the liquid through diffusers.

This
Flotation: DAF, IAF, method is not particularly effective at
SAF floating the particles.
3. Induced air flotation (IAF) involves
By Dave Christophersen, Vice
saturating the wastewater with air either
President/Technical Manager
directly in an aeration tank or by
Flotation is a method of separating solids or permitting air to enter on the suction
liquids from water by introducing fine gas side of a pump or with a venturi. The
bubbles. The bubbles attach to the particulate partial vacuum, which is applied, causes
matter, and the buoyant force of the combined the dissolved air to come out of solution
particle and gas bubbles is great enough to as minute bubbles.
cause the particle to rise to the surface. 4. Suspended air flotation (SAF) is a newer
Particles or liquids less dense than water such process where a bubble generator
as oil will naturally rise, but also particles more makes bubbles with the use of a
dense than water can be made to rise. Once surfactant. The bubble generator
the particles have been floated to the surface, a operates at a relatively low pressure of
skimming process can collect them. 15 25 psig and it is reported that the
In wastewater treatment, the advantage of minute bubbles that are made are
flotation over sedimentation includes: smaller than those made by DAFs, are
more numerous, and rise as a mass
When the stream is variable and there is
faster.
a tendency for some of the particles to
rise or oil is present, a sedimentation DAF is considered by many to be more effective
process could be compromised as some than IAF in creating cleaner effluents. The air is
of the waste naturally floats to the actually dissolved into a stream of water under
surface. Flotation will cause everything pressure so when it is released it occurs as very
to go in the same direction, to the minute bubbles, which can attach directly to the
surface. particles.
Very small or light particles that Typically a recycle flow of the DAF effluent is
otherwise would settle slowly can be returned to a pressure tank where the air is
removed more completely and in a added and the tank is pressurized to 50 75
shorter period of time. psig. The recycled water is mixed with raw
Four primary ways of introducing the bubbles influent allowing intimate contact to occur with
are: the released bubbles and the influent particles.
The amount of recycle needed is 15 100% and
1. Injection of the air while the liquid is
depends upon the total suspended solids.
under pressure, followed by the release
of the pressure. This is called dissolved Many different companies and organizations
air flotation (DAF) because the air have conducted laboratory and field evaluations
actually dissolves into the water at the on the size of the air bubble required for
increased pressure. effective liquid-solid separation. The data
2. Aeration at atmospheric pressure, which generally demonstrates that the smaller the air
is just called air flotation. Air is simply bubble, the more efficient the separation. It has
introduced in the gas phase directly to been the goal of IAF systems to try to duplicate

Issue 17 Page 1
the microbubble formation of a DAF and to Coagulants and flocculants are used to
obtain the same level of effectiveness of a DAF. break emulsified oils and to destabilize
The bubbles formed by various techniques colloidal material.
actually have a range of sizes and can be quite
Solids Handling is required to adequately
varied.
remove the floated solids and any sediment
By comparison, one study showed that the that may occur
effluent from an IAF system commonly contains
A common DAF design uses a portion of the
twice as much TSS and FOG as the effluent
treated water to deliver the dissolved air to
from a DAF. Others report that if sized and
the DAF by pumping into a pressure tank
operated correctly, both DAF and IAF can yield
with compressed air at 50-75 psig. The
similar effluent qualities. The solids removal
liquid level in the pressure tank is controlled
rate can be >95% with properly designed and
by level control that vents all undissolved air
operated DAF, IAF, or SAF systems.
(large bubbles) to prevent their entering the
DAF Systems DAF separation chamber. The pressurized
water and compressed air are mixed and
There are five important factors to be considered
held long enough to create a saturated
in a DAF process:
solution. The saturated recycle water
Air to Solids Ratio is the quantity of air required passed through a pressure reduction valve
to float a given amount of solids and fats, oils as it enters the mixing area. When the
and greases (FOGs). Under design conditions pressure is relieved, the saturated solution
of 75 psig at 70F, the average amount of air becomes super-saturated and the air
dissolved is about 9% by weight. The total evolves as bubbles from solution.
suspended solids (TSS) must be analyzed and
Comparison of DAF to IAF
the appropriate percent recycle rate established.
A waste stream of 1,000 mg/L TSS will require a DAF is known for the micro air bubbles of 30-50
recycle rate of 30-50%, and 2,000 mg/L TSS will micron, which are formed as the pressurized
likely require 100% recycle of the cleaned water water is released into the influent stream. The
back to the influent stream. bubbles quickly stick to the impurities in the
2 water and therefore cause a high degree of
Hydraulic Loading (gpm/ft ) is total flow rate
clarification. DAF is claimed by some as
divided by the effective surface separation area.
providing higher quality effluents because of
Design hydraulic loading varies from 1.5 to 5.0
2 smaller microbubbles and how they are formed
gpm/ft .
and released onto influent solids.
Weir Overflow Flow Rate must allow for the
IAF is generally regarded as a flotation process
mechanical separation of the floated solids from
where the air bubbles are 70-150 micron in size.
the clear water.
Some manufacturers state that they have
Solids Loading considers the effective mechanisms using impeller mechanisms
surface area of the DAF cell and the total pump veins or diffusers or other methods to
amount of TSS and FOG entering the make microbubbles as small or smaller than
system. The average design load is 1.0 to DAF systems. The DAF pumps are a hybrid
2
3.5 lbs/hr/ft . The calculation should include design of IAF and DAF where air is aspirated
the influent TSS and all the chemicals added into the seal chamber then mixed with the
to condition and flocculate the waste stream.

Issue 17 Page 2
pumpage and compressed into micro-bubbles. The DAF and IAF may have similar
The micro-bubbles are then dissolved into the capital cost with DAF being a little
pumpage and moved through the discharge of higher due to larger float cell and the
the pump and out into the system. The air air system.
bubbles stick to the particles and then rise to the The relative rise rate for a given
surface where they are scraped off by a scraper application may be:
2
mechanism. Conventional DAF: 2 gpm/ft
2
High Rate IAF: 4 gpm/ft
The amount of air released by DAF is limited by 2
SAF: 8 gpm/ft
the solubility of the air under the design pressure
The SAF operates without recycle, and
conditions. To achieve comparable effluent
its capital cost is reported to be about
quality, IAF can introduce more air by operating
60% of the DAF or IAF. To date, the
at a higher pressure of say 100 psig.
SAF has been mostly used as a field
Advantages of IAF retrofit to allow increased flow to existing
Fewer parts and therefore requires less DAF systems.
overall maintenance. DAF, IAF, and SAF have similar
Self-aspirating and simple to operate. chemical operating costs. SAFs will be
No compressor is required in IAF as the about $0.03 per 1000 gallons higher
air is self-induced. because of the added use of the
Low residence time resulting in a surfactant.
smaller footprint. Power cost will be highest for the IAF
Slightly to moderately lower capital cost. due to the high pump pressure, followed
Lower recycle rate necessary because by IAF, and then SAF has the lowest
of higher possible air injection rate, so power cost.
smaller flotation cell and smaller over High Rate DAF or IAF
footprint. Recycle rate may be 60% of
The efficiency may be increased by adding
DAF required rate. The recycle rate for
floc tubes between the chemical mixing
a DAF will be 30 to 50% when TSS is
tanks and the flotation cell and introducing
less than 1,500 ppm.
the air and the flocculant into the floc tubes
Disadvantages of IAF instead of into a floc tank in front of the
If diffusers are used for introduction of system. This allows the microbubbles to
air, they can become plugged requiring form within the floc better. The number of
maintenance or reduced effectiveness. bubbles colliding that create larger and
Regarded by some as to yield poorer ineffective bubbles is reduced.
solids and oil removal than DAF. The capital cost may be a little higher than
Weak link is the single pump, which can conventional designs, but higher allowable
also see lots of wear and a relatively rise rates and lower air requirements are
short life. reported.

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