Intoduction to Environmental Engineering
Davis and Cornwell
Shown below are the results of water quality analyses of the Thames River in London. If the water is treated with
60.00 mg/L of alum to remove turbidity, how much alkalinity will remain? Ignore side reactions with phosphorus
and assume all the alkalinity is HCO- 3 ion. Does the final pH of the water rise or fall ? Why ?
Expressed as
CaCO 3
CaCO 3
CaCO 3
Fe
Cu
Cr
CaCO 3
Cl
PO4
SiO2
-
Constituent
Total hardness
Calcium hardness
Magnesium hardness
Total iron
Copper
Chromium
Total alkalinity
Chloride
Phosphate (total)
Silica
Suspended Solids
Total Solids
pHa
a Not
mg / l
260.0
235.0
25.0`
1.8
0.05
0.01
130.0
52.0
1.0
14.0
43.0
495.0
7.4
in mg/L
Solution: When alum is added to water containing alkalinity the following reaction occurs
carbon dioxide
Al2(SO4)3.14H2O + 6HCO3- <====> 2Al(OH)3(s) + 6CO2 + 14H2O + 3SO4alum
3-37 alkalinity reactions.mcd
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alkalinity
precipitate
aluminum hydroxide
water
sulfate
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CLASSIC COAGULANT ADDITION SEQUENCE OF OPERATIONS *
flocculation basin - purpose
is to promote collisions
between floc particles medium to low mixing
intensity. Detention time
approximately 20 minutes
treated water
to
filtration
settling
basin
flash mix
flocculation
sludge - to disposal
flash mix basin - purpose is to achieve
complete mixing of coagulant with raw
water. Short detention time, high
mixing intensity
settling basin - purpose is to allow floc and
colloids to settle out and be removed from
system
* Many existing/older plants may lack one or more of these processes
or have flocculation and settling combined into a single unit
We see from the reaction that the following occurs:
a. 1 mole alum uses up 6 moles bicarbonate alkalinity
b. carbon dioxide is released which will require additional alkalinity to prevent a drop
in the pH, why?
c. Aluminum hydroxide, a precipitate, is created, which settles, hopefully taking turbibity
causing suspended solids with it.
d. 1 mole alum produces 2 moles aluminum hydroxide
MWalum := [ 2 26.98 + ( 32 + 4 16) 3 + 14 ( 18) ]
MWHCO3 := ( 1 + 12 + 3 16)
MWCaCO3 := 100
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gm
mole
gm
mole
gm
mole
EWCaCO3 :=
MWCaCO3
2
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Aluminum hydroxide is the precipitate (floc) MWfloc := [ 26.98 + ( 17 3) ]
gm
mole
note: Alkalinity given as: mg/liter as CaCO3.
130
bicarb :=
mg
liter
EWCaCO3
MWHCO3
60
alum :=
bicarb = 158.6
mg
mg/liter as the HCO-3 ion:
liter
mg
liter
alum = 1.01 10
MWalum
mole
liter
The alkalinity used up by the alum and that remaining is:
Alkalinity - mg/liter as the ion HCO3 used up in the reaction alkHCO3 := 6 alum MWHCO3
alkHCO3 = 36.972
mg
liter
Alkalinity used up in the reaction expressed as calcium carbonate alkCaCO3 :=
alkCaCO3 = 30.305
alkremaining := 130
mg
liter
alkremaining = 99.695
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mg
liter
alkHCO3
MWHCO3
EWCaCO3
mg
liter
alkCaCO3
NOTE : The creation of carbon dioxide will use up additional alkalinity
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How much alum sludge will have to be disposed of if 12 Mgd of water are treated and 100% of the total
suspended solids in the raw water are removed.
Q := 12 10
gal
day
dry_sludge := Q
TSS := 43
mg
liter
( alum 2 MWfloc) +
dry_sludge = 5.884 10
lb
day
TSS
dry solids
If the alum sludge coming from the clarifier is, in fact 98% water, by weight, what is the volume of sludge to be
disposed of ?
solids_content := .02
dry_sludge = solids_content total_weight
total_weight :=
dry_sludge
solids_content
total_weight = 294198.522
lb
day
weight of solids and water
Convert lbs of wet sludge to gallons of wet sludge by dividing by the unit weight of the wet sludge. This is
obtained as the product of the unit weight of water * specific gravity of the wet sludge
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Assume the specific gravity of the wet mixture is 1.05. This will depend on the degree to which the sludge is
thickened, i.e. the solids content.
sg := 1.05
vol_sludge :=
total_weight
sg 7.48
vol_sludge = 3.746 10
lb
gal
gal
day
solids_content := .005 , .01 .. .09
vol_sludge ( solids_content) :=
1 . 10
sludge volume, gal./day
solids_content ( sg lb) 7.48
gal
1 . 10
dry_sludge
79018
38986
1 . 10
1 . 10
0.5
2.2
3.9
5.6
7.3
solids content of sludge
Notice that a seemingly small increase in solids content of the sludge initially results in a major decrease in
sludge volume. However, as the sludge solids content increases further thickening becomes a process of
diminishing returns.
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