Design of water treatment plant filters

Main functions of filters

1. Reduction of colloidal matter
2. Reduction of bacteria and microorganisms
3. Reduction of change of chemical constituents

Filters are defined by the type of flow, media of filtration e.g. sand, anthracite. They are also
defined by the number of layers of media the filter has, the common ones are dual filter
media (two layers of different filter media) and multimedia filters (usually three layers of
different filter media).

How they operate

They can be operated either with upward flowing fluids or downward flowing fluids the latter
being much more usual. For downward flowing devices the fluid can flow under pressure or
by gravity alone. Pressure sand bed filters tend to be used in industrial applications and often
referred to as rapid sand bed filters. Gravity fed units are used in water purification especially
drinking water and these filters have found wide use in developing countries (slow sand
filters).
Overall, there are several categories of sand bed filter:
 Slow sand filters
 rapid (gravity) sand filters
 rapid (pressure) sand bed filters
 up flow sand filters
The sand required for filtration of the following properties:
1. It should be free from clay, loam, lime and organic matter
2. It should be of uniform size and nature it should not be very fine or too coarse
aggregate
3. Should be resistant and hard
4. Effective size of sand particles0.3 to 0.5mm diameter

Rapid sand filters

Smaller sand grains provide more surface area and therefore a higher decontamination of the
inlet water, but it also requires more pumping energy to drive the fluid through the bed. A
compromise is that most rapid pressure sand bed filters use grains in the range 0.6 to 1.2 mm
although for specialist applications other sizes may be specified (Gimbel et al., 2006). Larger
feed particles (>100 micrometres) will tend to block the pores of the bed and turn it into a
surface filter that blinds rapidly. Larger sand grains can be used to overcome this problem,
but if significant amounts of large solids are in the feed they need to be removed upstream of
the sand bed filter by a process such as settling (Logsdon, 2011).
The depth of the sand bed is recommended to be around 0.6–1.8 m (2–6 ft) regardless of the
application. This is linked to the maximum throughput discussed below. Guidance on the
design of rapid sand bed filters suggests that they should be operated with a maximum flow
rate of 9 m3/m2/hr (220 US gal/ft2/hr). Using the required throughput and the maximum flow
rate, the required area of the bed can be calculated (Logsdon, 2011).
The final key design point is to be sure that the fluid is properly distributed across the bed and
that there are no preferred fluid paths where the sand may be washed away and the filter be
compromised.
Rapid pressure sand bed filters are typically operated with a feed pressure of 2 to 5 bar(a) (28
to 70 psi(a)). The pressure drop across a clean sand bed is usually very low. It builds as
particulate solids are captured on the bed. Particulate solids are not captured uniformly with
depth, more are captured higher up with bed with the concentration gradient decaying
exponentially. (Gimbel et al., 2006) suggested that this filter type will capture particles down
to very small sizes, and does not have a true cut off size below which particles will always
pass. The shape of the filter particle size-efficiency curve is a U-shape with high rates of
particle capture for the smallest and largest particles with a dip in between for mid-sized
particles.
The build-up of particulate solids causes an increase in the pressure lost across the bed for a
given flow rate. For a gravity fed bed when the pressure available is constant, the flow rate
will fall. When the pressure loss or flow is unacceptable and the filter is not working
effectively any longer, the bed is backwashed to remove the accumulated particles. For a
pressurized rapid sand bed filter this occurs when the pressure drop is around 0.5 bar. The
backwash fluid is pumped backwards through the bed until it is fluidized and has expanded
by up to about 30% (the sand grains start to mix and as they rub together, they drive off the
particulate solids). The smaller particulate solids are washed away with the backwash fluid
and captured usually in a settling tank. The fluid flow required to fluidize the bed is typically
3 to 10 m3/m2/hr but not run for long (a few minutes). Small amounts of sand can be lost in
the backwashing process and the bed may need to be topped up periodically.

Slow sand filters

As the title indicates, the speed of filtration is changed in the slow sand filter, however, the
biggest difference between slow and rapid sand filter, is that the top layer of sand is
biologically active, as microbial communities are introduced to the system. (“Sand filter,”
2019) The recommended and usual depth of the filter is 0.9 to 1.5 meters. Microbial layer is
formed within 10–20 days from the start of the operation. During the process of filtration,
raw water can percolate through the porous sand medium, stopping and trapping organic
material, bacteria, viruses and cysts such as Giardia and Cryptosporidium. The regeneration
procedure for slow sand filters is called scraping and is used to mechanically remove the
dried-out particles on the filter. However, this process can also be done under water,
depending on the individual system. (Manual of Design for Slow Sand Filtration, 1991)
pointed out that another limiting factor for the water being treated is turbidity, which is for
slow sand filters defined to be 10 NTU (Nephelometric Turbidity Units). Slow sand filters are
a good option for limited budget operations as the filtration is not using any chemicals and
requires little or no mechanical assistance. However, because of a continuous growing
population in communities, slow sand filters are being replaced for rapid sand filters, mostly
due to the running period length.

Characteristics Rapid sand filter Slow sand filter

Filtration rate [m/h] 5–15 0.08–0.25

Media effective size [mm] 0.5–1.2 0.15–0.30

Bed depth [m] 0.6–1.9 0.9–1.5

Run length 1–4 days 1–6 months

Ripening period 15 min – 2 h Several days

Regeneration method Backwashing Scraping

Maximum raw-water
Unlimited with proper pre-treatment 10 NTU
turbidity

Table 1-Characteristics of rapid and slow sand filters

Conclusion
Rapid sand filters are appropriate for this type of flow, also the slow sand filters will take up
a lot of area to filter water at this flow rate and demand. Slow sand filters are more
appropriate on individual household water treatment were the demand is not high. The
following is the design procedure for a rapid sand filter.

Design

Sand depth in rapid sand filters varies from 60-90 cm choose 90 cm

Height of water above the media can rise to 1-1.2m
Effective size of the sand D10 ranges between 0.35-0.55mm
D60
Coefficient of uniformity of the sand =1.3 ¿ 1.7
D10

Use th
Inputs
Design of a rapid sand filter to treat Q= 16000m3/d
Allowing filtered water for backwashing Q BW=2%
Time used for backwashing per day T BW=0.50 hours
Assume the rate of filtration to be 12 mlh
Length to with of filters 1.30
Depth of sand media 400mm
Depth of anthracite 600mm
Q=16000 ×1.5=24000 m3 /d

Qq
(
Total filtered water= 100
+ Q) ×24
=
24000 ×1.02 ×24
=1041 m /h 3
T 24 ×(24−0.5)

24000× 1.02
Area of filter= =86.8 m2
12× 23.5

using two filtration beds

86.8
Area of each bed= =43.4 m2
2
Let length of the filter as L/B=1.3 B2=42.4 m 2
Width=5.78m
Length=5.78 ×1.3=7.51m

Underdrainage system.
Total area of holes=0.2 to 0.5% of bed area.
0.5
Assume 0.3% of bed area = × 43.4=0.22 m2
100
Take diameter of one hole to be 13mm
1 2 −4 2
Area of one hole= × π ×0.013 =1.33× 10 m
4
0.22
Number of holes = =1654.13 holes ≈ 1654 holes
1.33× 10−4
0.22 m2=2200 cm2
1654
Number of holes per cm2= 2200 =¿

Backwash trough design

Number of backwash trough= 4
7.51
Distance between BW troughs = =2.50 2.50m
3
Q (1600× 1.5)÷(24 ×60 ×60)
Discharge of each trough = = =0.069 ≈ 0.07 m3 /s
4 4
3
Q=1.71 × b× h 2

Assume width of BW trough=0.3m

2
0.07
h=( ) 3 =0.265 m ≈ 0.3 m
1.71× 0.3
slope of BW 1 in 40

Clear water reservoir for backwashing

Duration of BW =0.5h
4 × 5000× 5.8× 7.5 ×2
For 4h filter capacity, Capacity of tank= =1740 m 3
1000
Depth of storage tank =5m
1740
Surface area= =348 m2
5

Air Backwash

Air Velocity 1000 l of air/ min/ m2 bed area (1 m/min = 60 m/h)60m/h

Time of air BW=5min
Air required During BW = 1000 x 5 x 7.5 x 5.77 x 2 = 4.32 m3 of air 434m3 Air
Blower Capacity=86.81 m3/min