1. CEE 453 Research Project Chris Garnic Nolan Rogers Creating Ideal Floc for Instant Startup of a Conical Flocculator

2. Research Goals To create a working conical flocculator To create a working conical flocculator Find the proper concentrations of clay and alum to create floc Find the proper concentrations of clay and alum to create floc Create a recipe for mixing procedures to create floc in a jar setup Create a recipe for mixing procedures to create floc in a jar setup Find the best transfer method from jar to conical flocculator Find the best transfer method from jar to conical flocculator Generate acceptable drinking water in a short time period (Honduras) Generate acceptable drinking water in a short time period (Honduras)

3. Materials Peristalic pump Peristalic pump Mixing Device Mixing Device Cylinder and cone apparatus Cylinder and cone apparatus Solenoid valve Solenoid valve Process Controller for flow regulation Process Controller for flow regulation Pressure sensor to monitor flow Pressure sensor to monitor flow Assortment of tubing Assortment of tubing Pump to regulate sludge blanket height (for prolonged periods of use) Pump to regulate sludge blanket height (for prolonged periods of use) Clay, Alum, NaOH Clay, Alum, NaOH pH sensor pH sensor

4. Supplying influent to reactor Delivering influent from the bottom via small 5 mm existing ports. Delivering influent from the bottom via small 5 mm existing ports. Passing influent down tubing to the bottom of the cone Passing influent down tubing to the bottom of the cone What should the exit velocity of the influent be? What should the exit velocity of the influent be?

5. Influent

6. Jar Tests 2 sets of 6 jar tests were conducted. 2 sets of 6 jar tests were conducted. 5:1 clay to alum ratio 5:1 clay to alum ratio Constant 50 mg/L alum (turbidities ranging from 250- 2000 NTU) Constant 50 mg/L alum (turbidities ranging from 250- 2000 NTU)

7. Graph of Jar Test Results Figure 5: Blue line shows the 5:1 clay to alum ratio while the pink line shows the constant 50 mg/L alum solution.

8. Recipe into the Reactor Two different methods tested for performance of recipe in reactor Two different methods tested for performance of recipe in reactor Funneling to create instant sludge blanket without disturbing clean water in the upper half of the reactor. Funneling to create instant sludge blanket without disturbing clean water in the upper half of the reactor. Complete mixing of solution in reactor Complete mixing of solution in reactor

9. Conical Flocculator

10. What went wrong… Upside down funnel inside apparatus Upside down funnel inside apparatus Flow rate problems (too low) Flow rate problems (too low) Sodium Bicarbonate (NaHCO 3 ) versus Sodium Hydroxide (NaOH) for pH adjustment Sodium Bicarbonate (NaHCO 3 ) versus Sodium Hydroxide (NaOH) for pH adjustment Settling basin was too small and turbulence mixed up settling floc Settling basin was too small and turbulence mixed up settling floc

11. Settling Basin

12. Recipe for Instant Floc Add water to jar (amount of water would be 25% reactor volume) Add water to jar (amount of water would be 25% reactor volume) Mix in 12 g/L clay, 2.4 g/L alum Mix in 12 g/L clay, 2.4 g/L alum Adjust for pH by adding 0.87 grams NaOH Adjust for pH by adding 0.87 grams NaOH (For each gram of alum add.364 grams of NaOH) Fast mix solution at 100 rpm for 1 minute Fast mix solution at 100 rpm for 1 minute Slow mix solution at 30 rpm for 20 minutes Slow mix solution at 30 rpm for 20 minutes Add solution to reactor (that is already 75% full of water) Add solution to reactor (that is already 75% full of water) Completely mix water and solution Completely mix water and solution

13. Conclusions Our recipe for floc produced 2.15 NTU effluent water Our recipe for floc produced 2.15 NTU effluent water Drinking water standards could be met via filtration Drinking water standards could be met via filtration Floc can be produced in a jar test! Floc can be produced in a jar test! We effectively decreased the startup time of the conical flocculator to about 0.5 hours. We effectively decreased the startup time of the conical flocculator to about 0.5 hours.

14. Suggestions/Comments Test different cone angles and sizes Test different cone angles and sizes Test different flow rates Test different flow rates Test the effects of scaling up (Honduras) Test the effects of scaling up (Honduras)