine dioxide oxidizes all metals and organic matter, converting the organic matter to carbon dioxide and water. Chlorine dioxide is generated on site, and it has the disadvantages that it is very costly and requires a great deal of technical expertise. The operator must monitor the chlorite in a chlorine dioxide system. Chlorine dioxide also has other disadvantages. It is dangerous around activated carbon, it can produce odors, and it is corrosive.

Types of Disinfection In the past, wastewater treatment practices have principally relied on the use of chlorine for disinfection. The prevalent use of chlorine has come about because chlorine is an excellent disinfecting chemical and, until recently, has been available at a reasonable cost. However, the rising cost of chlorine coupled with the chemical's toxicity to fish and other biota and the production of potentially harmful chlorinated hydrocarbons has made chlorination less favored as the disinfectant of choice in wastewater treatment. As a result, future wastewater treatment may see an increased use of ozone or ultraviolet (UV) light. Both types of treatment are effective disinfecting agents and leave no toxic residual. In addition, ozone will raise the dissolved oxygen level of water. The use of both UV light and ozone as disinfectants will be considered individually. However, since chlorine continues to be used extensively as a disinfectant, we will mainly be concerned with the practice of chlorination.

Other Methods of Disinfection Ozone

Oxygen in the air (O2) is composed of two oxygen molecules. Under certain conditions, three oxygen molecules can be bound together instead, forming ozone (O3). Ozone has many advantages as a disinfectant. It kills all pathogenic organisms by a direct effect on their DNA. Disinfection occurs 30,000 times faster than with chlorine, so a prolonged contact time is unnecessary. There is no harmful residual left in the system. The disadvantages of an ozone disinfection system are a corrosive nature, a high cost for the initial set-up, and a high electricity consumption.

UV Light

Ultraviolet, or UV, light is light outside the range usually detectable by the human eye. It can be used to deactivate protozoans so that they can't reproduce and to significantly reduce the bacteria in water. The primary disadvantage of UV light is a high operating cost. In addition, anything which blocks UV light from reaching the water will result in a lack of treatment.

Process Control Calculations There are several calculations that are useful in operating a chlorination system. These include chlorine feed rate, chlorine dose, and chlorine demand.

Chlorine Feed Rate

Here is an example using the equation above: The chorine dose is 7.25 mg/L and the flow rate is 3.25 MGD. What is the feed rate for chlorine in pounds per day?

Chlorine Dose

Here is an example using the equation above: The scale indicates that the plant has used 332 pounds of chlorine during the past twentyfour hours. The flow for the same period was 5.27 MGD. What is the dose of chlorine applied to the wastewater in milligrams/liter?

Chlorine Demand Demand, mg/L = Dose, mg/L - Residual, mg/L

Here is an exaple using the equation above: If the chlorine residual for the previous example was 1.3 mg/L, what was the chlorine demand? Demand, mg/L = 7.6 mg/L - 1.3 mg/L Demand, mg/L = 6.3 mg/L

Review Disinfection is the act of killing the pathogenic organisms in water. This prevents the spread of waterborne diseases. Chlorination is the most widespread form of disinfection. Chlorine can be added to water in various forms - chlorine gas, hypochlorites and bleaches, chloramines, and chlorine dioxide. Use of ozone and UV light for disinfection may become more widespread in the future as a result of the many disadvantages of chlorine.

Assignment Answer the following questions and send in to you instructor. Each question is worth 25 points. 1. The chlorine dose is 6.58 mg/L and the flow rate is 2.85 MGD. What is the feed rate for chlorine in pounds per day? 2. The scale indicates that the plant has used 275 pounds of chlorine during the past 24 hours. The flow for the same period was 4.85 MGD. What is the dose of chlorine applied to the wastewater in mg/L? 3. If the chlorine residual for the previous problem was 1.8, what was the chlorine demand?

4. Complete Assignment 19 on Disinfection and Chlorination. You may do the Assignment online to get credit or print it out and send it to the instructor.

Quiz Answer the questions in the Lesson 19 quiz . When you have gotten all the answers correct, print the page and either mail or fax it to the instructor. You may also take the quiz online and submit your grade directly into the database for grading purposes.