CET 304

MODULE 3
Filtration, Disinfection, Water distribution
SYLLABUS
• Filtration of water-theory of filtration
• Types of filters - design of a rapid sand filter
• Disinfection of water - various methods - advantages and limitations
• Lay out of water distribution network-types
• Methods of distribution
• Network analysis
• Hardy cross and equivalent pipe methods
Filtration
• Screening and sedimentation removes large percentage of suspended solids
and organic matter
• Resultant water will not be free of impurities and may contain some very fine
suspended particles and bacteria
• To remove remaining impurities after sedimentation and coagulation, water is
filtered through the beds of fine granular materials such as sand, gravel etc.
• Filtration: Process of passing water through the beds of granular materials
(called filters)
o Remove or reduce the remaining impurities
o Remove colour, odour , turbidity and some pathogenic bacteria
o produce potable and palatable water
Theory of filtration
• Mechanical straining
• Flocculation and sedimentation
• Biological metabolism
• Electrolytic changes
Mechanical straining
• Suspended particles present in water and which are of bigger size
than the size of the voids in the sand layers of the filters get arrested
• The water gets filtered by arresting the impurities present as the fluid
particles pass through the granular space between the filter media
• Most of the particles are removed in the upper sand layers
• Arrested particles including the coagulated flocs form a mat on the
top of the bed, which further helps in straining out the impurities.
Flocculation and sedimentation
• Filters are able to remove even particles of size smaller than the size
of the voids present in the filter
• It is assumed that the void spaces act like tiny coagulation-
sedimentation tanks
• Colloidal matter arrested in the voids is a gelatinous mass, and
attracts other finer particles
• These finer particles settle down in the voids and get removed
Biological metabolism
• Certain micro-organisms and bacteria are present in the voids of the
filters
• These micro organisms require organic impurities as their food for
their survival
• These organisms utilize organic impurities and convert them into
harmless compounds by the process of biological metabolism
• The harmless compounds formed form a layer on the top, called
schmutzdecke or dirty skin
• This layer further helps in absorbing and straining out the impurities
Electrolytic changes
• Filter helps in purifying water by changing the chemical characteristics
of water
• Sand grains of the filter media and the impurities in water, carry
electrical charges of opposite nature
• When these oppositely charged particles and impurities come in
contact with each other ,they neutralize each other ,thereby changing
the character of water and making it purer.
• After certain interval, the electrical charges of sand grains get
exhausted and have to be restored by cleaning the filter
Filter materials
1. Sand either fine or coarse – generally used as the filter media
• It should be free from dirt and impurities
• It should be hard and resistant
• It should be uniform in nature and size
• Specific gravity shall be in the range of 2.55 – 2.65
• It should not lose its weight more than 5%, after being placed in HCl for 24 hrs.
• Size of sand is measured and expressed by the term effective size, D 10(a size in
mm, such that 10% of the particles are finer than this size.)
• 0.2 – 0.4 mm(slow sand filter)
• 0.35 – 0.55mm(rapid sand filter)
• Uniformity in size or degree of variations in sizes of particles measured and
expressed by the term uniformity co-efficient , D60/D10
• 1.8 – 2.5 (slow sand filter)
• 1.3 -1.7 (rapid sand filter)
2. Gravel:
• It should be hard, durable and free from impurities
• Should have a density of about 1600 kg/m3
• Used in different size arranged in 3 -4 layers of each 10 – 15cm thick
• Coarsest size (20- 60mm) – placed in bottom.
• Finest size ( 3- 6mm) – placed at the top.
• Anthrafilt
• Made from anthracite, which is a type of coal stone that burns without smoke
or flames.
• Crushed anthracite is used as a substitute for sand in some filters and may be
used in conjunction with sand and other materials in mixed media filters.
• It is more costly than sand, but it has greater volume per unit weight and lower
transportation cost per unit volume, may make it more economical at some
location.
• Garnet sand
• It has high specific gravity(=4.2) and is a dense material.
• Because of its high cost, it can not be used as a sole filler material.it may be
used as a constituent in mixed media filter.
Types of filters
Three main types :
1. Slow sand filters
2. Rapid gravity filters
3. Pressure filters
CLASSIFICATION OF FILTERS
1. Based on the rate of filtration :
• Slow sand filters
• Rapid sand filters
• Rapid gravity filters
• Pressure filters
2. Based on consideration of gravity and pressure:
• Gravity filters
• Slow sand filters
• Rapid sand filters
• Pressure filters
Slow sand filters
• Rate of filtration or rate of loading : ranges between 100 to 200 litres per hour
per m2 of filter area
• Efficiency: Highly efficient in removing bacteria (98 to 99%)and other
suspended solids
• It removes suspended solids, odour and tastes
• It is less efficient in removing colour.
• It can remove turbidity only upto 50 mg/L
• Not suitable for sedimented waters having turbidities greater than 50 to 60
mg/L or so.
• Water from sedimentation- coagulation can not be used in this filter as the floc
clog the voids.
Construction of Slow sand filter
Enclosure tank:
• Open water tight rectangular tank made of masonry or concrete.
• The bed slope is kept at about 1 in 100 towards the central drain.
• Depth may vary from 2.5 – 3.5m
• Plan area of the tank may vary from 100 – 2000m2 , depending upon
quantity of water to be filtered.
Filter media:
• Consist of sand layers about 90 – 110 cm in depth, placed over a
gravel support.
• Effective size = 0.2 – 0.4mm
• Uniformity coefficient (Cu) = 1.8 to 2.5 or 3.
• Sand may be of uniform size.
• If different size are present, then coarsest size at the bottom and finest
size at the top.
Base material:
• The base material is gravel, and it support sand.
• It consist of 30-75cm thickness of gravel of different sizes, placed in
layers.
• The gravel is placed in 3 -4 layers of each 15 – 20cm thick
• The coarse gravel is used in the bottom most layer and finest sand is
used in top layer.
• At the bottom layer = 40 – 60mm size
• Intermediate layer = 20 – 40 mm
• Top layer = 3 – 6 mm
Under drainage system:
• The gravel layer is laid on top of the under drainage system
• It consist of a central drain and lateral drains.
• The laterals are open jointed pipe drains or some other kind of porous
drains placed 3 – 5m apart on the bottom floor and sloping towards a
main central covered drain.
• The laterals collect the filtered water and discharge it into the main
drain, which leads the water to the filtered water well.
Inlet and outlet arrangements:
• Inlet chamber is constructed for admitting the clarifiers effluent
without disturbing the sand layers of the filter and to distribute it
uniformly over the filter bed.
• A filtered water well is also constructed on the outlet side in order to
collect the filtered water coming out from the main under-drain, with a
telescopic tube to maintain constant discharge. .
• Inlets and outlets are generally governed by automatic valves.
• Outlet: filtered water well at the outlet side
Operation of slow sand filter
• The effluent from the sedimentation tank is allowed to enter the inlet
chamber of the filter unit and get distributed uniformly over the filter
bed
• The water percolates through the filter media and gets purified
• Through gravels, the water comes out as filtered water. It get collected
in the layers through the open joints, which into the main drains.
• The main drain finally discharges into the filtered water well.
Limitations of operation:
• The water entering slow sand filter should not be treated with
coagulants
• The depth of water in the filter should also be decided and should not
be allowed to undergo large variations
• The filter head is generally limited to 0.7 – 1.2m.
Cleaning of slow sand filter
• When the head loss or filter head reaches its maximum value of 0.7 – 1.2m,
the filter unit must be cleaned.
• Cleaning is done by scraping and removing 1.5 – 3cm of top layer of sand.
• The top surface is finally raked, roughened, cleaned and washed with good
water.
• The amount of wash water required is generally small, 0.2 – 0.6 percent of
filtered water.
• Cleaning is repeated as often as necessary, until the sand is reduced to 40cm
depth. Then more sand is added.
• A lot of manual labour is required in cleaning, although small quantity of wash
water is required.
• After each cleaning, when the filter is again used, the effluent obtained
will not be pure and are not be used for 24 – 36 hours, until formation
of schmutzdecke has taken place.
• The interval between 2 successive cleaning normally ranges between 1
to 3 months, depending on the nature of impurities and size of filter
unit.
Rate of filtration or rate of loading
• Rate of filtration is usually small, ranges between 100 – 200 litres per
hour per m2 of filter area.
Uses:
• Best suited for smaller plants and for purifying waters with low colour,
turbidity and bacterial content.
• Because of their smaller rate of filtration, they require large surface
area and larger volume of filtering materials. This makes them costly
and uneconomical for treating large scale supplies.
• Therefor, they are being replaced by rapid sand filters in large plants
and cities.
Rapid sand filter or Mechanical sand
filters
2 types
1. Rapid gravity filters
• Utilize comparatively larger sized sand particles , which allow greater
rate of filtration as compared to slow sand filters
• Used for large scale supplies
2. Pressure filters
• Utilize development of pressure over the filtering water thereby
increasing rate of filtration
• Used for small installations- industrial plants, swimming pools
Rapid Gravity Filter
• Employ coarser sand with effective size as 0.5mm or so
• Yield as high as 30 times the yield given by slow sand filters
• Waters from coagulation sedimentation tanks are used in these filters
• Filtered water is treated with disinfectants to obtain potable supplies
Construction of Rapid Gravity Filters
Various parts
• Enclosure tank
• Filter media
• Base material
• Under drainage system
• Other appurtenances
Enclosure tank
• Consists of open water–tight rectangular tank, made of masonry or
concrete
• Depth of tank varies from 2.5 to 3.5 m
• Area of one filter unit limited to 10 to 80 m 2 to achieve uniform
distribution of water
• There should be atleast 2 filter units in any plant
• Number of units of a filter plant roughly estimated by the equation , N
= 1.22 Q1/2
Filter media
• Filtering media consists of sand layers about 60 to 90 cm in depth and
placed over gravel support
• Effective size D10 varies from 0.35 to 0.55 mm
• Uniformity coefficient D60/D10 varies from 1.2 to 1.8
• Finer sand – laid towards the top
• Coarser particles- laid towards bottom
Base material
• Base material is gravel which supports the sand
• Consists of 60 to 90 cm thick gravels of different sizes, placed in
layers
• 5 to 6 layers , each of 10 to 15 cm in depth is used
• Coarsest gravel (about 40 mm in size) – used in bottommost layer
• Finest gravel (about 3mm in size) - used in the top most layer
• Distribution of wash water is the critical function of the gravel layer
• Careful grading and placing of the materials is important
Under drainage system
• It serves 2 purposes
• to receive and collect the filtered water
• To allow the back washing for cleaning of filter
• Various forms of under drainage systems:
• Manifold and lateral system
• Wheeler bottom
• Porous plate bottom
Manifold and lateral system
1. Perforated pipe type
• Lateral drains are provided with holes at the bottom side
• Holes are 6 to 13 mm in diameter and make an angle of 30 with the vertical
2. Pipe and strainer type
• Instead of drilling holes , strainers are placed on the lateral drains
Design considerations
• The total cross sectional area of perforations should be about 0.2 % of
the total filter area
• The cross sectional area of each lateral should be about 2-4 times the
total cross sectional area of perforations in it, for diameter of
perforations 13 mm and 6mm respectively
• The cross sectional area of the manifold should be about twice the
cross sectional area of the lateral drains
• Length of each lateral/ Diameter of lateral ,should not be greater than
60
• Maximum permissible velocity in the manifold to provide the required
amount of wash water is about 1.8 to 2.4 m/sec
Other appurtenances
• Wash water troughs
• Air compressor
• Rate controller
• Miscellaneous accessories
Working and cleaning of rapid
gravity filters
Working and cleaning of rapid gravity filters
• Valve 1 is first of all opened which leads the effluents of the
coagulation sedimentation basin to enter the inlet chamber of the filter
• This water gets filtered through the filter beds , and the filtered water
can be taken out from the main drain by opening valve 4
• This filtered water can be taken to the disinfection unit
• When filter is in working condition , only two valves (valve 1 and 4)
will be kept open, and all other valves kept closed.
Back washing
• When sand becomes dirty, as indicated by excessive loss of head, filter
must be cleaned and washed.
• For cleaning, raw supplies as well as filtered supplies have to be cut
off, bed drained down, and wash water sent back upward through the
filter beds
• Forced upward movement of wash water and compressed air (if used)
will agitate the sand particles , thus removing the suspended impurities
from it.
• Valves 1 and 4 are closed, valves 5 and 6 are opened
• Wash water and compressed air are thus forced upward from the under
drainage through the gravel and sand beds
• Valve 5 is closed after supplying the required amount of air
• Dirty water resulting from washings, overflows into the wash water
troughs , and is removed by opening valve 2, through the inlet
chamber into the wash water gutter
• Process of washing the filters and removing the dirty water is
generally continued for a period of 3 to 5 minutes
• After the washing of the filter has been completed , valves 2 and 6 will
be closed and valves 1 and 3 are opened
• This restores the inlet supplies through valve 1 , but the filtered water ,
in the beginning is not collected and washed for a few minutes through
valve 3 to the gutter
• This is necessary because the remains of the wash water must be
removed from the voids of the filter
• Ultimately valve 3 is closed and valve 4 is opened to get the filtered
supplies again
• Amount of water required for washing a rapid gravity filter may vary
from 2 to 5 percent of the total amount of water filtered
• Rate of washing → 15-90 cm rise/minute, acceptable → 45cm/min
• Duration → 10-30 minutes
• Pressure → 0.40 kg/cm2
• Frequency → 24 - 48 hrs

• Filter sludge will have to be suitably disposed after thickening to

ensure safe disposal
• Filters can also be washed easily and efficiently by surface wash .
Loss of Head and Necessity of Cleaning

• The water percolating through the filter moves downward under the
force of gravity
• This motion is opposed by the resistance offered by the sand grains
and the impurities arrested in them
• Loss of head can be calculated by knowing the water level in the filter
and the pressure of water in the outlet pipe
• Difference between the two heads will give the loss of head called
filter head or filtration head
Operational troubles in rapid gravity
filters
Air binding
• When the filter is newly commissioned, the loss of head of water percolating
through the filter is generally very small. However, the loss of head goes on
increasing as more and more impurities get trapped into it.
• A stage is finally reached when the frictional resistance offered by the filter
media exceeds the static head of water above the sand bed. Most of this
resistance is offered by the top 10 to 15 cm sand layer. The bottom sand acts
like a vacuum, and water is sucked through the filter media rather than getting
filtered through it.
• The negative pressure so developed, tends to release the dissolved air and
other gases present in water. The formation of bubbles takes place which stick
to the sand grains. This phenomenon is known as Air Binding as the air binds
the filter and stops its functioning.
• To avoid such troubles, the filters are cleaned as soon as the head loss exceeds
the optimum allowable value.
The various remedial measures for Air binding:

• Prevent development of negative head, max. → 1.2m

• Preventive measures for growth of algae
• Necessary measures to control the temperature rise, as and when the
water percolates through the filter media
• Allowing the water to supersaturate with air
Formation of mud balls
• The mud particles from the atmosphere may attract and accumulate on
the surface of sand grains forming a solid mass.
• As the time increases the impurities may deposit more and more and
the size and weight of the solid thus formed called mud balls may
increase.
• These mud balls sink through the filter media and finally deposit
within the voids of the gravel particles of base material, resulting
clogging.
• Due to the continuous process, the entire base material becomes
clogged resulting the efficient and proper functioning of the unit.
Cracking of filters
• Fine sand contained in the top layers of the filter bed, shrinks and
causes the development of shrinkage cracks in the sand bed
• Cracks are more prominent near the wall junctions
• With the use of filter, loss of head and increasing pressure on the sand
bed, cracks get widened
• The floc , mud and other impurities arrested in the filter, penetrate
deep into the filter through these cracks, thus impairing the
functioning and efficiency of filtration.
Remedial Measures to Prevent Cracking of Filters and
Formation of Mud Balls

• Breaking the top fine mud layer with rakes and washing off the
particles.
• Washing the filter with a solution of caustic soda.
• Removing, cleaning and replacing the damaged filter sand
Rate of filtration or rate of loading for rapid
gravity filters

• Very high rate of filtration of the order of 3000 to 6000 litres/hr/sqm

of filter area
• High rate of filtration leads to considerable saving of space as well as
filter materials
Efficiency and performance of rapid gravity filters :

• Less efficient in removing bacteria compared to SSF

• Remove about 80-90% of bacterial load
• Remove turbidities to about 35 to 40 mg/L
• Since water entering these filters are given pre-treatment in
coagulation sedimentation tanks , they are comparatively less turbid
• Turbidities can be easily removed and brought to permissible limits
• Highly efficient in removing colour – can bring down colour to as low
value as 10 on cobalt scale
Uses of rapid gravity filters
• Best and most economical
• Used for large scale supplies
• Treated water not safe as those obtained from slow sand filters
• Need further treatment
 PRESSURE FILTERS
• Pressure filters are like small rapid gravity filters placed in closed vessels
• Water to be treated is passed under pressure
• Pressure → 30-70m (300-700kN/m²)
• Diameter of the tank → 1.50-3.00m
• Length of the tank → 3.50-8.00m
• Rate of filtration → 2-5 times that of rapid gravity filter
• Rate of filtration → 6,000-15,000lit/hr/m²
• Efficiency → Less efficient in killing bacteria (80%) and turbidity removal, than
rapid gravity
• Uses → Not recommended for large water supply schemes
• Pressure filters are placed in closed air tight vessels
• Steel cylinders are used as pressure vessels
• Water to be treated is passed under pressure
• Raw water pumped into vessels by means of pumps.
• Two types:
1. Horizontal pressure filters
Filter vessel installed in horizontal position
2. Vertical pressure filters
Filter vessel installed in vertical position
Advantages of Pressure Filters

• A compact machine, handled easily, automatic units can be designed

• Higher rate of filtration hence, less space and less filtering material for
the same volume.
• Sedimentation, coagulation tanks can be avoided
• More flexible as the rate of filtration can be changed by changing
pressure of raw water.
• For small scale supply, proved to be economical
• Filtered water is under pressure and need not require further pumping
in most cases.
Disadvantages of pressure filters

• The overall capacity of the tank is small

• Less efficient in killing bacteria and removing turbidity .
• Uneconomical for large supply
• As the process is in a closed tank proper inspection is difficult
• Cleaning and replacement of material is difficult
• Working of wash water troughs is not perfect
• As the raw water is to be kept under high pressure, high rate of
pumping, and make effluent poorer