CHEMISTRY OF WATER PRE-TREATMENT PROCESS:

The Raw water from river bears dissolved and suspended impurities as well as organic matters that
make it unfit for human consumptions and other industrial processes. The conceptual approach of
treatment includes removal of coarse suspended particles, colloids and destruction of harmful microorganisms.
Storing of river water in reservoir gives an additional benefit due to natural pre-treatment of water
through sedimentation and decantation and thereby reducing organic load and turbidity of DMPT &
CWPT Plants to some extent. Turbidity is due to suspended matter in a finely divided state (particle
size ranging from 1 to 100 nm). Clay, organic matter and microorganism are contributing causes of
turbidity.
1. GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF WATER PRE- TREATMENT SYSTEM:
The water pre-treatment plant and liquid effluent treatment plant package consist of the following
systems.
1. PT-CW system supplies clarified water to circulating water system (CW system) of the power plant
and to any other utilities.
2. PT-DM system supplies treated water supply to DM Plant as well as potable water to potable
storage tank.
3. The liquid effluent treatment plant is provided for treatment of waste water collected from various
area and waste water runoff from Coal Handling Plant.
2. CHARACTERISTIC OF PRE- TREATMENT SYSTEM
Raw water is pumped from Raw water pump house with the help of 3 nos PTCW pumps (2W+1S) for
PT-CW system as well as 2nos PTDM pumps (1W+1S) for PT-DM system installed in raw water
pump house.
2. A. PLANT CAPACITY:
The plant is designed for treating the raw water, as shown below
PT-CW System - 4000M3/hr
PT-DM System - 220M3/hr
Potable Filtration System - 25M3/hr for each filter
2. B. RAW WATER QUALITY:
The treatment plant is designed based on the raw water quality given in below.
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2
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6
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Parameters
PH
Turbidity
Total bicarbonate
Total suspended solids
Total iron
Odour
Taste

Units
-NTU
Mg/lit as CaCO3
Mg/lit
----

Quality considered for design

7.2 to 8.2
300
120
300
1.7
Odourless
Tasteless

2. C. TREATED WATER QUALITY (PRE-TREATMENT):

1. PT-CW SYSTEM:
Following is the water quality for Clarifier:
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2

Parameters
Turbidity
Iron & Manganese
content (Total)

Units
NTU
ppm

Quality considered for design

< 10
< 0.3

Units
NTU
ppm

Quality considered for design

< 10
< 0.3

ppm

< 0.05

Units

Quality considered for design

NTU

<2

Units
NTU
---

Quality considered for design

<5
Non-traceable
Non-traceable

2. PT-DM SYSTEM:
Following is the water quality for Clarifier:
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2
3

Parameters
Turbidity
Iron & Manganese
content (Total)
Organic matter

3. GSF OUTLET:
Following is the water quality at GSF outlet:
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2

Parameters
pH
Turbidity

4. POTABLE FILTERATION SYSTEM:

Following is the water quality:
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2
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Parameters
Turbidity
Colour
Odour

5. TREATED WATER QUALITY (LIQUIED EFFLUENT TREATMENT) ETPCLARIFIER (LAMELLA TYPE):

Effluent quality at the outlet of the lamella clarifier is guaranteed for the following:
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2

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Parameters
Effluent turbidity at
designed flow
Effluent turbidity at
20% overflow
condition flow

Units
NTU

Quality considered for design

< 10

NTU

< 15

6. CENTRAL MONITORING BASIN:

The following quality is guaranteed:
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Parameters
PH
TSS
Oil & grease
BOD
COD

Units
-Mg/l
Mg/l
Mg/l
Mg/l

Quality considered for design

6.5 to 8.2
100
10
30
250

Moreover, the effluent quality will also meet the norms

for effluent discharge as set by WBPCB & CPCB
2. D. PURPOSE OF PRE-TREATMENT:
The purpose of Pre- treatment plant is to remove impurities like organic matter, turbidity and
microorganism from raw water.
The pre-treatment involves the following steps:
1. Aeration in Cascade Aerator
2. Prechlorination
3. Clarification in Reactor clarifiers
4. Filtration in rapid gravity filters.
1. AERATION IN CASCADE AERATOR:
In Water Treatment, aeration is practiced for the following purposes
1. To increase the dissolved oxygen content of the water;
2. To expel the undesirable dissolved gases, such as carbon dioxide and other volatile substances those
cause taste and odour.
3. To oxidise Fe+2 & Mn+2 so that those can easily be precipitated from their soluble state in the
Clarifier.
The following chemical reactions represent the oxidation of iron and manganese:
4 Fe+2 + O2 + 10 H2O 4 Fe (OH)3 + 8 H+
2 Mn+2 + O2 + 2 H2O 2 MnO2 + 4 H+
The above process of aeration is achieved in the Cascade Aerator where water is allowed to fall in thin
layers; thereby exchange of gases takes place between water and atmosphere. Removal of iron and
manganese is effected by oxidation, followed by the separation of Fe +3 and Mn+4 as ferric hydroxide
[Fe(OH)3] and manganese dioxide[MnO2] precipitates. Manganese is usually found in low
concentrations compared to iron and following oxidation, the water can be subjected to direct
filtration. In the case of iron, oxidation is followed by settling and filtration, when Fe (II) is greater
than about 5 mg/l. direct filtration is used when the iron concentration is less than about 5 mg/l, in the
absence of turbidity. Although the aeration requirements are small, the rate of reaction is slow and pH
dependent, e.g.:
At pH 6.9, 90% oxidation of iron requires about 40 minutes reaction time.
At pH 7.2, 90% oxidation of iron requires only 10 minutes reaction time.
In some waters, aeration alone is adequate for complete oxidation of iron because the removal of
carbon dioxide by aeration raises the pH above 7.5. Manganese removal by aeration at high pH values
is a slow and inefficient process and strong oxidants such as chlorine is therefore usually necessary.
Chlorination will also be effective in oxidizing iron.
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 0.14 mg of Oxygen is required per mg of Fe oxidized with the reduction of alkalinity by 1.80 mg
expressed as CaCO3, per mg of Fe oxidized.
Each mg of Fe results in 2 mg of suspended solids [Fe (OH)3], following oxidation.
0.29 mg of Oxygen is required per mg of Mn oxidized with the reduction of alkalinity by 1.80 mg
expressed as CaCO3, per mg of Mn oxidized. Each mg of Mn results in 1.6 mg of suspended solids
(MnO2).
2. CHLORINATION:
Chlorination is an important unit operation in a water treatment practice. This process is brought about
by addition of chlorine solution to the water body. In water treatment plant chlorination is effected in
two stages
(i) Pre-Chlorination
(ii) Post-Chlorination.
Pre-chlorination is done to reduce algae and other micro-organisms population, which may otherwise
hinder the process of coagulation and filtration.
Post chlorination is recommended on the filtered water to make it suitable for human consumption.
Chlorine acts as a disinfectant by the,
a. Destruction of micro-organism
b. Oxidation of Fe
c. Removal of taste and odour producing compounds
d. Oxidation of organic compounds
For effective chlorination in water treatment practice it is necessary to ascertain (a) dose of chlorine
required (b) optimum contact period and (c) the presence of residual chlorine (0.3 to 0.5 mg/l). From
experience, it has been found that a contact period of 30minutes is adequate to disinfect water.
When Cl dissolves in water the following reaction occurs:
Cl + HO HOCl + HCl
HOCl ClO +H
The direction the above reaction is dependent on pH of the medium:
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2
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Species
Cl2
HOCl
OCl-

pH interval
2
2.5-7.0
8.5

The germicidal efficiency of HOCl is due to the relative ease with which it penetrates cell walls of
microorganisms
* OCl ion is more effective germicide than HOCl.
*The optimum pH range for effective chlorination is 6.0- 7.0
3. CLARIFICATION:
Clarification is the term used to encompass coagulation, flocculation and sedimentation reactions
which are involved in the removal of suspended and colloidal matter from raw water. The term
coagulation refers to the process of destabilization by adding a coagulant and the term flocculation
to the agglomeration of the neutralized colloidal particles.
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3. A. MECHANISM OF COAGULATION:
In coagulation chemical such as alum is added to water. In natural water colloidal silica particles are
negatively charged due to preferential adsorption of negative ions from the vicinity. Al3 ions coming
from alum neutralize the colloidal particles and thereby permitting them to coalesce. In addition to
this alum reacts with bicarbonate alkalinity of water to form of Al(OH) called floc which enmeshes
and entraps the finer particles forming masses that are sufficiently heavy to settle rapidly.
Al (SO) + 3 Ca (HCO) = Al (OH) + 3CaSO + 6CO
Coagulation phenomenon can better be explained as follows:
A colloidal silica particle preferentially adsorbs negative ions on its surface which drags some positive
ions in its vicinity. Therefore, in such cases at equilibrium there exists an electrical double layer at the
particle-liquid interface. One part of the double layer consists of negative ions fixed on the surface of
silica particle and the second layer in the aqueous phase consists of ions with overall positive charge
predominance. The solution side of this double layer containing counter ions can be divided into two
parts - a fixed part of the counter ions at a distance of a few Angstrom from the solid surface (stern
layer) and another diffuse portion of that counter ions with concentration gradually falling off or
increasing to that uniform value as prevalent in the bulk. The zeta potential is the difference in
potential between the fixed part of the double layer on the solution side and bulk solution. The
colloidal particle having large positive or negative zeta potential repels each other and therefore has
high dispersion stability. Addition of alum reduces zeta potential of the colloid and allowing the
particle to coalesce.
There are a number of factors which can affect the coagulation & flocculation processes e.g. pH,
temperature, nature of particles present in raw water and the chemical composition of raw water but
the most important factor is pH.
So, for a coagulant to act efficiently, it is necessary that there is sufficient alkalinity in the natural
water. When, the alkalinity is found to be less than required for complete neutralization of coagulant,
an additional, source for providing alkalinity is employed. The most common source used is lime
which furnishes residual alkalinity, and this promotes the coagulation efficiency. But almost care has
to be taken during the usage of lime for coagulation process. Excessive lime increase pH by providing
OH- ions, which will dissolve Al(OH)3 On the other hand Al(OH)3 dissolves in H+ ions also. Hence, a
neutral pH is to be maintained during coagulation process. Lime is added in such a fashion that a pH is
7 7.5 is maintained during coagulation. It has been established that in pH 7 7.5 range the solubility
if Al(OH)3 is less significant.
Important points:
*The pH range for satisfactory coagulation with alum is 6.0-7.0.
*Low temperature inhibits coagulation. Temperature variation above 2F might cause thermal upset in
the clarifier bed.
*Polyelectrolytes are more effective coagulating & flocculating agents than alum but they are more
expensive.
*The main aim of coagulation is to remove colloidal silica from raw water as far as possible
Causes of Clarifier Bed disturbance:
i) Sudden upsurge of heavy turbid water.
ii) Fall in pH due to excess alum dosing.
iii) Sudden fall in temperature.

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4. A. FILTRATION
The suspended and colloidal matter in the river water is reduced to consistently normal proportions by
clarification. The final purification is effected by passing the treated water through rapid gravity sand
filters. Rapid sand filters as the name implies have high filtration rates and are designed to receive
coagulated and settled water. When the water flows down through the medium, suspended and most of
the colloidal impurities in the water are left behind in the pores or upon the medium itself. This
process of separating impurities from the carrying water is called filtration. Filtration is an important
and active process in the natural purification of water. A number of different processes combine to
produce the overall removal of impurities associated with the water by way of filtration through
granular substances. The most important of these processes involve several Physical actions such as
straining, sedimentation, etc. Straining is the simplest of filtration phenomena. It takes place, almost
entirely, at the surface of the filter where the water enters the pores of the filter bed. Initially, straining
removes only those substances which are larger than the pore openings. As the filtration is continued,
the substances those are strained out accumulate on the surface of the filter bed and lead to the
formation of a mat thereon. Removal of this mat becomes necessary when the resistance to filtration is
mounted to excessive values. This causes head loss in the filter, which prevent filters to have desired
filtered water output. The dirt collected over the filter bed is removed by back washing. The process of
washing consists in loosening the impurities adhering to the sand particles by agitation of the bed with
air and floats them to drain by means of a reverse of current of filtered water.

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