EXPERIMENT 5 : JAR TEST

INTRODUCTION

Jar testing is a method of simulating a full scale water treatment process, providing

system operators a reasonable idea of the way a treatment chemical will behave and operate

with a particular type of raw water. Because it mimics full-scale operation, system operators

can use jar testing to help determine which chemical will work best with their system’s raw

water. Jar testing is used to determine the proper coagulant dosage and continues to be one of

the most effective tools available to surface water plant operators. Finished water quality, cost

production, length of filter runs and overall filter life, all depends on the proper application of

chemical to the raw water entering the treatment plant.

In this experiments, jar testing method was used by mixing different concentration of

aliminium sulphate ,Al₂(SO₄)₃ that is into 6 beaker of water samples. The clarity of water was

observed after some time to find out the best concentration of alum for an efficient coagulation.

OBEJECTIVE

To determine the optimum dose of alum for effective coagulation-flocculation of the surface

water sample.

APPARATUS/EQUIPMENT

 Six-paddle Jar Test apparatus with illuminated base

 Six 1 litre jars

 Six 10 ml beakers

 One 10 ml graduated pipettes

 Turbidimeter

 pH meter
PROCEDURE

1. A 10 g/L stock alum solution was prepared by dissolving 10.0 g of Al2(SO4)3·16H2O

into 1000 mL of distilled water.
2. pH and turbidity of waster sample was measured.
3. Six 1-L jars were filled with 1000mL of the water sample.
4. The jars are then placed under the paddles of the jar test apparatus and the paddles are
lowered to the same depth in each jar.
5. Each jars are dosed with different volume of alum using the pipette. The volume of the
alum and its dosage amount are stated below:
Jar Volume of stock alum solution (ml) Alum Dose, mg/L
1 0 0
2 10 1
3 20 2
4 30 3
5 40 4
6 50 5
Table 1 shows the volume of stock solution and its respective dosage value for each jar.

6. The water in the was stirred instantly with a rapid mix of 100 rpm for 1 minute.
7. Then the water was stirred with a slow mix at 30 rpm for 20 minutes.
8. During the slow mix, the flocculation was observed in each jar to identify its
effectiveness and are recorded as good, fair poor.
9. At the end of 30 minutes, the stirrer was turned off. The jar are let alone to allow settling
for 30 minutes.
10. 50 ml of supernatant sample was carefully collected from each jar and was placed in the
100 ml beakers.
11. The turbidity and pH levels were measured for each sample and recorded.
 RESULTS

Jar Dose of Initial pH value Final pH Initial Final Condition

alum value turbidity turbidity

value value

(NTU) (NTU)

1 0 6.38 6.38 55.9 52.5 Poor

2 1 6.38 6.45 55.9 7.71 Fair

3 2 6.38 6.34 55.9 2.43 Good

4 3 6.38 6.32 55.9 3.27 Fair

5 4 6.38 6.21 55.9 3.35 Fair

6 5 6.38 6.2 55.9 19.57 Poor

Table 2 shows the tabulated results from the experiment.

Graph of final pH values against dose of alum

6.50
6.45
6.45

6.40 6.38
6.34
pH values

6.35 6.32

6.30

6.25 6.21 6.20

6.20

6.15
0.00 1.00 2.00 3.00 4.00 5.00 6.00
Dose of alum

Figure 1 shows the graph of final pH value against the alum dosage
 Graph of final turbidity against dose of alum
60.00
52.50
50.00

40.00
Turbidity

30.00
19.57
20.00
7.71
10.00 3.27 3.35
2.43
0.00
0.00 1.00 2.00 3.00 4.00 5.00 6.00
Dose of alum

Figure 2 shows the turbidity (NTU) against the alum dosage.

DISCUSSION

The data from the experiments are presented in two set of graphs. The first graph is of

final pH value of water samples versus the dose of alum. The graph starts with a pH of value of

6.38 in the jar with no concentration of alum at all. It then increases slightly to pH=6.45 in the

jar with a 1 dose of alum. The pH values then decrease steadily with the increasing dose of alum

into the jar. This shows that the presence of alum affects the pH value of the water samples.

The second graph is the graph of turbidity value against the dose of alum. The graph

started with high turbidity value of 52.2 NTU. The value suddenly dropped to 7.71 NTU when

the alum was added into the water and continue to decrease until it reaches a value of 2.43 NTU

with 2 doses of alum. The value started to increase again after this point. This is because,

destabilization of colloids occurred with the increment of the alum dosage after the optimum

value.

High turbidity value proved that the water has a high amount of suspended particle. The

lowest values of turbidity at 2 dose of alum shows that the water is most clear out of all the

samples. Majority of the sediment has coagulated well and settled at the bottom of the beaker.
The restabilization of the colloids happens when the negative particle from the flocculation

process has turned positive and started to repel against each other again. The optimum dosage

value also shows the best coagulation process during the slow mix.

LIABILITIES

1. The volume of alum is not accurate due to parallax error.

2. The alum is not spread evenly because it is pipetted by a human. Every human has a

different reaction time, hence the alum affecting the dispersion of the alum in the water

samples.

3. The sample cells is not properly cleaned. There might be dust particles or water droplets

that affect the reading of turbidity meter.

MODIFICATION

1. The person that are responsible for pipetting the alum must make sure that their eye

level is parallel to the calibration.

2. Pick only one person responsible for pipetting process do that human reaction time can

be avoided.

3. Make sure to wipe the surface of the sample bottle to ensure that it is clean from dust,
fingerprint and water droplet to avoid error in the reading of spectrophotometer.

CONCLUSION

Jar testing is one of the method used in a wastewater treatment to determine the proper

coagulant dosage for effective coagulation. From the experiment, 2 doses of alum was identified

as the optimum dosage for the coagulation process because it shows the lowest final turbidity

reading. Three liabilities problems and its modification were also identified.
ATTACHMENT

Figure 3 a conical flask of alum Figure 4 shows the reading of pH meter

Figure 5 shows 6 sample cells Figure 6 shows 2 pipettes

Figure 7 shows the slow mix process. Figure 7 shows the pH reading process.