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GRIT CHAMBER

Primary treatment – Principles, functions

design and drawing of GRIT CHAMBER

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 grit chamber

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• Grit chamber is the second unit operation used in primary treatment of
wastewater and it is intended to remove suspended inorganic particles
such as sandy and gritty matter from the wastewater.

• The grit chamber is used to remove grit, consisting of sand, gravel,

cinder, or other heavy solid materials (inorganic - that have specific
gravity much higher than those of the organic solids in wastewater) by
the process of sedimentation due to gravitational forces and to pass
forward the lighter organic material.
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 Principle of grit chamber

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• Based on the process of sedimentation in which the organic matter
present in sewage which is having specific gravity greater than that
of water (ie 1.0) is made to settle.

• In still sewage these particles will tend to settle down by gravity

whereas in flowing sewage they are kept in suspension because of
turbulence in water. Hence as soon as turbulence is retarded by
offering storage to sewage these impurities tend to settle down at the
bottom of the tank offering such storage.

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 Principle of grit chamber

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• Settling of discrete particles (Type I sedimentation
or settling).

• Discrete or granular particles are those which do not

change their size, shape and weight.

• Flocculated particles are those which change their

size, shape and weight and thus lose their identity.

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 Functions of grit chambers

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Grit chambers are provided

 to protect moving mechanical equipment from abrasion

and abnormal wear

 avoid deposition in pipelines, channels, and conduits

 reduce frequency of digester cleaning.

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 Functions of grit chambers

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 Separate removal of suspended inorganic solids in grit chamber and
suspended organic solids in primary sedimentation tank is necessary
due to different nature and mode of disposal of these solids.

 Grit can be disposed off after washing, to remove higher size organic
matter settled along with grit particles

 whereas, the suspended solids settled in primary sedimentation tank,

being organic matter, requires further treatment before disposal.

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Horizontal Velocity in Flow Though Grit Chamber
• The settling of grit particles in the chamber is assumed as particles settling as
individual entities and referred as Type – I settling. The grit chamber is
divided in four compartments as inlet zone, outlet zone, settling zone and
sludge zone

• L – Length of the settling zone, H – Depth of the settling zone,

• v – Horizontal velocity of wastewater
• Vo – Settling velocity of the smallest particle intended to be removed in grit
chamber.

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Horizontal Velocity in Flow Though Grit Chamber

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Compartments of grit chamber

• Zone – I: Inlet zone: This zone distributes the incoming wastewater uniformly
to entire cross section of the grit chamber.
• Zone – II: Outlet zone: This zone collects the wastewater after grit removal.
• Zone – III: Settling zone: In this zone settling of grit material occurs.
• Zone – IV: Sludge zone: This is a zone where settled grit accumulates.
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 Design of grit chambers

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• Now, if Vs is the settling velocity of any particle, then

• For Vs >= Vo these particles will be totally removed,

• For Vs < Vo, these particles will be partially removed,

• Where, Vo is settling velocity of the smallest particle intended to be removed.

• The smallest particle expected to be removed in the grit chamber has size 0.2 mm and
sometimes in practice even size of the smallest particle is considered as 0.15 mm. The
terminal velocity with which this smallest particle will settle is considered as Vo. This
velocity can be expressed as flow or discharge per unit surface area of the tank, and is
usually called as ‘surface overflow rate’ or ‘surface settling velocity’.

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 Design of grit chambers

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• Now for 100 percent removal of the particles with settling
velocity Vs >= Vo, we have

Detention time = L/v = H/Vo

Or L/H = v/Vo …………(1)

• To prevent scouring of already deposited particles the

magnitude of ‘v’ should not exceed critical horizontal velocity
Vc, and the above equation becomes

L / H = Vc / Vo
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 Design of grit chambers

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• The critical velocity, Vc, can be given by the following equation

β= constant, = 0.04 for unigranular sand

= 0.06 for non-uniform sticky material
f = Darcy –Weisbach friction factor = 0.03 for gritty matter
g = Gravitational acceleration,
S = Specific gravity of the particle to be removed (2.65 for sand), and
D = Diameter of the particle, m

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 2/17/2020
Design of grit chambers
• The grit chambers are designed to remove the smallest particle
of size 0.2 mm with specific gravity around 2.65. For these
particles, using above expression the critical velocity comes out
to be Vc = 0.228 m/sec.

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 Settling Velocity of the Particles

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• Settling velocity of any discrete particle depends on its individual
characteristics and also on the characteristics of the fluid.
Assuming particles to be spherical, the settling velocity of any
particle, Vs, can be given by the following
formula:

R = Reynold’s Number = Vs.D/ν

ν = Kinematic viscosity of the fluid
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drawing of grit chambers

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Horizontal flow grit chamber

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 Horizontal Flow Rectangular Grit Chamber

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• A long narrow channel is used in this type of grit chamber.
The wastewater moves through this channel in more or
less plug flow condition with minimal mixing to support
settling of the particles.

• Higher length to width ratio of the channel is used to

minimize mixing. For this purpose a minimum allowance
of approximately twice the maximum depth or 20 to 50%
of the theoretical length of the channel should be given for
inlet and outlet zones.
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Horizontal Flow Rectangular Grit Chamber

• The width of this channel is kept between 1 and 1.5 m and

the depth of flow is normally kept shallow. A free board of
minimum 0.3 m and grit space of about 0.25 m is provided.

• For large sewage treatment plant, two or more number of

grit chambers are generally provided in parallel. The
detention time of 45 to 90 seconds is recommended for the
grit chamber.

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 Control of Velocity Through

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the Grit Chamber
 With variation in sewage flow received at treatment plant, it is important that
velocity of the wastewater in the grit chamber should be maintained nearly
constant.

 Otherwise when flow is lower, deposition of not only inorganic solids but also
organic solids will occur in grit chamber due to lowering of velocity.

 With flow higher than average, when the velocity will exceed the critical velocity,
scouring of already deposited grit particles will occur leading to failure of
performance.

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 Control of Velocity Through

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the Grit Chamber
 Hence for proper functioning, the velocity should not be allowed
to change in spite of change in flow in the grit chamber.

The shape of the opening between the plates of a proportional

weir is made in such a way that the discharge is directly
proportional to liquid depth in grit chamber. As a result the
velocity of water in the chamber will remain constant for all flow
conditions.

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Proportional Weir Parshall flume

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 Disposal of Grit

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• Considerable quantities of grit will be collected at the sewage treatment plant,
about 0.004 to 0.2 m3/ML. Quantity of grit will be more particularly for combined
system. Necessary arrangement should be made at the treatment plant for
collection, storage and disposal of this grit matter. The grit collected can be
disposed in the following manner:

• In large treatment plant, grit is incinerated with sludge

• In the past, grits along with screening was dumped into sea.

• Generally, grit should be washed before disposal to remove organic matter.

• Land disposal after washing is most common. 20

 Design of Grit Chamber

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Design a grit chamber for population 50000 with water
consumption of 135 LPCD.
Solution
Average quantity of sewage, considering sewage generation 80%
of water supply, is
= 135 x 50000 x 0.8 = 5400 m3/day = 0.0625 m3/sec

Maximum flow = 2.5 x average flow

= 0.0625 x 2.5 = 0.156 m3/sec
Keeping the horizontal velocity as 0.2 m/sec (<0.228 m/sec) and
detention time period as one minute.
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 Design of Grit Chamber

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Length of the grit chamber
= velocity x detention time = 0.2 x 60 = 12.0 m
Volume of the grit chamber
= Discharge x detention time
= 0.156 x 60 = 9.36 m3
Cross section area of flow ‘A’
= Volume / Length = 9.36/12 = 0.777 m2
Provide width of the chamber = 1.0 m,
hence depth = 0.777 m
Provide 25% additional length to accommodate inlet and
outlet zones.
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 Design of Grit Chamber

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The length of the grit chamber
= 12 x 1.25 = 15.0 m
Provide 0.3 m free board and 0.25 m grit accumulation zone
depth, hence total depth
= 0.777 + 0.3 + 0.25 = 1.33 m
and width = 1.0 m

Size of the Grit Chamber

15m x 1m x (1.03m+0.3m) Freeboard

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Design of Aerated Grit Chamber
Design aerated grit chamber for treatment of sewage with average
flow of 60 MLD. Consider the peak factor of 2.
Solution:
1. Average flow = 60 MLD = 0.694 m3 /sec, and
Peak flow = 0.694 x 2.0 = 1.389 m3/sec
2. Volume of grit chamber
Provide two chambers to facilitate periodic cleaning and
maintenance
Provide detention time = 3.0 min
Volume of each tank = 1.389 x 3 x 60 /2 = 125.01 m3
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 Design of Aerated Grit Chamber

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3. Dimensions of aeration basin:
Provide depth to width ratio of 1: 1.2
Provide depth = 3.0 m
hence width = 1.2 x 3.0 = 3.6 m
Length = 125.01 / (3 x 3.6) = 11.575 m
Increase length by 20% to account for inlet and outlet conditions.
Total length = 11.575 x 1.2 = 13.89 m.
4. Determine the air-supply requirement
Consider 0.3 m3 /min.m of length air supply
Air Requirement = 13.89 x 0.3 = 4.17 m3 /min
Provide air swing arrangement at 0.5 m from floor
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 Design of Aerated Grit Chamber

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5. Quantity of grit :
Consider grit collection 0.015 m3/103 m3
Volume of grit = 1.389 x 60 x 60 x 24 x 0.015 x 10-3
= 1.8 m3/d
6. Check for surface overflow rate (SOR)
Settling velocity of the smallest particle = 0.228 m/sec,
Actual SOR in the grit chamber
= 1.389 / (3.6 x 11.575)
= 0.033 m/s
= which is less than the settling velocity of the smallest
particle hence design is safe.
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 2/17/2020
SEDIMENTATION TANK

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 Principle of sedimentation tanks

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• Based on the process of sedimentation in which the suspended organic solid
matter present in sewage which is too light to be removed by grit chamber is
removed.

• In still sewage these particles will tend to settle down by gravity whereas in
flowing sewage they are kept in suspension because of turbulence in water.
Hence as soon as turbulence is retarded by offering storage to sewage these
impurities tend to settle down at the bottom of the tank offering such storage.

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 Principle of sedimentation tanks

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 Settling of Flocculated particles

 Flocculated particles are those which change their size, shape and weight and thus
lose their identity.

 Due to involvement of many unknown parameters under settling of light weight,

sticky, and non regular shaped particles, the classical laws of sedimentation as
applicable in grit removal are not valid and this settling is called as flocculant
settling.

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 function of primary sedimentation

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tanks
The purpose and function of the clarifier is threefold:

• Allow settling of light organic suspended solids coming out of the Grit
chamber to the bottom of the clarifier

• To thicken the solids, in order to produce a thick underflow

• To produce clear supernatant water, in the overflow from the clarifier

• The clarifier tank is only a passive device: All the above actions occur
due to gravity.
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design of primary sedimentation tanks
• The primary sedimentation tank generally removes 30 to 40% of the total
BOD and 50 to 70% of suspended solids from the raw sewage.

• The flow through velocity of 1 cm/sec at average flow is used for design
with detention period in the range of 90 to 150 minutes.

• This horizontal velocity will be generally effective for removal of organic

suspended solids of size above 0.1 mm.

• Effluent weirs are provided at the effluent end of the rectangular tanks, and
around the periphery in the circular tanks.
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 2/17/2020
design of primary sedimentation tanks
• Weir loading less than 185 m3/m.d is used for designing effluent weir length
(125 to 500 m3 /m.d). Where primary treatment follows secondary treatment,
higher weir loading rates can be used.

• The sludge collection hopper is provided near the center in circular tank and
near the influent end in rectangular tanks.

• A baffle is provided ahead of the effluent weir for removal of floating matter.
This scum formed on the surface is periodically removed from the tank
mechanically or manually.
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 design of primary sedimentation tanks

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• Primary sedimentation tanks can be circular or rectangular tanks designed using
average dry weather flow and checked for peak flow condition.

• The numbers of tanks are determined by limitation of tank size. Two tanks in
parallel are normally used to facilitate maintenance of any tank.

• The diameter of circular tank may range from 3 to 60 m (up to 45 m typical) and
it is governed by structural requirements of the trusses which supports scrapper in
case of mechanically cleaned tank.

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 design of primary sedimentation tanks

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• Rectangular tank with length 90 m are in use, but usually length more than 40 m is not
preferred.

• Width of the tank is governed by the size of the scrappers available for mechanically
cleaned tank.

• The depth of mechanically cleaned tank should be as shallow as possible, with minimum
2.15 m.

• The average depth of the tank used in practice is about 3.5 m. In addition, 0.25 m for
sludge zone and 0.3 to 0.5 m free board is provided.

• The floor of the tank is provided with slope 6 to 16 % (8 to 12 % typical)for circular tank
and 2 to 8% for rectangular tanks.
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 2/17/2020
design of primary sedimentation tanks
• The scrappers are attached to rotating arms in case of circular tanks and to endless
chain in case of rectangular tanks.

• These scrappers collect the solids in a central sump and the solids are withdrawn
regularly in circular tanks.

• In rectangular tanks, the solids are collected in the sludge hoppers at the influent end,
and are withdrawn at fixed time intervals.

• The scrapper velocity of 0.6 to 1.2 m/min (0.9 m/min typical) is used in rectangular
tank and flight speed of 0.02 to 0.05 rpm (0.03 typical) is used in circular tank.
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 design of primary sedimentation tanks

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• Inlets for both rectangular and circular tanks are to be designed to distribute the
flow equally across the cross section.

• Scum removal arrangement is provided ahead of the effluent weir in all the PST.

• The surface overflow rate of 40 m3/m2.d (in the range 35 to 50 m3/m2.d ) is used
for design at average flow.

• At peak flow the surface overflow rate of 60 to 120 m3/m2.d could be used when
this PST is followed by secondary treatment.

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 2/17/2020
design of primary sedimentation tanks
• The weir loading rate less than 185 m3 /m.d is used for designing effluent weir
length (in the range 125 to 500 m3 /m.d). Weir loading rate up to 300 m3 /m.d is
acceptable under peak flow condition.

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design of primary sedimentation tanks
• Higher weir loading can be acceptable when primary treatment is
followed by secondary treatment.

• As such the weir loading rate has very less impact on the overall
performance of sewage treatment plant when secondary treatment is
provided after primary treatment.

• The detention time in PST could be as low as 1 h to maximum of 2.5

h. Providing detention time of 1.5 to 2.5 h at average flow is a
common practice.

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 2/17/2020
drawing of rectangular sedimentation tank

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drawing of circular sedimentation

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tank

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drawing of circular sedimentation

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tank
The figure shows only some part of the tank floor (1). A
bucket-shaped sludge collection pit
(2) collects the sludge that is swept by the squeegees.
The collected sludge is pumped out through the outlet port
(3) and outlet pipe
(4) In the center of the pit, an RCC pillar (5) is provided. A
bush housing (6) is mounted on this pillar. The housing
contains a bush, which provides a frictionless support to the
rotating rake (7).

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 Design of primary sedimentation tank

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Design the primary sedimentation tank to treat wastewater with average flow rate of
10 MLD and peak flow of 22.5 MLD.

Solution

Assume surface settling rate = 40 m3/m2.d

Therefore, the surface area of the tank

= 10 x 106 / 40 x 103

= 250 m2

Check for peak flow condition:

The SOR at peak flow = 22.5 x 103 /250 = 90 m3/m2.d < recommended value at peak flow. 42
 Design of primary sedimentation tank

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Assume width = 6.0 m

Therefore theoretical length = 250/6 = 41.66 > 40 m

Hence, provide two tanks in parallel

Total length of each tank = 41.66/2 + 2 (inlet) + 2 (outlet) = 24.83 say 24.85 m

Flow rate x detention time = depth x surface area = VOLUME OF THE TANK

or Flow / Surface area = depth / detention time = SURFACE OVERFLOW RATE

Provide detention time of 1.5 h

Liquid depth required = 40 x 1.5 / 24 = 2.5 m

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 Design of primary sedimentation tank

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Flow through velocity = (0.116 m3 /sec) / (2 x 2.5 x 6)

= 0.0039 m/sec.

At peak flow, the flow through velocity

= 22.5 x 103/(2 x 6 x 2.5) = 750 m/d = 0.0087 m/sec.

Provide total depth

= 2.5 + 0.5 (free board) + 0.25 (space for sludge)

= 3.25 m

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 Operation and Maintenance aspects.

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• If properly designed, engineered and constructed, clarifiers call for very little attention
in terms of operation and maintenance.

• Indeed, the unmechanized (hopper-bottom) settling tanks may be said to be zero-

maintenance units.

• Some parts of the mechanical rake (such as the motor, gearbox etc.) call for only
routine maintenance.

• The sacrificial rubber squeegees sweeping the floor of the clarifier need to be checked
and replaced, possibly once in two years.

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