Factors controlling the performance of horizontal flow roughing fitters

Abstract

Horizontal Roughing Filtration (HRF) is a pretreatment method used to remove excess turbidity and suspended solids of surface water fed into Slow Sand Filtration units, as these can only operate satisfactorily when the concentration suspended solids is below 25 mg/1 . A critical review and discussion of current pretreatment methods, HRF research and important filtration variables are presented together with a review of mathematical models of sand and roughing filters based on clarification and trajectory theories. A detailed historical review of head—loss theories, their development and adoption in multimedia filtration is given. I. Preliminary results from studies on a small scale HRF model suggested that: - A laboratory scale model must be over 1.2 m in length: 1.6 _in turned out to be acceptable. - An outlet chamber should be provided. — Sampling must be carried out in a two dimensional field. — Intermittent sampling is adequate. One of the main objectives of this research was to identify the Important variables affecting HRF, among velocity, temperature, particle size, particles density, arrangement of the gravel bed 'Coarse—Medium—Fine (LGF),Coarse/Fine—Fine—Coarse (SGF)§, and the bed depth. II. Experiments were conducted on a 1.6m filter scale model, using Fractional Factorial Design to identify the main variables. These were found to be particles size, velocity, and temperature. III. Further runs, using a suspension of kaolin, produced results which, upon analysis for suspended solids, turbidity, particles count, revealed that the efficiency decreases with increasing temperature and velocity and increases with increasing particles size. IV. Concentration curves along the bed enabled: — The development of the removal rate equation, — Defining the operating parts of the filter at various stages of the filtration, ' — The presence of density currents. V. Efficiency variations with the amounts of accumulated solids were monitored and revealed three main trends: a) Constant efficiency; b) Gradually decreasing efficiency; c) Increasing and then decreasing efficiency. - VI. Tracer tests showed the presence of dead zones, and - short—circuiting with either increased deposits or temperature. VII. Particles size analysis revealed that: a. The effect of velocity or temperature on the grade efficiency affects mainly suspended particles in water smaller than 10 pm and 7 pm for LGF and SGF respectively. For particles of larger diameters, an unknown repulsion phenomenon increasing with temperature rise was observed. b. The main mechanisms responsible for particles removal are sedimentation and hydrodynamic forces.