Filtration

Water Treatment Processes

Description of Filtration
It is the process in which water passes through a filter bed made up of fine sand over a layer of supporting gravel.
The major purpose of filtration is to remove suspended material from water. This suspended material can include floc from the coagulation / flocculation or coagulation, flocculation, and sedimentation processes; microorganisms.

Mechanisms of Filtration Process

1- Mechanical straining 2-Sedimentation & adsorption

3- Biological metabolism

As water passes through the filter bed, the suspended particles contact and adsorb (stick) onto the surface of the individual filter grains or onto previously deposited material. This is important in the slow sand filter where an accumulation of a dirty skin (Schmutzdeck layer) on the top of the filter is important to obtain a satisfactory effluent.

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Types of Filters
Filters can be classified by the filtration rate, type of filter media, or type of operation

I.

Gravity Filters
B- Rabid - Sand C- High Rate:
1- Dual- Media 2- Multi - Media

A- Slow - Sand

II. Pressure Filters

A- Sand or Multi Media B- Diatomaceous Earth

Slow sand Filters

Removes pathogens

Removes many pollutants Low maintenance Slow flow rates 0.05 gpm/sq ft

Mechanism
Very little mechanical removal schmutzdeck where most treatment occurs: A community of microorganisms Bed surface to 0.15 M below Organisms that have been identified: Algae, bacteria, diatoms and zooplankton Mechanisms for removal are not fully understood.

Rapid sand filters

 Filter sand is specifically manufactured for filtration as are all media used for this purpose. A rapid-sand filter usually uses a 24-to 30-in. (0.6 to 0.75 M) bed of fairly uniform sand grains, 0.4 to 0.6 mm in diameter. This sand is much coarser than that used for slow-sand filters. This accounts for many of the advantages of rapid-sand filters. One major advantage is that the coarser sand has larger void spaces, which do not fill and seal off quickly. Three to five layers of graded gravel are placed between the sand and under drain system. The total gravel bed is usually 6 to 18 in. (0.15 to 0.45 M) thick, depending on the under drain system. This gravel bed prevents sand from entering the under drains and helps distribute the backwash water evenly.

The Under Drain

The under drains serve two functions:
evenly distribute the backwash water so that

the sand and gravel beds will not be

disturbed.
uniformly collect the filtered water. The water

then flows into the piping system for further treatment and then to the clear well.

Types of under drain systems commonly used

Pipe-lateral
Wheeler bottom

Porous plates or strainer nozzles Leopold bottom

Comparison of slowsand, Rapid-Sand

High-rate filters
high-rate filters can operate at rates three to four times those of rapidsand filters. These filters use a combination of filter media, not just sand; all other components are the same as for rapid-sand filters. Dual-media filters use sand and anthracite coal. Multi-media (mixed-media) filters use three or more media and usually sand, anthracite coal, and garnet.

 Dual- and mixed- media filters have a coarse-to-fine gradation of filter media. The layers of media approximately maintain their respective positions in the filter bed even after backwashing. Some mixing makes the filter more effective by providing more contact area for the suspended particles. The coarse layer on top removes the larger suspended particles. The finer particles pass through this layer and are removed by

finer media below. So, most of the filter bed is used to remove suspended particles. This allows for longer filter runs and higher filtration rates because head loss does not build up as quickly as with a rapid-sand filter.

Operation of gravity filters

Filtering During filtering, water is applied to the filter to maintain a constant depth of 1 to 1.5 m over the media. Initially, the media is clean and head loss is very low. The filtration rate is kept at the desired level by using a control. A control is important in preventing harmful surges, which can disturb the media and force floc through the filter. As filtration progress, suspended matter builds up within the filter bed. At some time, usually after 15 to 36 hours of operation, the filter must be cleaned by backwashing.

Backwashing
For a filter to operate efficiently, it must be cleaned thoroughly before the next filter run begins. In addition, properly backwashed filters require far less maintenance. Treated water is always used for backwashing so that the bed will not be contaminated.

During filtration, the voids between the media grains fill with the filtered material (floc)..

o The grains also become coated with the floc and become very sticky o To clean the filter bed, the media grains must be agitated violently and rubbed against each other to dislodge the sticky coating. o The backwash rate must be high enough to completely suspend the filter media in the water.

o The backwash causes the filter bed to expand. o The media, auxiliary scour (surface wash) equipment is recommended to provide the extra agitation needed. It is a must be with high-rate filters, since the filtered material penetrates much deeper into the bed.

A filter needs backwashing as:

Head loss,
filter-effluent turbidity, and length of the filter run
Head loss is so high that the filter no longer produces water at the desired rate. This is know as TERMINAL HEAD LOSS and is usually about 2.4 m. Floc starts to break through the filter bed causing the filter effluent turbidity to increase. A filter run reaches 36 hours.

The decision to backwash should not be based on only one of these three factors. if a filter is not washed until terminal head loss is reached, a serious increase in filtered-water turbidity could occur well before the filter is backwashed. Likewise, depending on effluent turbidity alone can cause head loss to reach terminal conditions well before BREAKTHROUGH has occurred. This can cause the pressure in the filter bed to drop below atmospheric pressure, which causes operational problems. The turbidity should never be allowed to increase to 1 NTU before backwashing This, in turn, can lead to tastes and odors in the treated water as well as difficult-to-remove slime growth within the filter.

 Usually, the amount of backwash water used should not exceed 4% of the amount of water treated for rapid- sand filters, and 6 % for dual- and multi- media. Filter runs should range between 15 and 24 hours and should never exceed 36 hours. A typical backwash sequence begins by draining the water in a filter down to a level about 150 mm above the media. The surface washers are turned on and allowed to operate for 1 to 2 min. This allows the high-velocity water jets to break up any surface layers of filtered material. The backwash valve is opened part-way to allow the bed to expand to just above the level of the washers. This provides violent scrubbing of the top portion of the media. Intense scrubbing is particularly important with rapid-sand filters because the top 200 mm of media does most of the suspended-solids removal. After a few minutes, the backwash valve is fully opened to allow a filter bed expansion of 20 to 30 percent.

 With multi- media filters, the bed must be expanded so that the surface washers can scrub the area (interface) between the coal and sand layers where most of the filtered material has penetrated. The clarity of the wash water as it passes into the wash-water troughs can be used as an indicator of when to stop washing. The surface washers are usually turned off about 1 min before the backwash flow is stopped. This allows the bed to restratify into layers, which is particularly important for multi-media filters. If surface wash equipment is not available, a two-stage wash should be used. The initial wash velocity should be just enough to slightly expand the top portion of the bed. Although not as effective as surface washing, this method will provide the scrubbing action needed to clean the surface media grains. After the surface has been cleaned, the full backwash rate is applied.

 Turning on the backwash too quickly can severely damage the under drain system, gravel bed; and media. The time from starting the backwash flow to reaching desired. Backwash flow rate should be from 30 to 45 sec. To prevent accidents, the backwash valve controls should be set to open slowly.

Filter Backwash Procedure

Step 1 Close Influent Valve Step 2 Close Effluent Valve Step 3 Surface Washers are turned on. Step 4 Backwash Valve is opened partially Step 5 Backwash Valve opened to expand bed 20 to 50% Step 6 Backwash period = to 5 to 15 minutes Step 7 Surface wash turned off 1 minute before end of BW Step 8 Wash Water Valve closed Step 9 Filter Bed is rested for 30 to 60 minutes Step 10 Filter Effluent Valve is opened Step 11 Filter to Waste is opened Step 12 Filter to Waste ends when Eff. Turbidity is OK Step 13 Filter to Waste Valve is closed Step 14 Filter Effluent Valve is opened

Disposal of backwash water To avoid water pollution, backwash water must not be returned directly to streams or lakes. This water is usually routed to a lagoon or basin for settling. After settling, the water is usually recycled to the treatment plant influent. The settled solids are combined with the sludge from the

sedimentation basins and treated.

Filtering to waste Once backwashing is completed, the water applied to the filter should be filtered to waste until the turbidity of the effluent drops to acceptable level. This period may last from 2 to 20 min.

In addition, the initial high filtration rates continue to wash

fine material through the filter until the media grains become sticky and more effectively adsorb the suspended material.

Operating problems with gravity filters

Mudball Formation : inadequate backwash and surface wash

Filter Bed Shrinkage : Bed compresses and shrinks

Gravel Displacement

Backwash valve is opened too quickly

Excessive Media Loss Caused by excessive backwashing rate

Air Binding negative head operation and low water levels.

Thank you