ENVE 303

UNIT OPERATIONS AND PROCESSES

OF WATER TREATMENT

WATER TREATMENT
 Safe Drinking Water

• Free from pathogenic organisms

• Clear
• Not saline
• Free from offensive taste or smell
• Free from compounds that may have adverse
effect on human health
• Free from chemicals that cause corrosion of
water supply systems

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 Water Quality Parameters

Physical Chemical Biological

• Suspended • Hardness • Pathogens
solids • Dissolved • Pathogen
• Turbidity solids indicators
• Color • Alkalinity
• Taste & Odor • Metals
• Temperature • Organics
• .. • ..

In Turkey, ‘Regulation on “Water Intended for Human

Consumption’
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(İnsani Tüketim Amaçlı Sular Hakkında Yönetmelik)
 Physical Characteristics: Suspended
Solids

• Organic and inorganic particles in water

are termed suspended solids
• May be distinguished from colloids,
particles that do not settle readily

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 Physical Characteristics: Suspended
Solids

• Problems
– sedimentation
– may exert oxygen demand
– primary transport mechanism for many
metals, organics and pathogens
– aesthetic
– complicates drinking water treatment
• Sources
– storm water
– wastes 5
 Physical Characteristics: Turbidity

• Presence of nonsettelable suspended matter

in water
• Not necessarily a health concern, but may
be an indication of contamination

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 Physical Characteristics: Color

• Due to the presence of organic matter (decaying

vegetation), metals (iron, manganese) or highly
colored industrial waste
• Aesthetically displeasing

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Physical Characteristics: Taste and Odor

• Mainly due to organic substances, biological

activity, industrial pollution
• Taste buds in the oral cavity specially detect
inorganic compounds of metals like magnesium,
calcium, sodium, copper, iron and zinc

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 Chemical Characteristics: Heavy Metals

• Present as mineral in soil and rocks of earth

• Human activities
– Metal plating
– Steel production
–…

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 Chemical Characteristics: Organic
Substances

Natural Organic Matter (NOM);

• is found in every water body
• yellow-brown color of a swamp is the clear
evidence of NOM
• relatively less in ground waters
• it causes adverse aesthetic qualities such as
color, taste and odor; it produces undesirable
disinfection by-products (DBPs)

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 Pathogenic Organisms

• Many organisms that cause human or

animal diseases colonize the intestinal
tract but can live for a period of time
outside the body.

• Pathogens: Few types of bacteria, viruses,

protozoa and other organisms like
helminths.

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 Pathogenic Organisms

• Some pathogens are found in water,

frequently as a result of
– Fecal matter from sewage discharges
– Leaking septic tanks
– Run off from animal feedlots into water bodies

• When water is contaminated by excreta,

the organisms can be transmitted to those
who contact the water.
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 Scope of Water Treatment
• To remove any particulate matter substances
(sand, clay, sediments, suspended organic
matter,..)
• To remove dissolved solids (causing odor,
hardness, sometimes organic matter such as
potential pesticides,..)
• To remove pathogenic bacteria and viruses

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Selection of Water Treatment Processes

Depends on
• Type of water source
• Desired water quality

Type of water source

Groundwater Surface water

• Lakes (Natural, reservoirs)
• Rivers

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 Water Treatment Plants

• Water and wastewater treatment plants for

municipalities are usually designed for a flowrate
that will occur from 20 to 30 years in the future.

– This requires a population projection for the design

period and also an estimate of the water demand (or
WW flow) per capita for the future period.

• The design capacity of a water treatment plant is

the average flow on the day of maximum demand.
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 Water Treatment Plants

The most common treatment plants for surface waters and

groundwater are
• Rapid-sand filtration plants
• Lime-soda softening plants, respectively.

• Despite this general statement, the desired water quality

and the source characteristics determine the treatment
scheme (flow diagram) of the water treatment plant.
Other units (such as adsorption (granular or powdered
activated carbon)) might be needed accordingly.

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 Groundwater Treatment Plant
Rapid Slow
Aeration Mix Mix Recarbonation
Hard Water
Well (Ca+2, Mg+2) add
add DO to decrease pH
CO2
to remove CO2 and H2S Sedimentation
Fe2+ → Fe3+
Mn2+ → Mn4+ add lime and soda ash
to precipitate hardness
Clear Well: provides
storage so that the plant
may operate at a constant
rate on the day of maximum
demand that is when the
hourly demand is greater Filtration Clear
than the hourly water well To distribution
production, the water system
required is provided from add Cl2 , polyphosphate
storage in the clear well. and F-
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CE 326 Principles of Environmental Engineering, Copyright © 2008 Tim Ellis, Iowa State University
Groundwater Treatment Plant – Simple
Disinfection

Clear To distribution
Well well system
Disinfection
add Cl2 ,
polyphosphate
and F-

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 Surface Water Treatment Plant
Intake and Pump Station
(Bar racks + Fine Screens)
Rapid Mix Slow Mix Sedimentation
Bacteria, Color, Sedimentation
Coagulation Flocculation
Turbidity basin basin basin
add Cl2 or O3 for taste
and odor control
alum or iron salts
Stream for coagulation

Clear
Filtration Disinfection To distribution
well
system

add Cl2 , polyphosphate,

and F-, lime for pH
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CE 326 Principles of Environmental Engineering, Copyright © 2008 Tim Ellis, Iowa State University
 Surface Water Treatment Plant - Direct
Filtration
Intake and Pump Station
(Bar racks + Fine Screens)
Rapid Mix Slow Mix
Bacteria, Color,
Coagulation Flocculation
Turbidity basin basin
add Cl2 or O3 for taste
and odor control
alum or iron salts
Stream for coagulation

Clear- To distribution
Filtration Disinfection
well system

add Cl2 , polyphosphate,

and F-, lime for pH
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CE 326 Principles of Environmental Engineering, Copyright © 2008 Tim Ellis, Iowa State University
 Surface Water Treatment Plant - GAC
Intake and Pump Station
(Bar racks + Fine Screens)
Rapid Mix Slow Mix
Bacteria, Color,
Coagulation Flocculation
Turbidity basin basin
add Cl2 or O3 for taste
and odor control
alum or iron salts
Stream for coagulation

Sand GAC Clear-

To distribution
Filtration Filtration well
system

add Cl2 , polyphosphate,

and F-, lime for pH

GAC: Granular activated carbon 21