Submerged horizontal jet flocculators for

small water supply schemes

Guided by Presented by

Ms. Bindu G. Dileep Gopal

Lecturer
 Introduction
 The performance evaluation survey conducted by
NEERI, Nagpur during 1988-89 on 51 water treatment
plants in India, was found that only 39% of the plants
were producing quality water meeting the CPHEEO
standards.
 Reasons quoted for this poor performance are,
lack of funds for operation and maintenance
non-availability of spare parts
untrained laboratory staff
poor administration
negligence by the staff
improper co-ordination between the staff.
Contd..

 Conventional W.T.P are not necessarily cost effective

specifically for smaller units of capacity 2-3 mld.

 Conventional flocculators are fitted with mechanical

stirrers and having an avg. turbidity removal of 70-80%.

 Maintenance and running of mechanical components

impose a severe constraint on such units.

 It is necessary to explore other simple devices free

from such constraints.
Contd..

 Jet flocculators seems to be a viable alternative.

 Guidelines for preliminary design are not available

even though it is simple, economical and robust to
operate.

 Present investigation is to study the performance of jet

flocculators using an experimental set up.

 A number of performance indices are being made use

of in assessing the performance of the flocculator.
 Coagulation – Flocculation
Coagulation:
 Destabilization of finely divided suspended and
colloidal solids by neutralization of the negative charges
and keep them apart in order to favor the formation of
micro flocs.

Flocculation:
 Formation of larger flocs from particles previously
destabilized by coagulation.
 Mechanical and hydraulic methods are often used to
create an agitation in the flocculation chamber thereby
maintaining a velocity gradient. This stage is called the
orthokinetic flocculation.
Types of Flocculators

1.Mechanical
(a) Paddle type - Mechanical stirrers used.
(b) Pneumatic type - Bubbles creates vel. gradient
- Air compressors are used.
(c) Pulsator type

2.Gravitational or hydraulic type

(a) Pipe flocculator - vel. gradient due to head loss
across pipe.
(b) Un baffled channel flocc.
(c) Baffled channel flocc.
1.Horizontal flow - Big chamber required
2.Vertical flow
Contd..
(d) Hydraulic jet action flocculator.
1. Vertical jet action.
a. Albama type - number of chambers in series included
at bottom facing up.
b. Central vertical type - water jetted to hopper bottom

2. Horizontal jet action.

a. Heliocoidal flow floccu. - 6 chambers
b. Stair case type.
c. permutic co precipitator - tangential at the bottom of
hopper tank.
d. Hydraulic flocculator - similar above

(e) Pebble bed and sand bed.

1. Pebble bed.
2. Fluidised bed.
Contd..

(f) Other types.

1. Pvc floc modules - reduces clogging of pebble
bed flocc.
2. Static flocc.

3. Sludge blanket clarifier

4. Inline flocculator

5. Tapered velocity gradient flocculator - varying

velocity gradient.
 Camp number:
 Camp and Stein (1943) introduced a RMS velocity gradient
parameter `G`
 G - the relative velocity of two flow lines divided by the
perpendicular distance between them. Mathematically it is
expressed as

G = √(P/ µV), where

P = the power expended in the chamber = Qρghf
hf = Head loss in the chamber
= V02 – V12
2g
 G = 20s-1 to 70s-1 for a retention time of around 15- 30min
(Camp, 1955) - mechanical flocc.
 GT known as Camp’s number, is dimensionless and for
aluminum based coagulants the value should be between
20,000 and 60,000.
Dimensionless parameters: - measured from RTD curve

 The exit age distribution function,

E(t) = C
∫ ∞Cdt
0
 The mean residence time in the vessel,
ť = 0∫∞tCdt
∫ ∞Cdt
0
 The dimensionless reduced time, θ = t/ť
 The dimensionless exit age distribution function,E= ťE(t)
 The fraction of the tracer remaining in the tank at any
instant of time = 1 - 0∫∞Edt = 1 – F(t), where F(t) is fraction
of applied dossage arriving at the chamber outlet for each
time t.

 To satisfy material balance the total area lying under the E- θ

curve should be unity.
 Morrill Dispersion Index (DI).
DI = t90/t10, where
 t90 = time required for 90% of the total tracer present in the
chamber to cross the outlet section
 t10 = time required to pass 10% of the tracer.
 for an ideal plug flow DI = 1 & for mixed flow DI = 21.9.

Dispersion number (Di/uL) :

 Di = the dispersion coefficient
 U = mean characteristic velocity
 L = a characteristic length of the reactor
 for an ideal plug flow Di/uL → 0
 for a well stirred flow Di/uL → ∞
 For a closed vessel the dispersion number can be evaluated
from the relationship (Levenspeil,1969)
 2 (Di/uL) - 2(Di/uL)2 (1- e(uL/Di)) = σ2/ ť2, where
σ2 = variance
 Different types of flow regimes:
 the correlation between the central tendency values of the
RTD curve and the proportion of different types of flow
regimes occuring in a sedimentation tank - Rebhun and
Argaman (1965)
 1-F(t) = e-[1/((1-p)(1-m))][t/T-p(1-m)], where
F (t) = fraction of applied dosage arriving at the outlet for
each time t.
1-F(t) = balance remaining in the vessel longer than t.
P = fraction of active flow volume acting as plug flow
1-p = fraction of active flow volume acting as mixed flow
m = dead space fraction
 log[1-F(t)] versus t/T, yields a straight line having a slope
of loge/(1-m)(1-p).
 for F(t)=O, we get t/T = p(1-m).
 Thus, from the slope of the straight line and the value of
t/T corresponding to F(t)=O, m and p can be computed.
Experimental set up
g
Experimental setup of rectangular flocculator
 Experimental setup of Circular flocculator

Experimental setup of Circular flocculator

gExperimental setup of rectangular
Pictures of single and multi jet nozzles
Flocculation Chamber
 Flocculation chambers having identical capacities but of
different plan shapes were fabricated out of metalic sheets

 Raw water stored in the tank was pumped to the flocculator

with the help of a pump.

 The required flow rate was setup by adjusting the valves

provided on the main and bypass pipe lines.

 The flow from the inlet to the flocculator was in the form of
a jet emanating from a submerged pipe.

 The rate of flow entering and leaving the flocculator was

measured volumetrically using a collecting tank.

 To ensure proper mixing, alum was injected into the raw

water supply line 1.5m ahead of the jet nozzle with the help of
a peristaltic pump.
 To determine the pressure head on the up-stream side of the
flocculator 3 pressure tappings were provided.

 A manometer connected to these tappings was supported by

a board, and a scale readable to the nearest 1mm of water was
provided.

 For proper mixing the liquid level in the tank should be less
than 1.25 times the highest lateral dimension of the tank so as to
avoid multiple impellers or excessive power consumption -
Holland and Chapman (1966).

 the circulation pattern established by a jet system is similar to

that established by a propeller stirrer - Van De Vasse (1955).

 Hence a jet submergence depth equal to 50% of liquid depth

was adopted as a reference value.
 Experimental methodology
 Preparation of the turbid water was quite crucial since the
synthetically generated turbidity should be quite close to the
natural condition.

 Throughout the present experimentation, Bentonite was used

to generate different levels of turbidity of 100 , 50 and 25 NTU.

 Tap water available in the laboratory had a turbidity of less

than 0.9 NTU.

 The amount of bentonite soil required to generate different

intensities of turbidity in a sample was found to vary in a linear
fashion.

 Bentonite in mg/L = 1.5857 x turbidity in NTU – 1.4271

 Standard jar-tests were carried out for estimating the
optimum Alum dosage

 The optimal Alum dosage was 44.50, 36.00, and 34.00mg/l

for turbidity intensities of 100, 50 & 25 NTU.

 Raw-water alkalinity (CaCO3 in mg/L) was 40mg/L

sufficient not to hinder the formation of flocs.

 pH of the synthetic water was in the range of 6.8 to 7.0

 The recommended pH zone while using Alum as a coagulant

is 6.5 to 7.5, no additional chemical was used in the experiments
to control the pH level.
 Experiments were conducted with a rectangular and
circular flocculation chamber.

 Jet sizes of 8, 10, 12, and 15mm in diameter were tried.

 Hydraulic retention time equal to 6, 7.5, 10, 15 and 20

minutes were selected.

 Experiments repeated for alternative outflow sections.

 The experiments were again repeated with double jet and

tripple jet nozzles.

 Samples from outlet collected & allowed to settle for a period

of 30 minutes and residual turbidity is found out.
 Tracer study

 to study residence time distribution, laboratory grade

common salt was used as a tracer.

 a best fit relationship Y = 0.56X – 32.50 was obtained

between conductivity & sodium conc.
 Y - the sodium concentration in mg/l
 X - the conductivity in micromhos/cm.

 For a selected detention time, 500 ppm of salt was dissolved

in water and injected using a peristaltic pump.

 The tracer injected at a section little ahead of the jet efflux

section as a slug dossage over a span of one minute.
 samples collected at the outlet initially at 0.5, 1, 2, 3, 4
minutes and thereafter for every 1/5 of nominal detention time in
minutes.

 the samples were collected untill the tracer disappeared.

 conductivity of collected sample measured with a digital

conductivity meter.

 the conc of sodium chloride was worked out from the

calibration curve.

 Material balance check was performed to verify that the

recovery of entire tracer balances with the quantity added at the
beginning of the flow (Hudson, 1981).
 Result and discussion
Effect of hydraulic retention time on turbidity removal
Hydraulic retention time

26.0
Raw water turbidity - 100NTU
24.0 Basin no. - 1A
Res. turbidity

22.0 Jet dia - 8mm

Jet dia - 10mm
20.0
Jet dia - 12mm
18.0 Jet dia - 15mm

16.0
3.0 6.0 9.0 12.0 15.0 18.0 21.0
Retention time

 Experiments conducted with basin 1A for two different jet

sizes of 8 , 10, 12 and 15mm.

 Retention times of 6, 7.5, 10, 15 and 20 min were selected.

 the improvement in the performance of the flocculation
tank is insignificant for a retention time exceeding 10 min.

 for free-jet-flocculators a retention time of 10min may

be sufficient, this is only a fraction of 30 min recommended
for mechanical flocculators.

 thus, jet flocculators can have a lot of flexibility in its

operation.

 10 & 12mm dia jets performs marginally better than the 8

and 15mm jets even though it has smaller values for G and GT.

 performance of the flocculator is not sensitive to the G and

GT values, specifically when they are in the range of 30 & 85
s-1 and 23,000 & 50,000 respectively.
 Effect of basin shape on turbidity removal
Effect of basin shape
26.0

24.0 Raw water turbidity - 100NTU

Jet dia - 10mm
Res turbidity

22.0

20.0 Rectangular chamber - 1A

Circular chamber - 2A
18.0

16.0
4.0 6.0 8.0 10.0 12.0 14.0 16.0
Retention time

 with the 8 mm dia jet, the L/d ratio for the circular basin was
62.5 & rectangular basin was 55.4.

 the theory of free jets - most of the kinetic energy of the jet
gets dissipated within a distance of 40 to 45 times the dia of jet.

 Hence the energy loss in both the chambers is same & the
performance of both basins are identical.
 that is the shape of the flocculator is of no consequence.

 in case of the rectangular basin no.3 with circular opening, L/d

ratio much high & help a bit to improve the turbidity removal
efficiency.

 rectangular basin marginally superior compared to the circular

with a slightly higher efficiency of 0.5%.

 rectangular chamber are easy to construct and changing the

length of the tank is also easy at a later time.

 a rectangular shaped basin has a distinct advantage over

other shapes.
 Effect of outlet location on turbidity removal
Location of outlet

20.0
Raw water turbidity - 100NTU
19.0 Jet dia - 10mm
Res turbidity

18.0
Chamber - 1A
17.0
Chamber - 1B

16.0 Chamber - 1C

15.0
6 8 10 12 14 16
Retention time

 outlet ‘C’ performs superior to alternatives ‘A’ and ‘B’.

 the location of the outlet plays a minor role in the overall

efficiency of turbidity removal.

 outlet can be placed at any convenient location as dictated

by the prevailing conditions on-site.
 Effect of Camp’s no. on turbidity removal:
Effect of Camp's no.

70000

60000

50000

40000 Jet dia - 8mm

GT

30000 Jet dia - 10mm

Jet dia - 12mm
20000
Jet dia - 15mm
10000

0
3.0 6.0 9.0 12.0 15.0 18.0 21.0
Retention time

 The value of G for the 12 mm jet corresponding to a retention

time of 10 min is 39.75s-1 which is comparable to the optimal
value of G = 42s-1 suggested by Andreu-Villegas and Letterman
(1976).
 for a jet flocculator an optimal diameter exists when the
retention time is specified.

 the Camp number, GT can be seen to vary over a wide range

eventhough differences in the removal of turbidity were not
remarkable.

 Hence, it is difficult to assign any particular value to GT for

design purpose.

 The usage of G and GT parameters, though simple, cannot

explain the actual performance of the flocculator vis-a`-vis
the plan shape of the tank and the location of the outlet.
Residence time distribution in a square tank:
Tracer study

55.00
50.00
Effluent tracer conc in mg/l Rectangular chamber - 1A
45.00 Jet dia - 10mm
40.00 Retention time - 10min
35.00
30.00
25.00
Residence time distribution curve
20.00
15.00
10.00
5.00
0.00
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 60 65
Time from the injection of tracer material (min)

 conc - time distribution curve of the tracer for the case of a

square tank with T=10min & jet dia -10mm.

 a material balance check was performed to ensure that the

entire tracer material added in the tank was recovered.
 Cumulative concentration vs Time
100

y = 0.8436e0.0409x

10
Time in min

1
0.00 20.00 40.00 60.00 80.00 100.00 120.00

0.1
Cumulative concentration percentage

 graph with cumulative concentration as a percentage and time

on log scale and from this DI calculated.
 the DI then plotted against retention time for different basin
shapes and for a jet diameter of 10mm are shown.
Dispersion Index

32.00

Jet dia - 10mm

30.00
DI

28.00
Rectangular chamber - 1A
Circular chamber - 2A
26.00

24.00
4.0 6.0 8.0 10.0 12.0 14.0 16.0

Retention time

 the DI values are nearly equal to the value of a well mixed

flow whereas some are even higher.

 the higher values are indicative of the existence of flow short

circuiting.
 for superior performance, the DI value should be as low as
possible.

 for the same jet diameter and retention time, flow short
circuiting in a rectangular basin is comparatively less than that
of a circular basin.

 this factor again improves the efficacy of a rectangular

basin.
 Effect of single and multi jet nozzles in turbidity removal:

effect of number of jets

18.0
Raw water turbidity - 25NTU
Jet dia - 10mm
Rectangular basin - 1B
Res. turbidity 17.0

16.0

Single jet -10mm dia

15.0
Double jet - 2 x 7.2mm dia
14.0 Tripple jet - 3 x 5.5mm dia

13.0
6 8 10 12 14 16
Retention time

 it can be seen that the turbidity removal efficiency of double

jet nozzles remained same as that of single jets.

 as the number of jets further increased which drastically

reduces the removal efficiency.
 Effect of single and multi jet nozzles in flow pattern:
Number of jets

31.00 Jet dia - 10mm

Rectangular basin - 1B
29.00
27.00
25.00
23.00
DI

Single jet -10mm dia

21.00
19.00 Double jet - 2 x 7.2mm dia
17.00 Tripple jet - 3 x 5.5mm dia
15.00
13.00
6 8 10 12 14 16
Retention time

 the flow distribution in a double jet nozzle flocculator is

superior to single jet flocculator.

 Since the turbidity removal rate remains the same and in

the practical point of view, there is not much benefit in
adopting multi jet nozzles.
 Different type of flow regimes:
Residence time distribution in a square tank
0.5

Fraction of tracer remaining longer than

0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6
-0.5
time t, log(1-F(t))
-1

-1.5

-2
y = -0.4361x + 0.106
-2.5

-3

-3.5
Residence time ratio, t/T

 from the slope of the straight line and the value of t/T corr. to
F(t)=O, fraction of dead space (m) and plug flow (p) computed.

 dead space = 3.47%

 effective vol = 96.53%
 plug flow = 19.62%
 mixed flow = 90.38%
 Mixing characteristics of flocculation chamber - jet dia 10mm
Chamber Plug flow
T in min Mixed flow % Dead space % Di/uL DI
no. %
1A 7.5 23.45 76.55 3.14 0.45 26.97
10 19.62 80.38 3.47 0.59 26.58
15 18.91 81.09 4.25 0.51 25.17
20 19.52 80.48 5.63 0.47 25.10
2A 7.5 24.65 75.35 3.21 0.42 28.95
10 20.15 79.85 3.35 0.55 28.14
15 18.62 81.38 4.2 0.51 27.86

 Dispersion no. and dispersion index of jet mixer too in the

recommended range (0.3-0.7) for mechanical mixers.

 T ≥ 10min, mixed flow proportion nearly the same.

 for T = 10min, Di/uL is larger indicating better mixing of

tracer.
 Comparison of jet flocculator with mechanical flocculator:
 data collected during the period of 14/09/2010 to 15/10/2010
from the 12.0 mld conventional water treatment plant
clariflocculaor of WSS to Adoor and adjoining panchayaths.
 the av. turbidity removal for different N0 values are
 N0 ≤ 25NTU - 48.3%.
 25 ≤ N0 ≤ 50NTU - 65.5%
 50 ≤ N0 ≤ 60NTU - 73%
 80 ≤ N0 ≤ 100NTU - 87%
 the av. turbidity removal for jet flocculator are
 100NTU - 83.5%
 50NTU - 71%
 25NTU - 47%
 The performance of the free jet flocculator is comparable
to the actual removal efficiencies obtaining from mechanical
clariflocculators.
 Conclusions:
1. The jet flocculator is a very simple, robust, low cost device
which is capable of removing turbidity from the raw water in an
efficient way.

2. the turbidity removal η for N0 = 100 NTU was in the range of

77 to 84%, which is as good as that of mechanical flocculators.

3. the retention time for a jet flocculator should be at least 10

min, which is only a fraction of recommended value of 30min
duration for mechanical flocculators.

4. L/d ratio should be larger than 36.

5. The plan-shape of the basin is not very critical in controlling

the performance of the flocculator. For ease of construction and
scope for future alteration, a rectangular flocculator is desirable.
5. the location of the outlet plays a minor role in the overall
efficiency of turbidity removal, which allows placement of outlet
at any convenient location.

6. by adopting larger diameter nozzles the efficiency of turbidity

removal can be enhanced.

7. The jet flocculator is capable of giving necessary range of

values for the performance indices like G, GT, Dispersion no. &
DI, which are in vogue in the design of water treatment plants.

8. In adopting the jet flocculator for a new or an existing water

treatment plant, the parameter G or GT (23,000 to 50,000) can be
used in the design as a starting point. Other indices should be
examined together before finalizing the dimensions and layout of
the flocculation chamber.
Design of 1.0 MLD submerged horizontal jet flocculator
Capacity = 1.0 million liters per day (MLD) = 41.67 m3/h ie.
Discharge, Q = 0.01157 m3/s.
Assume T = 10 min
Volume of basin, V = 0.01157 x 10 x 60 = 6.944 m3.
Assume GT = 30,000 (GT value can be in the range of 23,000 to
50,000 for alum).
G = 30,000/(10 x 60) = 50 s-1.
hf =G2µV/Qρg, where ρ = 1000 kg/m3;
µ = 0.89 x 10-3 kg/m/s (at 250C); g = 9.81 m/s2;
hf = 502 x 0.89 x 10-3 x 6.944
0.01157 x 1000 x 9:81
= 0.1365 m;
U0 = √(2ghf) = √(2 x 9.81 x 0.1365) = 1.637 m/s

Cross sectional area of jet nozzle,

A = Q/U0
= 0.0070678 m2
Diameter of jet, d = √(4A/п) = 0.0948 m
(Provide a jet of dia = 0.1 m and then check for the GT value).

A = пd2/4 = п x 0.12/4 = 0.007854 m2;

U0 = Q/A =1.473 m/s;
hf = U02/2g = 0.1106 m;

G = √(Qρghf/µV)
= √((0.01157 x 1000 x 9.81 x 0.1106)/(0.00089 x 6.944)) = 45 s-1
GT = 27000, well within safe range.
Head required at the jet outlet
Δh = Q2/(2gAi2Cd2) = 0.11572/(2 x 9.81 x (п x 0.12/4)2 x 0.752)
= 0.1966 m
Length of basin ≥ 36d; L = 36 x 0.1 = 3.6 m and
W = H = 1.39 m (W and H should be larger than 5d to avoid an
oscillating jet due to Coanda effect).

Dimensions of jet flocculator for demand of 1.0 MLD.

 The jet is located at the middle of the height and width
of the basin.
 Outlet arrangement can be changed to alternative B
or C if the site conditions so demand.
 To arrive at the actual size of the basin, a reasonable
free board (0.15 to 0.20m) may be added to the calculated
water depth.
Thank you