The influence of hydraulic conditions on coagulation process effectiveness

• Main Authors: Sambor Aleksandra, Ferenc Zbigniew
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: EDP Sciences 2017-01-01
• Series: E3S Web of Conferences
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/20172200153

This paper presents the impact that small changes in the hydraulic installation between the flocculation chamber and the sedimentation tanks have on coagulation process effectiveness. This study has shown significant improvements in the parameters of the treated water. The research was conducted in two treatment systems: reference and test, in order to compare the changes that were introduced in the time period between January and May 2016. The hydraulic conditions between the flocculation chamber and the sedimentation tank were changed in the test system, leaving the reference system unchanged for comparative purposes. The height-wise positioning of the sedimentation tank relative to the flocculation chamber resulted in a formation of a cascade at the flocculation chamber drain at a height of 0.60m. Air was therefore introduced into the water, forming an air-water mixture, which disturbed the flow between the devices. It was found that floc transported by the pipeline was broken down, which hampered sedimentation in the sedimentation tank. This was confirmed by the analysis of chosen parameters from treated water. After changes in the hydraulic system, changes in water turbidity were noticed, indicating an increase in post-coagulation suspension separation effectiveness. Consequently, an increase in organic carbon removal was found relative to the reference system. This change influenced changes in UV254 absorbance to a much lesser extent.