Chemistry of Water Treatment

Large quantities of raw water need to be provided for power generation. For 1
MW power generation total quantity of water required is 7 ton. Water treatment
plant requires 3.5 ton.
Raw water supplies are required for three main purposes:
To provide make-up water to the water /steam cycle.
For cooling of the steam for re-use as condensate.
For general domestic use.
River water contains dissolved and suspended impurities as well as organic
matters. 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.
The purpose of Pre- treatment plantis to remove impurities like organic matter,
turbidity and microorganism from raw water which otherwise would adversely
affect the subsequent water treatment processes. The pre-treatment involves the
following steps:
A) Aeration: The main purposes of aeration are
i) To remove undesirable gases from raw water
ii) To oxidize ferrous and manganese ions so that they can be easily removed in
the Clarifier
iii) To degrade organic matter to some an extent.
B) Pre-chlorination: The main aims of pre-chlorination are
i) To kill microorganisms
ii) To destroy organic matter which otherwise will inhibit coagulationof
colloidal impurities. 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.
The germicidal efficiency of HOCl is due the relative ease with which it
penetrates cell walls of microorganisms
* HOCl is more effective germicide than ClO. At pH 7.4 the HOCl and ClO
are approximately of equal concentration.
*The optimum pH range for effective chlorination is 6.0- 7.0
C)

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.
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. Al ions coming from alum neutralize the
colloidal particles and therebypermitting them to coalesce. In addition to this
alumreacts 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 particlepreferentially 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 from the solid surface (stern layer) and

another diffuse portion of that counter ions with conc. 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.
*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.
D) Filtration: After coagulation the water is passed through GF Bed to arrest
finer particles if present after coagulation. The filter water is stored in 2 Nos of
Filter water tank.

Demineralization Plant
Tripple Stream (2w+1s)
Capacity: 85m/hr (Capacity of DM Plant should be 5% of steam output of
Boiler)

ACF SAC DGTDGSTSBAMBUFFTUF

SKIDUFPTTDMST.
Demineralization of filter water is required to avoid scale or deposit formation
on heat transfer surfaces. Filter water is first through activated carbon filter and
then through strong acidic cation exchanger. After that water is subjected to
degasification and then passed through strong basic anion exchanger to get
deionised water. It is then polished in mixed bed and ultra purified by passing
through ultra filtration membrane.
1. Activated Charcoal Filter: The function of ACF is to remove free residual
chlorine (which may damage SAC resin by oxidation) and organic matter
(which may cause bio fouling). It also arrests finer dirt particles if present in
Filter water.
2.Strong Acidic Cation Exchanger: The purpose of SAC Exchangers is to
convert the salts present in water to their corresponding acids by arresting the
basic radicals.
Resin used: High capacity Polystyrene sulphonate resin / Sulphonated
Co polymer of divinyl benzene and styrene.
* Reactions: 2RSOH + Ca (HCO) (RSO)Ca +2CO + 2HO
2RSOH + CaCl

(RSO)Ca +2HCl

Order of preferential exchange of cations: CaMgNa

Indication of exhaustion of SAC:
i)FMA of SAC decreases.
ii) pH& conductivity of SBA increases.

1 ppm of Na ions slip results in the increase in conductivity of SBA effluent

by 5 S/ cm.
Regeneration: The exhausted resin is regenerated using (4-5%) HCl
* Reaction: (RSO)Ca +2 HCl 2RSOH + CaCl
Some important points:
a) Never allow SAC to get exhausted. (Designed running hours b/w two
successive regn.is 18 hrs)
b) FMA should be not below 15 ppm as CaCO
Cation resins are quite stable. They do not suffer from the loss
of capacity even when they are subjected to temperature in
excess of 100C.

3. Degassifier: It removes CO gas from the SAC effluent and thereby reducing
effective load on SBA.
CO at Raw Water: 12 ppm as CaCO.
CO at SAC effluent: 30-40 ppm as CaCO.
CO at Degasser Outlet: 3-5 ppm as CaCO.
4. Strong Basic Anion Exchanger: The purpose of SBA is to pick up acidic
radicals from water and produce almost pure water.
Resin used: Polystyrene resin with quarternary ammonium hydroxide functional
group.
Order of preferential exchange of anions: HSONOClSiO
*Reactions: RN (CH) OH + HCl RN (CH)Cl + HO
RN(CH)OH+HSiO RN(CH)SiO + HO
Indication of exhaustion of SBA:
a) Silica slip starts.
b) Conductivity of the effluent starts decreasing.

Regeneration: The exhausted is regenerated by (4-5%)NaOH.

*Reaction: RN (CH) Cl +NaOH RN (CH) OH + NaCl
Never allow SBA to get exhausted. (Designed running hours b/w two
successive regn: 18 hrs)
Anion resins are inherently less stable than cation resins. They frequently face
the problem of bio fouling. Organic fouling of anion resins can be alleviated by
soaking the resin in an alkaline brine solution for several hours. The optimum
conc. of the brine solution is 10% sodium chloride with 3-4% sodium
hydroxide.
5. Mixed Bed: Its purpose is to take care of any carry over due to leakage from
SAC or SBA or from both. It acts as a safeguard against silica slip and hence it
is called silica absorber. It acts as an infinite no of demineralizer and hence can
rectify both conductivity and pH of the effluent.
Resin used: A mixture of Cation and Anion resin
Indication of exhaustion of MB:
i) Conductivity & pH starts increasing
ii) Silica slip starts.
Regeneration: The regeneration of cationic part is done by 5% HCl and that
of anionic part is done by 5% NaOH. The regeneration process can be done
simultaneously.

6. Ultra Filtration Skid: This unit removes colloidal silica from the effluent
of MB and thereby producing ultra-pure water.
The membrane is made up of polysulphone material.

Range of Critical Range of Parameters Recommended by Manufacturers

system
Clarified Water

Parameter

Recommended
range

pH

6.6-7.2

Turbidity

5 NTU

Residual Chlorine

0.5 ppm

pH

6.9-7.2

Turbidity

2 NTU

Residual Chlorine

0.5 ppm (max)

Turbidity

0.5 NTU

Residual Chlorine

Nil

Conductivity Ratio

1.0

FMA
Hardness

Nil

DGST Water

CO

3-4 ppm

SBA Outlet Water

Specific Conductivity

10 S/ cm

pH
Silica

7.0-8.3
0.2 ppm(Max)

Specific Conductivity at 25 C

0.1 S/ cm

pHat 25 C

6.8-7.2

Reactive Silica

0.02 ppm as SiO2

Hardness

Nil

Specific Conductivity at 25 C

0.1 S/ cm

pH at 25 C

6.8-7.2

Reactive Silica

0.01 ppm as SiO2

Filter Water

ACF Outlet water

SAC Outlet Water

Mixed bed Outlet Water

UF Outlet Water