MARINETTE, WI

Inclined Plate Settler Clarification

Regional Developments

Spring Regional Meetings

April 17 - Ann Arbor & April 18 - Kalamazoo
April 24 - Mt. Pleasant & April 25 - Gaylord

Thomas P. Grubb
Meurer Research
6270 Joyce Drive
Golden, CO 80403

Plate Settler System Components

EFFLUENT TROUGHS
SLUDGE COLLECTOR DRIVE

LEVELING WEIR

STAINLESS STEEL SUPPORT BEAM

FLOW CONTROL DECKS

HISTORY OF PLATE SETTLERS

1886 - English Patent

1904 - Hazens Theory of Sedimentation

1936 - Plate Settlers Used in Mining Industry

1946 - Camps Shallow Depth Sedimentation Theory
1993 - MRI Top Tube Plate Settler Design

Theory behind High Rate Clarification

Multi-Sectional Settling Tanks developed
to minimize short circuiting
and
maximize flow distribution

Camps Shallow Depth

Sedimentation Theory

Tube Settlers
Flow Distribution

3 ft Tubes: Louisville, CO
Square btm trough, submerged orifices

3 ft Tube Settlers: Bloomington, IN

Inlet baffle directing flow under tubes
Circular thickener sludge collection

2 ft Tubes: Ft. Thomas WTP, KY

V-notch troughs 3 above tubes

MIXERS /
FLOCCULATORS

Flocculation

Proper floc formation is key to settling

Vertical impeller mixers: rapid or flash mix for pH adjustment, oxidant and
coagulant addition using high particle collisions

Paddle wheels: medium mixing energy for floc formation, maturation/growth

and contaminant adsorption

Hydraulic mixing: reduce hydraulic energy & distribute flow across basin width

Vertical turbine mixers

Paddle wheel mixers

Flocculation

Tapered Flocculation for Optimum Contaminant Removal

Flash Mix

Stage One

Stage Two

Stage Three

Stage Four:
Hydraulic Mixer

Vertical Turbine Flocculators

Horizontal Paddle Wheel Flocculators

Inlet Diffuser

Flocculation

Progressively Lower G-Values form a settlable floc

1000s 100s 80
Rapid Mix

Vertical
Turbine

Paddle
Wheel

Hydraulic

60

40

20

10

Flocculation

Configuration - Flow Control to Minimize Short Circuiting

Over Under Baffling

Serpentine Flow

Ported Baffle Walls

Full Width Distribution

WYOMING, MI
INLET DIFUSERS REDIRECT
FLOW ACROSS BASIN WIDTH
and
REDUCE FLOC SHEAR

PLATE SETTLERS

Advantages of Plate Settlers

T-304 stainless steel lasts indefinitely
No power is required

No pumps, valves or blowers

No moving parts
Very low maintenance
Small Footprint Clarification Process

Advantages of Plate Settlers

12MGD Footprint Comparison

Conventional Sedimentation
0.5 gpm/ft2 SOR
80 x 208

Plate Settler
0.3 gpm/ft2
40 x 50
Lower cost of land, construction & building. Less space to maintain & smaller building size.

HOW
PLATE SETTLERS
WORK

How Plate Settlers Work

Falling particle sees
the projected area
of each Plate

Flow
Distribution
Stable Laminar Flow
Low Reynolds #
&
High Froudes #

Projected plate area overlap

Results plate settler basin is 1/10th that of conventional basin

How Plate Settlers Work

The settling distance is reduced by 98%, 3.5 compared to 15 in a conventional basin
Particles migrate to the plate surface along the resultant vector of the two forces
fluid drag (Fd) and gravity (Fg)

3.5"

Fg

Plate settlers provide a perfect environment

low velocities and no currents (Laminar flow)

10 plate length / 0.022 fps (/sec) = 7.57 minutes residence time in plate
Particle must fall 3.5 vertically in 7.57 minutes = 0.46 in/min plate settling rate
15 deep basin with 2 hr HRT, 180/120 minutes = 1.5/min conventional sedimentation basin settling rate
0.5/min in plate basin compared to 1.5/min for the conventional basin

How Plate Settlers Work

EFFLUENT COLLECTION ORIFICES

TOP TUBE

SETTLING
ZONE

INLET
PORTS
SLUDGE ZONE, 10%

How Plate Settlers Work

Flow Path Through Plate Settlers
1. Flow enters basin high up &
travels through inlet channel

3. Top tube contains orifices which distribute

flow evenly across the plate

2. Flow enters plate settlers

through inlet ports and moves
up the plate

Feed Channels

Plate
Cartridge

Flow Control
Decks

Cable-Vac
Sludge Collection
Stainless Steel Support Beam

How Plate Settlers Work

The Search for Perfect Flow Distribution
The Pinch Zone, a Full-Width Plate Orifice

0.1000

Orifice width @ 4.5L & 0.3 gpm/sf

0.0900
0.0800

+1/32" = 1" HL
0.0700
0.0600

-1/32" = 3" HL
0.0500
0.0400
0.0300
0.0200

4.5' W Plate Space =

0.0340" to Achieve 2.0"
Design Head Loss

0.0100

Plate Spacing Orifice

0.0000
0.25

0.5

1.5

2.5

HEADLOSS (Inches)

3.5

4.5

How Plate Settlers Work

Orifices Insure Even Distribution Across Entire Plate & Basin

PLATE SETTLER
CALCULATIONS

Plate Settler Calculations

Sizing Calculation Example
Calculation for 10 MGD (6,944 GPM):
Choose the specific loading
rate. For example a standard
loading rate is 0.3 gpm/ft2
of effective plate area at
90% efficiency.
Divide the projected area by
the efficiency to get
effective projected settling
area

Divide the effective

projected settling area by
the area of each plate to get
# of plates

Divide the flow in gpm by the loading rate

Flow = 6,944, Loading Rate = 0.3 gpm/ft

6,944 gpm/0.3 gpm/ft =23,147 ft projected area

Efficiency = 90%, Projected Area = 23,147 ft

23,147/0.9 = 25,719 ft effective projected area

4.5W x 10L plate @ 55o(cos55) x 0.9 = 23.23 ft

Effective Projected Area Required = 23,147 ft
25,719 / 23.23 = 1,107 plates

FABRICATION
&
INSTALLATION

PLATE SETTLER FABRICATION

Manufacture frames and supports

PLATE SETTLER FABRICATION

Inclined Plates installed into frames @ 550

PLATE SETTLER INSTALLATION

Load onto flatbed trucks for shipping

PLATE SETTLER INSTALLATION

Install Beams & Crane Plate Cartridges into Position

PLATE SETTLER INSTALLATION

Plate Cartridges are Secured to the Beams

PLATE SETTLER INSTALLATION

Troughs are Lowered into Position

PLATE SETTLER INSTALLATION

Weirs are Leveled and Installation is Complete

PLATE CLARIFICATION SYSTEM

Rapid Mix, Flocculation, Hydraulic Baffling, Plate Clarification and Sludge Removal

Frederick MD

INCLINED PLATE
SETTLER
INSTALLATIONS
BENTON HARBOR, MI
MUSKEGON, MI
SOUTH HAVEN, MI
WYOMING, MI
MARINETTE, WI

BENTON HARBOR, MI

BENTON HARBOR, MI
2010
2 Basins
12 MGD
40L x 30W x 15D
0.3 gpm/sf @90%

BENTON HARBOR, MI
15L x 30W x 15WD
40 min@ 6 MGD
1st : 3 HP
2nd: 2 HP
3rd : 1 HP

Horizontal Reels
Ported Floc Baffle

BENTON HARBOR, MI
G-Values, sec-1
1st : 70
2nd : 45
3rd : 20
4th : Hydraulic

Inlet Flow Diffusers

BENTON HARBOR, MI
4 Rows, 6 MGD

150 Plates/Row
600 Plates/Basin
5 Orifice/plate

MUSKEGON, MI
Two (2) Basins

86L x 50W x 17.3D

20 MGD/Basin Design
6 MGD/Basin Average
0.24 gpm/sf Loading
2-50 NTU Raw Water

MUSKEGON, MI
2006
393 Plates/Row
2,358 Plates/Basin
9.55L x 4.5W Plates
6 Orifice/plate

MUSKEGON, MI
3 Troughs/Basin
45L x 24W x 28 D
4,650 gpm Capacity each

MUSKEGON, MI

MUSKEGON, MI

MUSKEGON, MI

MUSKEGON, MI

SOUTH HAVEN, MI
2009
2 Basins
29L x 28W
7 MGD, 9.7MGD Peak
0.3 gpm/sf @ 100%

SOUTH HAVEN, MI
G-Values, sec-1
1st : 60
2nd : 40
3rd : 30
4th : 15

3rd Stage

1st Stage

13.5 L x 13.5W
14.5 WD
32 min@ 3.5 MGD
1st & 2nd: 2 HP
3rd & 4th: 1 HP

4th Stage

SOUTH HAVEN, MI
78 Plates/Cartridge

4 Cartridges/Basin
312 Plates, 4.5 x 10

SOUTH HAVEN, MI
2 Troughs/Basin
18W x 18D
2,000 gpm/trough
6 Orifice/plate

SOUTH HAVEN, MI
Hoseless Cable-Vac Sludge Collector
HP Reel-to-Reel Cable Drive

WYOMING, MI

Serpentine Flow
Horizontal Reel Flocculators

WYOMING, MI
2010

3 Basins
86L x 64W x 16D
30 MGD/Basin
0.30 gpm/sf @ 80%

WYOMING, MI

2009 - 2010
8 Rows of 4 Cartridges/Row
98 Plates/Cartridge = 3,136 Plates/Basin

8 Troughs/Basin, 22W x 19D x 85L each

2,600 gpm capacity/trough

WYOMING, MI

MARINETTE, WI
2010

2 Basins
37L x 22W x 16D
3.25 MGD/Basin
Expandable to 4.1 MGD
0.30 gpm/sf
8-100 NTU Raw Water

MARINETTE, WI
1st Stage

2nd Stage

3rd Stage

70 sec-1 G, 1.5 HP

45 sec-1 G, 0.75 HP

20 sec-1 G, 0.5 HP

29 min. HRT @ 3.25 MGD

Coagulant: Sumalchlor 50 or AquaHawk 607, Chlorine @ 0.5 ppm average, 3-6 max

MARINETTE, WI
Sludge Collector Cable Drive
Future Plate Capacity

MARINETTE, WI
Plate Support Beam

Hoseless Cable Driven Sludge Collector

Miramar WTP, San Diego, CA

Four 55 MGD Basins
220 MGD

Largest Stainless Steel Inclined

Plate Settler Installation in USA

Inclined Plate Settler Clarification

Regional Developments

THANK YOU
QUESTIONS?

Thomas P. Grubb
Meurer Research
6270 Joyce Drive
Golden, CO 80403