ENCE 4323

Fall 2009
RAPID MIXING UNITS
Diffusion by Pressured Water Jets (Fig. 1)

No additional head loss by the mixer

Very effective

Controllable degree of mixing

Low power consumption. .

But:
water must be free of suspended solids to prevent nozzle clogging,
prone to clogging by coagulant salts.

Design criteria:
Gt = 400 - 1600 (1000 average)
Minimum pressure, 0.7 kg/cm2, with mixing jet velocity, 6 - 7.6 m/s at the orifice.
In-line static mixers (Fig. 6.28)

No moving parts, no external energy to be input to the system

Very effective

Degree of mixing and mixing time are a function of flow rate

Proprietary devices, cannot be designed by engineer

Mixing time of 1 - 3 s and maximum head loss of 0.6 - 0.9 m

Best choice for aluminum or iron salts

Gt = 350 1700 (1000 average)
Contact times between 1 and 3 s.
In-line blenders

G = 3000 5000 s-1

Gt = 500 1600

Power consumption for mixing (typical) = 8.5 kwatt/m3.s (0.5 HP/mgd)

t = 0.1 1 s

Head loss through the unit = 0.3 1.0 m. Therefore, additional power is needed (2.7 8.7
kwatt/m3.s) to overcome this head loss.
Hydraulic jumps (Fig. 8.10)

Usually generated by Parshall flumes

Coagulant added upstream of jump
Typical G values: 800 s-1
Contact time = 2 seconds
Mechanical flash mixing

Most frequently used in water treatment industry

G = 300 s-1

Mixing time: 10 - 30 s

Power requirements: 0.85 - 1 HP per MGD

Serious disadvantages:
Lack of instantaneous mixing characteristics
Short-circuiting
Mixing period is too long for metallic coagulants
Shaft problems and gear drive failures in many installations

CALCULATION OF LIME DOSAGE FOR ALUM NEUTRALIZATION

When aluminum sulfate (alum) is added to water, the following reaction takes place:
Al2(SO4)314.3 H2O + 6 H2O = 2 Al(OH)3 (s) + 6H+ + 3SO42- + 14.3 H2O
The generation of 6H+ depresses the pH. If the pH drops too much, Al(OH)3 (s) will not precipitate.
Bicarbonates present in natural waters serve as buffers:
HCO3- + H+ = H2CO3 CO2 + H2O
The overall reaction may be written as follows:
Al2(SO4)314.3H2O + 6H2O
6HCO3- + 6H+
Al2(SO4)314.3H2O + 6HCO3-

2Al(OH)3 (s) + 6H+ + 3SO42- + 14.3H2O

6CO2 + 6H2O
2Al(OH)3 (s) + 3SO42- + 6CO2 + 14.3H2O

=
=
=

Therefore, for every mole of alum (600 g), 6 moles of alkalinity (HCO3-) are consumed.

Alkalinity consumed = 6 moles HCO-3

1 eq
100 g CaCO 3 1 mole CaCO 3

mole HCO 3 mole CaCO 3

2 eq

Alkalinity consumed = 300 g as Ca CO 3

Hence, 600 g of alum consume 300 g of alkalinity as CaCO3. Therefore,
1 mg/l of alum consumes 0.5 mg/l of alkalinity as CaCO3.
If water does not have sufficient alkalinity, must supplement alkalinity by adding lime, Ca(OH)2:
Al2(SO4)3 14.3H2O + 6H2O
3Ca(OH)2 + 6H+
Al2(SO4)3 14.3H2O + 3Ca(OH)2

=
=
=

2Al(OH)3 (s) + 6H+ + 3SO42- + 14.3H2O

3Ca2+ + 6H2O
2Al(OH)3 (s) + 3Ca2+ + 3SO42- + 14.3H2O

Therefore, we need 3 moles of lime for every mole of alum to be neutralized, or

74 g lime
mole lime = 0.37g lime
600 g alum
g alum
1 mole
mole alum

3 moles lime

Example

Assume an alum dosage of 50 mg/L, water alkalinity = 10 mg/L as CaCO3. Find the
chemical consumption for a treatment plant with a flow rate of 100 L/s.

Solution:
Only 2 x 10 mg/L of alum will be neutralized by the existing alkalinity. Therefore,
50 20 = 30 mg/L of alum must be neutralized with lime.
mg alum
mg lime
mg lime
Lime dosage = 30
0.37
= 11.1
L
mg alum
L
If Q = 100 L/s:
Alum consumption = 50 mg/L x 100 L/s x 86400 s/d x 1kg/106 mg = 432 kg/d
Lime consumption = 11.1 mg/L x 100 L/s x 86400 s/d x 1 kg/106 mg = 96 kg/d

Design example of a rapid mixing unit

The water supply for a town is taken from a river with considerable variations in quality. The raw water analyses
for a year are shown in Table 1, with typical coagulant doses obtained from jar tests. The design flows for 24-h
operation are: average day = 43.8 L/s, maximum day = 65.7 L/s. Design the rapid mixing unit for this plant.
Table 1. Data for design, river source

Raw Water
Analyses
Jar Tests

Parameter
Turbidity, ntu
Alklinity, mg/L as CaCO3
Temperature, C
Alum, mg/L
pH

11
28
86
13
18
6.4

34
45
132
10
27
6.7

Per cent occurrence

28
13
9
81
126
140
92
84
93
8
18
18
36
28
41
6.4
6.4
6.4

3
180
77
16
31
6.2

2
>200
82
36
6.4