MSU -Iligan Institute of Technology

College of Engineering
Department of Chemical Engineering and Technology

Batch Sedimentation

A Laboratory Report

In Partial Fulfillment

For the requirements of

CHE 159: Particle Technology

Prof. Arniel Ching O. Dizon

KIMBER S. CELICIOUS

ROMEO T. DOCOR

HOPE MARIE N. GOCOTANO

NOVI KENN C. LAVISORES

March 2018
 Abstract

Wastewater treatment is vital nowadays in order to lessen the pollution in the environment.

With the aid of sedimentation process, treatment becomes easier and more economical. A volume

of wastewater from Permites Compound creek, San Miguel Iligan city was obtained and

homogenized in a graduated cylinder. The settling particulates were then observed and recorded

in Table 1. Data obtained were used to calculate the areas of the thickener which is found to be

10.9 m2 and a clarifier area of 368 m2. Results obtained in area calculations gave us the idea of

the quantity of wastewater particles present and the time it will totally settle down.
I. Introduction

Sedimentation, or clarification, is the process of letting suspended material settle by

gravity. It is a physical water treatment process using gravity to remove suspended solids from

water. Sedimentation has been used to treat wastewater for millennia. The particles that settle out

from the suspension become sediment, and in water treatment is known as sludge. When a thick

layer of sediment continues to settle, this is known as consolidation. When consolidation of

sediment, or sludge, is assisted by mechanical means then this is known as thickening.

In water treatment sedimentation might be used to reduce the concentration of particles

in suspension before the application of coagulation, to reduce the amount of coagulating

chemicals needed, or after coagulation and, possibly, flocculation. When sedimentation is applied

after coagulation, its purpose is usually to reduce the concentration of solids in suspension so that

the subsequent filtration can function most effectively.

Sedimentation is one of several methods for application prior to filtration: other options

include dissolved air flotation and some methods of filtration. Generically, such solids-liquid

separation processes are sometimes referred to as clarification processes.

There is a variety of methods for applying sedimentation and include: horizontal flow,

radial flow, inclined plate, ballasted floc and floc blanket sedimentation. Wastewater is composed

of all the water used in the home that goes down the drains or into the sewage collection system.

This includes water from baths, showers, sinks, dishwashers, washing machines, and toilets.

Small businesses and industries often contribute large amounts of wastewater to sewage

collection systems; others operate their own wastewater treatment systems.

 Primary treatment of sewage is removal of floating and settleable solids through

sedimentation, as well as the precipitates formed in coagulation and flocculation. After plain

sedimentation, simple settlement of the solid material in sewage can reduce the polluting load by

significant amounts. It is important to know how fast or slow particles settle in order to conclude

the time it takes to get a compacted solid at the bottom. The area being occupied by the compacted

solids by a certain time is calculated using the Talmadge and Fitch Method.

A successful sedimentation is crucial for the overall efficiency of the wastewater plant.

Common examples include the removal of grit and particulate matter in the primary settling tanks

that receive raw wastewater prior to biological treatment and sludge from the bioreactor. Using

the Talmadge and Fitch method it is possible to plot the solid flux versus the solids concentration

without implementing multiple tests. The point at which the settled particles of the solid are

compacted is called the compression point and its concentration is said to be critical.

These are all important in wastewater treatment in order to calculate the area of the clarifier

and the area of the thickening. Thickening is the part which the solid particles settles and

compressed, and the clarifier is the part which is clearer and is subjected to secondary treatment.

The rate of flux can also be calculated using this method.

The objectives of this experiment are to estimate the area of a thickener/clarifier from the

batch settling data of the waste water.

II. Background

The use of gravitational sedimentation is one of the economical and practical methods used

in removing the solids from waste water. The process employed in this method is a batch settling

process where particles settle by gravity to the bottom of a liquid forming sediment.
 Two possible occurrences of settling are present, the free settling and the hindered settling.

Each particle is not affected by the movements of the other particles is the working principle of

free settling and the forces involve in the interaction of particles in the fluid or with the container

walls of considerable magnitudes is for hindered settling.

The Talmadge and Fitch Method is applied in this experiment which is a graphical method

of estimating the area needed for clarification and thickening from the settling curve. The area

needed for thickening, 𝐴𝑡, and the area needed for clarification, 𝐴𝑐, are given by,

𝑄𝑡𝑠
𝐴𝑡 = (2.1)
𝐻𝑜

𝑄𝐶
𝐴𝑐 = (2.2)
𝑣

where Q, 𝑡s, 𝐻𝑜, 𝑄𝑐 and 𝑣 is the flow rate of the mixed liquor, time required to reach the desired

underflow concentration, initial height of the column is the clarification rate and interface

subsidence velocity

III. Experimental Procedure

In the experiment, the wastewater was obtained in Permites Compound creek in barangay

San Miguel, Iligan City. The batch settling was proceeded in a 500-ml graduated cylinder. The

collected wastewater was transferred to the cylinder, was inserted with a stopper and was shaken

manually to allow homogenization of the sample. The initial height of the clear liquid-interface

was noted and the cylinder was left to stand in a flat surface taking notice of the height of the

clear liquid-interface at different time. Height measurement were done using a ruler placed at the

cylinder at specified periods. Interpretation of data were done using Microsoft Excel.
 Interpretation of
data in the
Wastewaster was
Laboratory scale experiment by
collected in
sedimetation applying the
Permites
experiment thories and
Compound creek
principles above
mentioned.

Figure 3. Process flowchart

IV. Results

The batch settling test results are shown in table 4.1.

Table 4.1 Clear liquid-interface height and time data

Time, min Height, cm Time, min Height, cm

0.00 29.00 90.10 3.66
5.05 19.82 120.08 3.41
10.06 15.00 150.05 3.00
15.05 11.78 180.03 2.83
20.03 8.80 210.10 2.58
25.02 5.32 240.02 2.09
30.00 4.90 300.05 1.92
35.10 4.41 360.03 1.70
60.01 3.99 375.03 1.70
Plotting the values from table 4.1, a batch settling curve reflected on figure 4.1 is obtained.

35
Clear liquid-interface height, cm

30

25

20

15

10

0
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400
time, minutes

Figure 4.1 Batch settling test results, Height–time curve

According to 2010 census population and housing, barangay San Miguel Iligan city has a

total population of 4117 with 862 number of households. The average water usage per person of
𝐿
265 (Eddy, 1991) thus the water usage per day is
𝑑𝑎𝑦

𝐿 1𝑚3
𝑄 = 4117 × 265 𝑑𝑎𝑦 × 1000𝐿 (4.1)

𝑚3
𝑄 = 1091 𝑑𝑎𝑦
4.1 Clarifier area

In figure 4.1, a tangent line to the initial (black solid line) and final (black dashed line) leg

is constructed. The two lines were then bisected (red solid line) and was projected up to the batch

settling curve. The intersection of the bisection and the curve corresponds to the critical height, Hc,

and concentration, Cc. Projecting the intersection to the height axis (red dashed line), the critical

height was determined equal to Hc = 4.2 cm. These lines are shown in Figure 4.2 and Figure 4.3.

35
Clear liquid-interface height, cm

30

25

20

15

10

5H
c

0
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400
time, minutes

Figure 4.2 Talmadge-Fitch method to determine Hc

 10
9

Clear liquid-interface height, cm

8
7
6
5
4
Hc = 4.2 cm
3
2
1
0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
time, minutes

Figure 4.3 Enlarge view of Figure 4.2.

The area of the clarifier is determined using equation 4.2 and 4.3.

𝑄𝑐
𝐴𝑐 = (4.2)
𝑣

𝐻
𝑄𝑐 = 𝑄 (𝐻𝑐 ) (4.3)
𝑜

Accordingly, the clarifier rate is

𝑚3 4.2 𝑐𝑚
𝑄𝑐 = (1091 𝑑𝑎𝑦) (29.0 𝑐𝑚)

𝑚3
𝑄𝑐 = 158.0
𝑑𝑎𝑦

The velocity is determined from the straight line on figure 4.1, from time 0 to 20.03 minutes.

𝐻20.03 −𝐻𝑜 𝑚𝑖𝑛

𝑣=( ) (4.4)
∆𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒

29.0−8.80 𝑐𝑚 1𝑚 1440 𝑚𝑖𝑛

𝑣 = ( 20.03−0 𝑚𝑖𝑛
) (100𝑐𝑚) ( 𝑑𝑎𝑦
)
 𝑣 = 14.5 𝑚/𝑑𝑎𝑦

From equation 4.2, the area of the clarifier is,

158.0 𝑚3 /𝑑𝑎𝑦
𝐴𝑐 = 14.5 𝑚/𝑑𝑎𝑦

𝐴𝑐 = 10.9 𝑚2

4.2 Thickening Area

The thickening area, At , can be calculated using equation 4.5.

𝑄𝑡𝑠
𝐴𝑡 = (4.5)
𝐻𝑜

Assuming a sludge concentration (𝐶𝑠 ) with ten times the initial concentration, that is

𝐶𝑠 = 10𝐶𝑜 ,

the sludge height can be calculated using equation 4.6.

𝐻𝑜 𝐶𝑜
𝐻𝑠 = (4.6)
𝐶𝑠

29.0 𝑐𝑚 𝐶𝑜
𝐻𝑠 =
10𝐶𝑜

𝐻𝑠 = 2.9 𝑐𝑚

To determine 𝑡s, a tangent line (balck solid line) intersecting the curve at point (Hc, Cc) and

a line of height 𝐻𝑠 (black dashed line) were drawn on figure 4.1. The intersection was projected

downwards at time ts. These lines are shown on figures 4.4 and 4.5.
 35

30
Clear liquid-interface height, cm
25

20

15

10

0 ts
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 400
time, minutes

Figure 4.4 Talmadge-Fitch method to determine ts .

5
Clear liquid-interface height, cm

ts = 141 min
0
0 50 100 150 200 250
time, minutes

Figure 4.5 Enlarge view of figure 4.4

From figure 4.5, ts is equal to 141 minutes, which by conversion is equal to

1𝑑𝑎𝑦
𝑡𝑠 = 141 𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑢𝑡𝑒𝑠 (1440 𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑢𝑡𝑒𝑠) = 0.0979 𝑑𝑎𝑦
Form equation 4.5, the thickening area is

𝑚3
(1091 )(0.0979 𝑑𝑎𝑦)
𝑑𝑎𝑦
𝐴𝑡 = 0.290 𝑚

𝐴𝑡 = 368 𝑚2 .

V. Discussion

In this experiment, the waste water was taken from San Miguel, Iligan City. It has a

population of 4,117 as of 2013. Average usage of water per person is 265 L/day. Based on these

𝑚3
data, the total usage of water per day is 1091 𝑑𝑎𝑦. This value roughly represents the amount of

wastewater generated in San Miguel, Iligan City.

The slope of the settling curve represents the settling rate of the particles. From figure 4.1,

the settling velocity is constant during the early stage, as observed from the straight line after 25

minutes. This gradually decrease at the later time, gaining again a visually constant velocity after

60 minutes. The part of constant velocity is considered the free settling zone and fluid below is the

hindered settling zone wherein the velocity decreases because of the interactions of the

neighbouring particles. This statement is reflected in the results as shown on curve figure 4.1.

The clarifier and thickener area was found using the Talmadge and Fitch method. From

figures 4.1 to 4.5, their areas are 10.9 and 368 m2, respectively. Moreover, the area needed for

clarification is much less compared to the area needed for thickening, thus it should be considered

in the design for the clarifier and thickener.

A source of error is inherent in using the Talmadge and Fitch Method. This relies on

graphical inspection which is prone to error introduction. A difficulty was especially experienced
in constructing the lines for the determination of the critical height and 𝑡s. The nature of the curve

greatly affects the values obtained, as well as the researcher’s judgement as where to draw the

lines, especially the tangent line of figure 4.4. The graph, as observed in a close-up view in figure

4.5, is not smooth creating complication in the tangent line construction since there are several

orientations that appears tangent to the curve at the critical point. This decision-making part

significantly affect the values of the critical height and 𝑡s.

The calculation may not be representative to the whole stream since poor sampling was

done and standard water sampling procedure was not followed. The changes, however, can be

readily substituted to procedure in calculating the clarifying and thickening areas.

VI. Conclusion

In conclusion, the use of Talmadge and Fitch method is a fast way fit in designing

thickener/clarifier in the sedimentation process of wastewater treatment facilities. In line with this,

there is a need of consideration for the area needed for thickening and based on the graph above,

the domination of hindered settling in the curve is quite obvious, thus the sample coming from

Permites Compound wastewater contains high concentration of solids.

VII. Bibliography

Eddy, M. a. (1991). Wastewater Engineering. Treatment Disposal Reuse. New York: McGraw-

Hill.

(2013, July 17). Retrieved March 27, 2018, from https://psa.gov.ph/content/population-iligan-city-

was-recorded-323-thousand-results-2010-census-population-and-housing

Quantity of Wastewater. (n.d.). Retrieved March 27, 2018, from

https://www.globalspec.com/reference/80578/203279/4-quantity-of-wastewater
 Appendix A
Documentation

Figure 8: Inversion of sedimentation cylinder

Figure 9: Start of experiment

Figure 10: After 6 hours