Conventional system

Description Conventional water treatment processes are a combination of coagulation, sedimentation, filtration and disinfection to provide clean, safe drinking water to the public. Conventional water treatment of the raw water involves a five-step process: 1. Coagulation and Flocculation: The first step involves the addition of a chemical coagulant to react with impurities in the raw water. These impurities typically take the form of dissolved organic material and suspended particles. The coagulant, when thoroughly mixed with the raw water, reacts with these impurities. Within minutes the suspended material in the raw water begins to group together into small pin-head sized particles called flocs. 2. Sedimentation: Within approximately 30 minutes, the water passes from the flocculation tanks though to sedimentation basins where, after several hours, most of the floc material settles to the bottom to form a sludge layer. This sludge is removed for further treatment to recover the water and the dried sludge is disposed of appropriately. Following sedimentation, the water now contains only small amounts of impurities and subsequently passes on to the next stage of the treatment process - filtration. 3. Filtration: Water from the sedimentation process passes through a bank of filter vessels. The filter vessels typically contain sand or a combination of anthracite (coal) and sand. As the water slowly percolates through the filter, the remaining particles become trapped within the filter media resulting in crystal clear water exiting the filter. The filters need to be cleaned regularly and subsequently undergo regular backwashing to remove the entrapped particulates. This backwash water is recycled back to the front of the plant for reprocessing to minimise waste. 4. Disinfection: Disinfection is achieved by adding chlorine to the filtered water to destroy any micro-organisms not removed during the sedimentation and filtration stages. In some cases where the water needs to travel long distances, SA Water disinfects using a combination of chlorine and ammonia to form chloramine. Chloramine is more effective in these longer systems. Only after the water has been adequately disinfected is it safe for the public to drink. 5. Storage and Distribution: After disinfection the water passes to covered storage tanks ready for distribution.

Conventional system process

Advantages of the conventional system : continuous influent and effluent flow rate constant water level Disadvantages of the conventional system : limited flexibility requires devices for sludge raking requires devices for sludge re-circulation special configuration of sedimentation tanks large footprint

Membrane filtration

Description Membrane filtration is a rapidly expanding field in water treatment. Membrane filtration is a technique which is used to separate particles from a liquid for the purpose of purifying it. There are many different types of filters available in a wide range of pore sizes and configurations. In membrane filtration, a solvent is passed through a semi-permeable membrane. The membrane's permeability is determined by the size of the pores in the membrane, and it will act as a barrier to particles which are larger than the pores, while the rest of the solvent can pass freely through the membrane. The result is a cleaned and filtered fluid on one side of the membrane, with the removed solute on the other side. Nanofiltration, ultrafiltration, microfiltration, and reverse osmosis are all membrane filtration techniques. In all cases, the size of the pores has to be carefully calculated to exclude undesirable particles, and the size of the membrane has to be designed for optimal operating efficiency. Membranes are also prone to clogging as the pores slowly fill with trapped particles, which means that the system must provide accommodations for easy cleaning and maintenance so that it can be kept in good working order.

Advantage of the membrane filtration system : There are many benefits in using membrane filtration for potable water production when compared to the conventional treatment method as listed below: The Membrane Filtration system is reliable to consistently produce very high quality and crystal clear filtered water. This is achievable as the pore size of the membrane filtration media is very small. Membrane Filtration is able to remove suspended solids without the need to use chemicals. With less chemical consumption, the associated health risks that are always related to chemical is eliminated. The chemical-free waste arising from non-useable of chemicals in the treatment process will not pollute the environment and can be discharged directly to local water bodies and waterways without further treatment. Membrane filtration can remove microorganisms in water such as protozoa, bacteria and viruses as the pore size of the membrane is very much smaller than these microorganisms. The effective removal of these microorganisms makes the water very safe for consumption. The chemical consumption required for disinfection especially chlorine will be substantially reduced as most of the microorganism will be removed at the filtration stage. The membrane filtration water treatment system require small footprint and does not require large space, which will lead to cheaper development cost if built in land-starved urban areas. The system can be easily integrated into simple automation and remote control system and makes its operation simple

Disadvantages of the membrane filtration system high purchase price of the membranes residue (very concentrated filtrate) has to be collected or further treated

Absorption and ion exchange including argenic removal

Air Stripping
Description

An Air Stripper is a cylinder tower in which water is filtered from volatile gasses. Contaminated water is pumped through a spray nozzle at the top of the tower. As the water descends, air is pushed up through the water, stripping off the volatile compounds. Packing or baffles inside the tower break up the water and increase the amount of surface area exposed to the air. A sump pump at the bottom of the tower collects the decontaminated water. Air stripping is primarily used for removing volatile organic chemicals (VOCs), oxidizing contaminants such as iron and manganese, improving taste, or removing odor. Suited for low concentrations smaller than 200 mg/l. Packed towers, tray towers, spray systems, diffused aeration, mechanical aeration. Packed towers are generally used for remediating ground water. Air stripping is best used for chemicals that evaporate easily (fuels and solvents). When designed properly air strippers can successfully remove around 99% of these pollutants. Metals, or PCB's cannot be extracted using a air stripper. Air Stripping is either a secondary or tertiary treatment depending on what you are trying to filter out of the water. Air Stripping filters out volatile gasses that, if not filtered out, can harm tertiary filter systems. Therefore depending on the material that is in the water Air Stripping can be either a secondary or tertiary treatment.

An air stripper

Advantage of the air stripper system : Air Strippers vary in size, thus any location can maintain one that comes in a size that works for the area. Air Strippers allow for the elimination of transporting polluted water to clean up facilities. Polluted water is contained throughout cleanup so there is no chance for coming into contact with the water. Air Strippers can remove up to 99% of pollutants.

Disadvantage of the air stripper system : Air Stripping units can only take out chemicals that can evaporate. Bulk items of pollution cannot be taken out.