Water Treatment

Md. Arif Hossain

• Water has been vital to human and nature since the beginning of time.
Water is universal solvent. So this water is never pure and it’s
impurities are the factors of concern in industries water treatment.
• The major impurities in water and the method of removing the
impurities are given bellow. The choice of process or combination of
process depends upon the water source and requirements of end use of
treated water.
 Impurities in water
• Ionic and dissolved impurities : bicarbonates of
Ca, Mg, sulfates of Fe, Mg, chlorides etc.
• Toxic metals : arsenic, cadmium, lead, mercury
etc.
• Non-ionic and undissolved impurities : sludge,
mud, sand, oxides of Ca, Mg, Mn, Fe, Mg-silicates
Ca- phosphates, Fe-sulfides, oil, grease, plant
fibers, algae cells, microorganisms bacteria virus
etc.
• Gaseous impurities :
• O2, CO2 N2, SO2 etc.
• Bacteria and other micro-organisms
 WATER IMPURITIES & IT’S EFFECT
• Algae organic growth - fouling
• Calcium mineral deposits - scale
• Carbon dioxide dissolved gases - corrosion
• Chloride mineral deposits - corrosion
• Free acids Indus. Wastes - corrosion
• Hardness mineral deposits - scale
• Magnesium mineral deposits - scale
• Oxygen dissolved gases - corrosion
• Silica mineral deposits - scale
• Suspended solids un-dissolved matter - fouling/scale
What is Scale?
❑Scaling is the formation of thick layer on metal surface of suspended or
dissolved substances in water containing stream by means of different
physical and chemical action.
Influence of Scaling on Industrial Processes
❑Scaling is a very common problem in boilers and heat exchangers operating with
hard water and often associated with limescale. It is involved in cooling systems,
the largest area of industrial water use. Most of these systems are operated by
evaporative cooling, where raw cool water is pumped across metal heat exchanger
tubes in contact with a hot process. Heated water enters a cooling tower and
becomes cooled due to partial evaporation. The resultant cooled water is
recirculated in the process. Through changes in temperature, or solvent
evaporation or degasification, the concentration of dissolved salts may increase
and exceed the saturation, leading to a precipitation of solids (usually crystals). A
serious consequence of scale formation is that it may cause tube failures,
particularly when corrosion also occurs. The deposition is intimately related to the
complex transport mechanisms existing in boiling heat transfer and scaling rate
increases with some power of the heat flux.
What is Fouling?
Fouling is the formation of deposits of foreign materials on heat transfer surface of
heat exchanger and other cooling equipment.
Effects of fouling:
- Loss of heat transfer
- Plugging pipe lines, heat exchanger
- Acceleration of corrosion
- Loss of cooling capacity
- Restriction of water flow
- Obstructs spry nozzle
- Increased pumping energy costs
- Increased maintenance costs
What is Corrosion?
Corrosion is a process that converts a refined metal into a more chemically stable
form such as oxide, hydroxide, or sulfide. It is the gradual destruction of materials
(usually a metal) by chemical and/or electrochemical reaction with their
environment.
Cause of Corrosion:
• Low PH
• Dissolved salts - Salts of chloride and sulfate
• Dissolved gases - O2, H2S, SO2
• Microorganism – Algae, Fungus
Control of Corrosion:
1. Changing corrosion environment
2. Removing aggressive components from water
3. Using corrosion inhibitors in water
Industrial water treatment is broadly classified as follows:
1. Raw water treatment
2. Advanced water treatment
Raw water treatment
• Intake
• Screening
• Pre sedimentation
• Floatation
• Clarification by coagulation and flocculation and sedimentation:
• Disinfection
• Filtration
a) Intake:
Water is available in different places, like surface, underground, ice, rain etc. For
industrial purpose the water is collected from any of the sources. Mainly water is
received from under ground and upper basins. Whatever the source is the extraction
or primarily receiving of water is known as in take.
b) Screening:
In rivers or lakes where the water transports debris such as leaves, branches, logs,
and similar objects, it is necessary to provide screening facilities before water is
withdrawn for treatment. Most water intakes include protective screens, or bar
racks, which only remove the largest pieces of debris.
c) Pre sedimentation
Pre sedimentation is a pretreatment process for control of silt load on subsequent
treatment units. Pre-sedimentation is a unit process almost solely associated with
river supplies, and more specifically, only for those river supplies that carry heavy
silt loads. If pre-sedimentation is not provided, the heavy turbidities will require
increased chemical dosages.

Pre sedimentation
d) Floatation
Where suspended particles have a specific gravity less than water they can be removed by
allowing them to float to the surface and then removed by mechanical skimming. The
phenomenon of flotation consists of three process;
1) bubbles generation,
2) attachment of solids to the bubbles and
3) solid separation.

In theory many gases are suitable for flotation system, but in practice air is used almost
exclusively since it is readily available and in-expensive.
e) Clarification by coagulation and flocculation and sedimentation:
❑In water treatment, coagulation flocculation involves the addition of compounds
that promote the clumping of fines into larger floc so that they can be more easily
separated from the water.
❑Coagulation implies three stages: addition of coagulant, destabilization of
colloidal particles and the formation of floccules. The addition of coagulant
salts such as ferric chloride or aluminum sulphate, produces polymeric cations
whose positive charges neutralize the negative charges of the colloids, allowing
the particles to unite forming small agglomerates called floccules.
➢When alum used for coagulation the following reaction happens
Al2 (SO4)3 + H2O Al (OH)3 + H2SO4 .

➢Al(OH)3 carrying positive charges which comes in contact with colloidal particles
with negative charge neutralizes and forms feather like substance called flocs.
➢To enhance or activate the coagulation process, flocculants such as
polyacrylamide (PAA), silicic acid and some other substances can be used.
CLARIFIER