Slide 2 Water to be supplied for public use must be potable i.e.

, satisfactory for drinking purposes from the standpoint of its chemical, physical and biological characteristics. The objective of water treatment is to produce safe and potable drinking water.
The availability of a reliable supply of water is one of the most important determinants of human health.

Some of the common treatment processes used include aeration, clarification and filtration Slide 3
Filtration is the most important part in a water treatment plant. Filtration is the process of passing water through material to remove particulate and other impurities, including floc, from the water being treated. These impurities consist of suspended particles (fine silts and clays), biological matter (bacteria, plankton, spores, cysts or other matter) and floc.

Slide 4

The filter used in the filtration process can be compared to a sieve or microstrainer that traps suspended material between the grains of filter media. However, since most suspended particles can easily pass through the spaces between the grains of the filter media, straining is the least important process in filtration. Filtration primarily depends on a combination of complex physical and chemical mechanisms, the most important being adsorption.
A popular misconception is that particles are removed in the filtration process mainly by physical straining. Straining is a term used to describe the removal of particles from a liquid (water) by passing the liquid through a filter or fabric sieve whose pores are smaller than the particles to be removed. While the straining mechanism does play a role in the overall removal process, especially in the removal of large particles, it is important to realize that most of the particles removed during filtration are considerably smaller than the pore spaces in the media. This is particularly true at the beginning of the filtration cycle when the pore spaces are clean (that is, not clogged by particulates removed during filtration). Thus, a number of interrelated removal mechanisms within the filter media itself are relied upon to achieve high removal efficiencies.

Slide
Iron and manganese occur in dissolved forms as single ions (Fe 2+, Mn2+) or in undissolved higher forms mainly as Fe(OH)3 or Mn(OH)4, respectively. They can also be present in colloid form (bound to humic substances). The form of their occurrence depends on oxygen oncentration, solubility of Fe and Mn compounds in water, pH value, redox potential, hydrolysis, the presence of complex-forming inorganic and organic substances, water temperature, and water composition (e.g. CO 2 content). The principle of most methods used for iron and manganese removal is that originally dissolved iron and manganese are transformed into undissolved compounds that can be removed through single-stage or twostage separation. Oxidation and hydrolysis of these compounds is done under strict conditions with respect to water properties and type of equipment for iron and manganese removal. Single-stage water treatment (filtration) is designed for iron and manganese concentrations to 5 mgl-1, and the twostage treatment (settling tanks or clarifiers and filters) is used for water with iron and manganese concentrations higher than 5 mgl-1. In case water contains higher concentrations of Ca, Mg, and CO 2 (eventually H2S), aeration is done before settling or filtration.

The purpose of filtration is to remove the particulates suspended in water by passing the water through a layer of porous material. Filtration is used in addition to regular coagulation and sedimentation for removal of solids from surface water or wastewater. Larger particulates are retained by straining and sedimentation, while colloidal matter is retained by adsorption or coagulation and sedimentation. Biological interactions occur only when the water passes very slowly through the porous media. Filtration does not remove dissolved solids, but may be used together with a softening process, which does reduce the concentration of dissolved solids The working part of a rapid gravity filter or the part that removes the solids from the incoming water is the filtering medium which is usually sand. There are many different mechanisms which contribute towards the removal efficiency of a filter and the nature of water and the chemical pre-treatment given determines the principal mechanism. The rapid gravity filters usually constitute the last solid-liquid separation stage in a treatment cycle for drinking water, and the objective with all designs of filters is to reduce the solids content measured as turbidity to less than 5 NTU. To achieve improved standards of purity there is some limited but nevertheless important scope for varying the basic design of a rapid gravity sand filter: for instance the sand size can either be constant, or it can vary from fine to coarse, the depth of sand can be shallow or deep; the direction of flow of water can be down flow or up flow. All of these variations in filter design have been incorporated from time to time in different situations. When a fine sand is used, the collection of solids during filtration, and hence the buildup of head loss, tends to be within the top layers of the sand. In contrast, with coarser sands the solids penetrate to a greater depth and the lower layers of the sand bed are then called upon to do some of the works of solid removal. So long as there is an adequate factor of safety in bed depth against complete dirt penetration it makes good sense to utilize at least some of the bed depth for solids capture, but the provision must be that the backwashing system can be relied upon to remove accumulated solids and achieve thorough cleansing of the sand before its next working cycle. In theory the ideal sand grading arrangement is to have a decreasing size in the direction of flow as this will bring about the greatest degree of solids capture. In practice this is not possible during every time because hydraulic regarding takes place during backwash, so that finer sand collects at the surface of bed and the gradation of size becomes reverse after this. Removal of suspended matter occurs in the top portion and the whole remaining depth of the filter is not utilized. Any suspended matter penetrating this top layer will have the chance to pass through the entire bed and may appear in the effluent due to increase of void spaces between sand grains as proceeding downward. As a result of detaining greater amounts of suspended matter and other impurities, the head loss quickly build up, consequently the filter run is reduced. This can be countered using separate layers of different filter materials having different density and grain size, the denser material being at the bottom of the bed and the less dense at the top. One type of such multilayer filter bed is the dual-media filter bed using sand and anthracite. The specific gravity of anthracite (1.4-1.45) is lower than that of sand (2.6-2.7) and the coarser anthracite is placed over a layer of finer sand supported over gravel. The dual media thus function as a progressive sieve which traps larger solids within the coarser top layer whereas the smaller particles are trapped within bottom layer. This condition is maintained throughout the operation even after backwashing, as the two layer bed settles down again with anthracite on top with only some small amount of mixing and this maximizes the solids holding capacity thereby increasing the filtration cycle and reducing the time for backwash resulting in higher net filtration rate The kinetics of removal of particles smaller in size than the pore openings in the bed is described as consisting of a transport and an attachment step. The transport to the surface of the filtration medium may be produced by diffusion, interception, setting, impingent or hydrodynamic carriage. The transport process is aided by flocculation in the interstices of the filter sand by relatively short travel required for removal by sedimentation.

Attachment of particles after their content with the medium is chemical in nature and is influenced by pH, ionic composition of the water, age of the floc, and the composition and surface condition on the medium. Both the filter medium and suspended particles in the influent may bear significant charges which can either aid or inhibit attachment. These surface charges can be affected both by changes in pH and by the addition of chemical coagulants. The following points are important in removal of particles in a granular filter

1.

The quantity of particles removed by a layer of filter medium is proportional to the concentration entering that layer.

2. 3.

Filter performance varies with time, first increasing, and then decreasing. The quantity of particles removed by a layer of filter medium equals the quantity accumulated in filter pores.

4.

A layer eventually reaches a point at which it no longer effectively clarifies the suspension and concentration leaving equals that entering.

5.

The equilibrium condition is reached first at the inlet layer and proceeds progressively through the filter in the direction of flow.

As the successive layers of the filter become saturated with removed material, the head loss through the bed will increase due to the constriction and a partial vacuum may be created within the medium causing air bubbles to the formed from gases drawn from the solution. Such air binding further restricts the area of flow, increases velocity and head loss, and may cause particles to be carried from the filter.

Large particles which are strongly bound will tend to be removed in the upper layers of the filter, producing high head loss with little penetration of floc. This phenomenon will be particularly pronounced if the filter medium is fine. Finer suspended particles, particularly upon coarse filters, will tend to penetrate further into the bed, distributing the reduction in flow capacity and producing lower head loss for equivalent removal over equal time periods. Since deeper and this has been shown to be necessary.

Pre-treatment is required prior to filtration and the process of coagulation, flocculation and filtration cannot properly be considered as separate unit processes. Conventional rapid sand filtration using sand as a medium requires low influent turbidity and has typically employed coagulation with alum or lime, flocculation and sedimentation.

Filters employing mixed media, which give an approximation of reverse gradation, or those with an up flow filtering pattern are less sensitive to influent turbidity and may be preceded only by a flash mix of chemicals with coagulation and flocculation occurring with in the filter. In such application it is important that the floc be small but tough so that deep penetration will be obtained without shearing of the floc particles.

2.2.5

Removal Mechanisms

Removal of solids in a filter is accomplished by a number of mechanisms. The important mechanisms in a rapid sand filter are listed below.

2.2.5.1 Mechanical Straining The sand bed contains a number of voids or interstices between the grains. When water is passing through these voids the suspended matter that is too large to pass through is retained on the surface of the sand bed. The straining particles form a thin mat through which the water has to pass before it reaches the filtering medium itself and the mat itself functions as a strainer. This action is called mechanical straining which removes the suspended particles.

2.2.5.2 Sedimentation Sedimentation and adsorption remove smaller particles of suspended matter, colloids and bacteria. The voids in the sand bed form a number of minute sedimentation basins in which the small suspended particle settle upon the sides of the sand grains. A gelatinous coating formed round the

sand grains by previously deposited bacteria and colloidal matter and physical attraction between the suspended particles and sand grains themselves accelerate the action of sedimentation.

2.2.5.3 Adsorption The immense internal and external surface area of the colloidal masses couples with the electrical charge carried by the particles enables the material to attract and hold particles at the surface is called adsorption. In other words the colloidal and dissolved matter can be made to adhere to the surface of a solid material by the phenomenon of adsorption and impurities can be removed. The colour and odour from water are removed by adsorption to the extent of about 15 to 25 per cent.

2.2.5.4 Biological metabolism The growth and life process of the living cells is known as biological metabolism and action of filter is explained on the basis of biological metabolism. When the bacteria are caught in the voids of the sand grains, a zoological jelly or film is formed around the sand grains. The film contains large colonies of living bacteria. The bacteria feed on the organic impurities contained in water. They convert such impurities into harmless compounds by the complex biological reactions.

2.2.5.5. Electrolytic changes:

The action of filter is also explained by the ionic theory. It states that when substances with opposite electric charges are brought into contact with each other, the electric charges are neutralized and in doing so, new chemical substances are formed. It is observed that some of the sand grains of filter are charged with electricity of some polarity. Hence, when particles of suspended and dissolved matter containing electricity of opposite polarity come into contact with sand grains, they neutralities each other and it ultimately results in the alteration of chemical characteristics of water. After some interval of time, the electrical power of sand grains gets exhausted. At that time, it becomes necessary to clean the filter and restore it with this

2.2.5.6. Inertial Impingements and Centrifugal Collection

Inertial impingement may be an important form of removal. When a liquid containing particles of greater density strikes a surface, some of the denser matter may adhere to such surface. But inertial and centrifugal effected can be shown mathematically to be insignificant for the size and density of particles found normally in water. It is the predominant removal mechanism in fibrous filters used to clean air and is not of great significance in rapid sand filtration owing to the high viscosity of water

2.2.5.7. Brownian movement

Several investigators

have discussed Brownian movement as a mechanism for bringing

suspended particles into contact with the surface of the filter medium. It may cause erratic motion of small particles to move away from the flow stream and then come in to contact with a solid surface to which they may adhere.

2.2.5.8.. Van der waals forces

Meckrle has found that Van der waals forces of attraction and reputation at molecular levels form an important mechanism of removal and further says that it may be a major force for preventing or dispersion of removed matter.

2.2.5.9. Flocculation

A filter offers opportunity for contact between various particles of impurities contained in water among themselves and also between the particles and the surface of grains composing the filters. When the impurities come in contact with another, may agglomerate and flocs are formed. Feyer and Geyer regard this floc formation as an important removal mechanism.

The size and shape of the filter media affect the efficiency of the solids removal. Sharp, angular media form large voids and remove less fine material than rounded media of equivalent size. The media must be coarse enough to allow solids to penetrate the bed for a considerable depth. Although most suspended solids are trapped at the surface or in the first few layers of bed depth, some penetration is essential to prevent a rapid increase in pressure drop.

The filter media used in water treatment is specified by effective particle size and uniformity coefficient. The effective size is such that approximately 10% of the total grains by weight are smaller and 90% are larger. Therefore, the effective size is the minimum size of most of the particles. Uniformity is measured by comparison of effective size to the size at which 60% of the grains by weight are smaller and 40% are larger. This latter size, divided by the effective size, is called the uniformity coefficient-the smaller the uniformity coefficient, the more uniform the media particle sizes.

Finer sands result in shallower zones for the retention of suspended matter. The most desirable media size depends on the suspended solids characteristics as well as the effluent quality requirements and the specific filter design. In general, rapid sand filters use sand with an effective size of 0.35-0.60 mm and a maximum uniformity coefficient of 1.7. Coarse media, often 0.6-1.0 mm are used for closely controlled coagulation and sedimentation. Proper backwashing is a very important step in the operation of a filter. If the filter is not backwashed completely, it will eventually develop additional operational problems. If a filter is to operate efficiently, it must be cleaned before the next filter run. Treated water from storage is used for the backwash cycle. This treated water is generally taken from elevated storage tanks or pumped in from the clear well.

During filtration, the filter media becomes coated with the floc, which plugs the voids between the filter grains, making the filter difficult to clean. The media must be expanded to clean the filter during the backwash. This expansion causes the filter grains to violently rub against each other, dislodging the floc from the media. The filter backwash rate has to be great enough to expand and agitate the filter media and suspend the flocs in the water for removal. However, if the filter backwash rate is too high, media will be washed from the filter into the troughs and out of the filter. In most cases the filter backwash rate will not break up the mass on the top of the filter. The design engineer sometimes recommend the installation of a surface wash of some type, the most common being a set of rotary arms that are suspended above the media during filtration. During filter backwash, the media expands upwards and around the washing arms. A newer method of surface wash involves using air scour before the water wash. This is a very efficient method but requires the installation of a large air blower to produce the air.

The filter should be backwashed when the following conditions have been met:

a. The head loss is so high that the filter no longer produces water at the desired rate. b. Floc starts to break through the filter and the turbidity in the filter effluent increases c. A filter run reaches a given hour of operation. d. If a filter is taken out of service for some reason, it must always be backwashed prior to be putting on line.

The decision to backwash the filter should not be based on only one of the above conditions. If a filter is not backwashed until the head loss exceeds a certain limiting value, the turbidity may break through and cause the filter to exceed the standard of 0.5 NTU of turbidity. Similarly, depending on filter effluent- turbidity alone can cause high head loss and decreased filter flow rate, which can cause the pressure in the filter to drop below atmospheric pressure and cause the filter to air bind and stop filtering.

If the water applied to a filter is very good quality, the filter runs can be very long. Some filters can operate longer than one week before needing to be backwashed. However, this is not recommended as

long filter runs can cause the filter media to pack down so that it is difficult to expand the bed during the backwash.

The normal method for backwashing a filter involves draining the water level above the filter to a point 20-30 cm above the filter media. The surface wash or air scour is then turned on and allowed to operate for several minutes to break up the crust on the filter. After that, the backwash valve is opened, allowing backwash water to start flowing into the filter and start carrying suspended material away from the filter. For a filter with an air wash instead of a water-surface wash, the filter backwash water and the air wash should not be used together. This would be possible only if some means of controlling the media carryover is installed. The effective size of sand was found to be 0.48 mm whereas that of anthracite was 1.0 mm. The uniformity coefficient has been obtained as 1.5 for sand and 1.3 for anthracite.

The carbon content of anthracite has been estimated by chemical analysis conducted at the Chemical Laboratory of Mining and Geology Department and the value is 90.95%. The sample analysed shows loss of weight on heating amounting to 10.01%.

Acid solubility and alkali solubility of anthracite is another means to enumerate the soluble organic contents the material. The acid solubility was estimated to be 1.7 % and alkali solubility was 1.9% . For the measurement of sphericity the three characteristic dimensions ( r is the smallest dimension of the particle, and s and t are the remaining dimensions) were measured for 10 sample grains of sand and anthracite using optical microscope and using the relation

sphericity has been calculated. The results are shown in Table 4.4

From the values of permeability and sphericity calculations it has been noticed that anthracite is having lower sphericity but higher permeability than sand. This is mainly due to the granular structure of the anthracite and increase in porosity when compared with the sand, These data indicate that by using the anthracite media the rate of water flow through the medium can be increased The anthracite material is having Carbon content 90.01%, acid solubility 1.7% and alkali solubility 1.9% which indicates that the material is inert and stable. The effective size is 1.0 mm and UC is 1.3. In general, dual Media Filter Plants give increased filter run, increased filter output per unit time and reduced backwash water requirement when compared to monomedia filter beds. The studies on the WTP indicates that dual media filter plant is capable of producing almost the same output of 10 MLD with only 50% filter area of conventional bed ( 60 m2 instead of 120

m2 area).The study also indicates the filter coefficient is consistent only with pre-treatment. The pilot plant study conducted at Adoor WTP indicates that the head loss increase and flow rate reduction with time is more with mono media filter than with dual media filters for all rates of flow but the turbidity reduction is almost similar. For the monomedia filter there is reduction of >50% flow rate for 30 hrs of operation whereas for dual media, this occurs after 57 hrs only. The filter coefficient of monomedia filter decreases after 20 hrs of operation whereas the same happens in dual media filter this happens only after 50 hrs of operation. The study on the emptying time (falling head method) on mono media and dual media shows that the time for emptying exceeds 1000 seconds for 27 hrs of operation in monomedia and 62 hrs of operation in dual media. The turbidity removal efficiency of anthracite media increases with increase in influent turbidity thereby reducing the filter load on the underlying media. The backwash study indicates a minimum savings of 25% to a maximum of 34.7 % depending on depth of media. The study of attrition loss using column experiment indicates that for the same air flow in both mono and dual media, the losses increases for 0.35 to 0.39 for 0.7 m dual media and to 0.36 for 1.0 m dual media. For same expansion of media the losses increases from 0.33 to 0.34 for 0.7 m dual media whereas it decreases to 0.32 m for 1.0 m dual media. The projection of attrition loss to evaluate the media life indicates faster deterioration of monomedia when compared with dual media. The study indicates that while up-rating monomedia filters to dual media, the most important criteria is (D/e) ratio. This has to be carefully selected. For same (D/e) ratio, the dual media filter

can give times 2 times filter run, 50% increase in output and 25% savings in backwash. The theoretical settling velocity and head loss should be considered while selecting grain size of anthracite. The economic analysis indicates that though the initial cost of anthracite media is high (Rs 45000/m3 ), the breakeven is attained within short time.

Sphericity is a measure of how spherical (round) an object is. As such, it is a specific example of a compactness measure of a shape. Defined by Wadell in 1935, the sphericity, , of a particle is: the ratio of the surface area of asphere (with the same volume as the given particle) to the surface area of the particle: Permeability in fluid mechanics and the earth sciences (commonly symbolized as , or k) is a measure of the ability of a porous material (often, a rock or unconsolidated material) to allow fluids to pass through it. Permeability is part of the proportionality constant in Darcy's law which relates discharge (flow rate) and fluid physical properties (e.g.viscosity), to a pressure gradient applied to the porous media:
[1]

Advantages
Higher service flows and longer filter runs than equivalent filters Unique density allows Anthracite to be combined with other filtration media in multi-media filters Close attention to gradation, hardness and purity assures consistent and reliable performance Lower uniformity coefficient has less oversized and undersized particles resulting in a highly uniformed bed

Because of the solid build-up within or on the filter medium the resistance offered to filtration increases with time Backwashing is an operation conducted to remove the filtered solids by inverting the direction of the liquid flow while using clear liquid In conventional filters in which the slurry velocity is downward backwashing produces a lifting of the filter medium with consequent dislodging of the filtered solids that can be collected from the top of the filter During backwashing the larger medium particles tend to sediment to the bottom of the filter while the lighter particles rise to the top When the filter is put back into operation the incoming slurry encounters the smaller particles first. This is clearly undesirable since, as a result, the filtering action will be provided primarily by the top layer where the smaller particles are Dual- and multi-media systems are designed to reduce the magnitude of this problem

Such systems (working in downward flow) utilize as filter media small heavier particles (typically sand) at the bottom and lighter but larger particles (typically coal) on top During backwashing the lighter, larger particles will sediment more slowly than the smaller but heavier particles and will remain at the top This will result in a more appropriate solid distribution in which the slurry will first encounter the larger particles as it enters the filter from the top