Application of fractal dimensions to study the structure of flocs formed in lime softening process

The use of fractal dimensions to study the internal structure and settling of flocs formed in lime softening process was investigated. Fractal dimensions of flocs were measured directly on floc images and indirectly from their settling velocity. An optical microscope with a motorized stage was used to measure the fractal dimensions of lime softening flocs directly on their images in 2 and 3D space. The directly determined fractal dimensions of the lime softening flocs were 1.11-1.25 for floc boundary, 1.82-1.99 for cross-sectional area and 2.6-2.99 for floc volume. The fractal dimension determined indirectly from the flocs settling rates was 1.87 that was different from the 3D fractal dimension determined directly on floc images. This discrepancy is due to the following incorrect assumptions used for fractal dimensions determined from floc settling rates: linear relationship between square settling velocity and floc size (Stokes’ Law), Euclidean relationship between floc size and volume, constant fractal dimensions and one primary particle size describing entire population of flocs. Floc settling model incorporating variable floc fractal dimensions as well as variable primary particle size was found to describe the settling velocity of large (>50 μm) lime softening flocs better than Stokes’ Law. Settling velocities of smaller flocs (<50 μm) could still be quite well predicted by Stokes’ Law. The variation of fractal dimensions with lime floc size in this study indicated that two mechanisms are involved in the formation of these flocs: cluster-cluster aggregation for small flocs (<50 μm) and diffusion-limited aggregation for large flocs (>50 μm). Therefore, the relationship between the floc fractal dimension and floc size appears to be determined by floc formation mechanisms.     

Structure of conditioned sludge flocs

Free settling tests, small-angle light scattering, microtome-slicing techniques, and confocal laser scanning microscopy were performed to examine how the cationic flocculation or freezing and thawing affected the floc structure. The floc size, internal pore size, mass fractal dimensions determined from free-settling test or small angle light scattering test, aeral porosity, boundary fractal dimension and Sierpinski carpet fractal dimension of pore boundary from 2D slices, and the volume porosity, compactness, and the pores' box-counting fractal dimension from 3D reconstructed image, were estimated and compared. Cationic flocculation would produce large flocs with internal pores of shape resembling a long "tube" with rough surface. Freezing and thawing would produce flocs with internal pores with lower aspect ratio and a smoother boundary.     

Relationship between floc composition and flocculation and settling properties studied at a full scale activated sludge plant

The variation in activated sludge floc composition, flocculation and settling properties was studied at a full scale plant over a 2-year period. A comprehensive set of process parameters was analysed and related to the floc properties to increase the understanding of the factors affecting floc formation. The composition of the activated sludge showed a seasonal change with higher concentrations of extractable extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) during the winter months. The protein content of the total sludge and EPS increased significantly during the winter. This coincided with higher effluent suspended solids concentrations and increased shear sensitivity of the sludge flocs. Only poor correlations between EPS contents and stirred sludge volume index (SSVI) could be observed. High iron concentrations in the sludge due to dosage of iron salt to precipitate phosphorus were found to have a negative impact on the settling and compaction properties of the sludge, whereas it had a positive impact on floc stability. Higher organic loading due to by-passed primary settlers leads to improved settling and compaction properties.     

Predicting the settling velocity of flocs formed in water treatment using multiple fractal dimensions

Here we introduce a distribution of floc fractal dimensions as opposed to a single fractal dimension value into the floc settling velocity model developed in earlier studies. The distribution of fractal dimensions for a single floc size was assumed to cover a range from 1.9 to 3.0. This range was selected based on the theoretically determined fractal dimensions for diffusion-limited and cluster-cluster aggregation. These two aggregation mechanisms are involved in the formation of the lime softening flocs analyzed in this study. Fractal dimensions were generated under the assumption that a floc can have any value of normally distributed fractal dimensions ranging from 1.9-3.0. A range of settling velocities for a single floc size was calculated based on the distribution of fractal dimensions. The assumption of multiple fractal dimensions for a single floc size resulted in a non-unique relationship between the floc size and the floc settling velocity, i.e., several different settling velocities were calculated for one floc size. The settling velocities calculated according to the model ranged from 0 to 10 mm/s (average 2.22 mm/s) for the majority of flocs in the size range of 1-250 μm (average 125 μm). The experimentally measured settling velocities of flocs ranged from 0.1 to 7.1 mm/s (average 2.37 mm/s) for the flocs with equivalent diameters from 10 μm to 260 μm (average 124 μm). Experimentally determined floc settling velocities were predicted well by the floc settling model incorporating distributions of floc fractal dimensions calculated based on the knowledge of the mechanisms of aggregation, i.e., cluster-cluster aggregation and diffusion-limited aggregation.     

Stroboscopic determination of settling velocity, size and porosity of activated sludge flocs

A multi-exposure photographic method was developed for the combined measurement of the settling velocity and size of activated sludge flocs. The proposed method mainly differs from the previous stroboscopic tests by introducing a new experimental arrangement which ensures sharp images of flocs on photographs.The relationships between individual floc-settling velocity and the floc size were found to be linear or fractional power functions. All these relationships were well correlated.Based on a simplified floc structure assumption and results of experimental measurements of floc-settling velocity and size, the floc porosity was determined. The porosity increased at two distinct rates as the floc size increased.     

Floc structural characteristics using conventional coagulation for a high doc, low alkalinity surface water source

Removal of natural organic matter (NOM) is well established using metal salt coagulants. In addition, flocculant aids are also commonly used to improve solid removal. The objectives of this paper is to describe the impacts of both NOM and polymer on floc structure. The study offers a comparison of floc physical characteristics for coagulant precipitate flocs, organic-coagulant flocs and organic-coagulant-polymer flocs for optimum coagulant and polymer doses. A ferric sulphate-based coagulant was used as the primary coagulant and the polymer selected was a high molecular weight (MW) cationic polydiallyldimethylammonium chloride (polyDADMAC). Floc size, breakage, re-growth and settling characteristics were measured. Precipitate flocs were larger than organic flocs and had better settling characteristics when compared to NOM-coagulant flocs. When polymer was added, floc size and compaction was seen to further reduce. An explanation was offered in terms of the mode of flocculation involved. Floc breakage behaviour showed that polymer reduced the rate of floc degradation but did not greatly improve floc re-growth potential after breakage, which was generally poor for all of the suspensions.     

Impacts of structural characteristics on activated sludge floc stability

Activated sludge samples from seven full-scale plants were investigated in order to determine the relationship between floc structure and floc stability. Floc stability was determined by shear sensitivity and floc strength. Floc structure was considered in terms of two size scales, the micro- and macrostructure. The microstructure refers to the organization of the floc components, such as the individual microorganisms. The macrostructure refers to the overall floc. The floc macrostructure was characterized by filament index, sludge volume index, size, and fractal dimension. It had a significant impact on floc stability. Large and open flocs with low fractal dimensions containing large number of filaments were more shear sensitive and had lower floc strength compared to small and dense flocs. Fluorescent in situ hybridization analysis indicated that the organization of the bacterial cells might also have an effect on the floc stability.     

Experimental and numerical investigations of sedimentation of porous wastewater sludge flocs

The paper studies the properties and sedimentation characteristics of sludge flocs, as they appear in biological wastewater treatment (BWT) plants. The flocs are described as porous and permeable bodies, with their properties defined based on conducted experimental study. The derivation is based on established geometrical properties, high-speed camera data on settling velocities and non-linear numerical model, linking settling velocity with physical properties of porous flocs. The numerical model for derivation is based on generalized Stokes model, with permeability of the floc described by the Brinkman model. As a result, correlation for flocs porosity is obtained as a function of floc diameter. This data is used in establishing a CFD numerical model of sedimentation of flocs in test conditions, as recorded during experimental investigation. The CFD model is based on Euler-Lagrange formulation, where the Lagrange formulation is chosen for computation of flocs trajectories during sedimentation. The results of numerical simulations are compared with experimental results and very good agreement is observed.     

Effect of SRT and temperature on biological conversions and the related scum-forming potential

Sludge flotation was reported to cause several operational problems in anaerobic systems including UASB reactors treating both strong domestic sewage and some industrial wastewater. This research is to investigate the effect of anaerobic digestion on scum-forming potential (SFP) of sludge and other physical-chemical properties. A simple test was developed to measure and compare the tendency of different sludge to form a scum layer. Results showed that anaerobic digestion affects chemical composition of sludge flocs and consequently, SFP, which was found to be inversely proportional to the degree of digestion (both SRT and temperature). It was suggested that higher protein concentration at elevated SRT and 25 degrees C increased the negative surface charge of sludge flocs and ,consequently, reduced the ability of sludge to attach to gas bubbles and float. Floc average size increased with increasing SRT and temperature, especially for sludge with 75d SRT at 25 degrees C. On the other hand, settling properties of sludge were negatively affected by increasing SRT to 75d at 25 degrees C. Filterability had a strong positive correlation with average floc size, but also polymeric constituents correlated positively with filterability at 25 degrees C.     

A combined approach for a better understanding of wastewater treatment plants operation: statistical analysis of monitoring database and sludge physico-chemical characterization

Biological wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) are complex systems to assess. Many parameters are recorded daily in WWTP to monitor and control the treatment process, providing huge amounts of registered data. A combined approach of extracting information from the WWTP databases by statistical methods and from the sludge physico-chemical characterization was used here for a better understanding of the WWTP operation. The monitored parameters were analysed by multivariate statistical methods: Principal Components Analysis and multiple partial linear regression. The WWTP operational conditions determine the sludge characteristics. The bacterial activity of the sludge in terms of extra-cellular polymeric substances (EPS) production was assessed using size exclusion chromatography and the internal structure of sludge flocs was observed by confocal laser scanning microscopy. The diagnosis of three paper mill WWTP enabled the identification of an important EPS production, the presence of the nitrification process and the presence of PO₄³⁻ nutrient in WWTP-A. These three main characteristics of WWTP-A were related with a systematically good sludge settling. In WWTP-B and C with bad settling, the bacterial activity was weak.     

A study of titanium sulfate flocculation for water treatment

There are limited studies available on titanium salt flocculation. In this research, coagulation experiments of titanium sulfate were conducted using both distilled water and kaolin clay suspension. Results showed that titanium sulfate flocculation was most effective in the pH range 4-6, and negligible concentrations of titanium were found in the well-flocculated water. The floc isoelectric point (IEP) was found to be near pH 5. Measurements showed that the titanium flocs possessed greater density, diameter and settling velocity than the aluminum flocs. The titanium flocs were composed of TiO(OH)₂, which would change from the amorphous phase into anatase titanium dioxide under elevated temperatures. Floc images showed the structural similarity of titanium and aluminum flocs. Laboratory results and a pilot experiment showed that titanium sulfate could be an alternative coagulant for water and wastewater treatment.     

A review of floc strength and breakage

The main focus of the paper is to review current understanding of floc structure and strength. This has been done by reviewing current theoretical understanding of floc growth and breakage and an analysis of different techniques used for measuring floc strength. An overview has also been made of the general trends seen in floc strength analysis. The rate of floc formation is a balance between breakage and aggregation with flocs eventually reaching a steady-state size for a given shear rate. The steady-state floc size for a particular shear rate can, therefore, be a good indicator of floc strength. This has resulted in the development of a range of techniques to measure floc size at different applied shear levels using a combination of one or more of the following tools: light scattering and transmission; microscopy; photography; video and image analysis software. Floc strength may be simply quantified using the initial floc size for a given shear rate and the floc strength factor. More complex techniques have used theoretical modelling to determine whether flocs break by large-scale fragmentation or smaller-scale surface erosion effects, although this interpretation is open to debate. Impeller-based mixing, ultrasound and vibrating columns have all been used to provide a uniform, accurate and controllable dissipation of energy onto a floc suspension to determine floc strength. Other more recent techniques have used sensitive micromanipulators to measure the force required to break or compress individual flocs, although these techniques have been limited to the measurement of only a few hundred flocs. General trends emerge showing that smaller flocs tend to have greater strength than larger flocs, whilst the use of polymer seems to give increased strength to only some types of floc. Finally, a comparison of the strength of different types of floc (activated sludge flocs, organic matter flocs, sweep flocs and charge neutralised flocs) has been made highlighting differences in relative floc strength.     

Influence of aging on phosphorus sorption to alum floc in lake water

Alum is often added to eutrophic lakes to limit the release of phosphorus from sediments. This study quantified the effect of age and extent of crystallization on the phosphate (PO4-P) sorption capacity of alum floc. Aluminum hydroxide flocs were formed from alum addition at a dose of 25 mg/L of Al3+ to Big Bear Lake waters returned to the laboratory; flocs were then aged for 4, 20, 50, 120, and 180 days in the treated lake waters. The physical and mineralogical properties of the alum floc were characterized using surface area and thermal analyses. Phosphate sorption to the floc was evaluated using filtered lake water and NaCl/NaHCO3 solutions spiked with PO4-P concentrations ranging from 0 to 100 mg/L. The Langmuir model provided reasonable fits to data (r2 = 0.97-1.00), from which sorption constants and sorption maxima were determined. Phosphate sorption decreased with increased floc age and crystallinity and decreased surface area. Phosphate sorption maximum of the alum floc aged for 6 months was about 50% lower than freshly precipitated floc, while the binding constant, Kads, decreased approximately 65% over this same time period.     

Effects of humic acid on physical and hydrodynamic properties of kaolin flocs by particle image velocimetry

The physical and hydrodynamic properties of kaolin flocs including floc size, strength, regrowth, fractal structure and settling velocity were investigated by in situ particle image velocimetry technique at different humic acid concentration. Jar-test experimental results showed that the adsorbed humic acid had a significant influence on the coagulation process for alum and ferric chloride. Kaolin flocs formed with the ferric chloride were larger and stronger than those for alum at same humic acid concentration. Floc strength and regrowth were estimated by strength factor and recovery factor at different humic acid concentration. It was found that the increased humic acid concentration had a slight influence on the strength of kaolin flocs and resulted in much worse floc regrowth. In addition, the floc regrowth after breakage depended on the shear history and coagulants under investigation. The changes in fractal structure recorded continuously by in situ particle image velocimetry technique during the growth-breakage-regrowth processes provided a supporting information that the kaolin flocs exhibited a multilevel structure. It was proved that the increased humic acid concentration resulted in decrease in mass fractal dimension of kaolin flocs and consequently worse sedimentation performance through free-settling and microbalance techniques.     

Breakage and re-growth of flocs formed by charge neutralization using alum and polyDADMAC

The formation, breakage and re-growth of flocs were investigated using alum and polyDADMAC to explore the reversibility of floc breakage. There is a significant reversibility of the breakage process, i.e. the broken flocs can re-grow to the size before breakage, when charge neutralization dominates the coagulation mechanism. However, for higher alum dosage, the break-up process displayed a distinct irreversibility. When coagulated in charge neutralization, the re-growth process of alum was nearly the same as that of polyDADMAC. The average size, coagulation rate and fractal dimension of flocs before and after breakage were nearly the same, including alum and polyDADMAC. While at higher alum dosage, the average size, coagulation rate and fractal dimension of flocs after breakage were much lower than that before breakage. Most important is that the number of small flocs after breakage and re-growth was much less than before breakage when charge neutralization dominated the coagulation mechanism. On the contrary, at higher alum dosage, the small flocs, after breakage and re-growth, increased. The fractal dimension of flocs with alum increased as coagulation time increased until a limiting floc size was reached, while for higher alum dosage, it decreased, whether before or after breakage. The determining parameter for floc re-growth is probably not the fractal dimension, but rather the chemical characteristics of the flocs surface.     

混凝剂加注量的自动控制新方法

报导了净水过程中使用计算机实时采集和定量分析絮凝池絮体图像,算出絮体沉淀“等效直径”作为控制混凝剂加注率的目标值,并用进水流量和沉淀水浊度信号自动修正目标设定植,加注量为进水流量与加注率之积。实验数据表明,该方法能适应水质和其他因素的变化自动调整加注量,达到了稳定沉淀水浊度的目的。     

絮凝体沉速在线测量方法及其应用研究

提出了在絮凝池在线测量絮凝体沉速的方法,通过连续采集絮凝体图像和计算机数据处理,跟踪絮凝体运动轨迹,从而计算每一个絮凝体的沉速,同时介绍了数据处理的过程和基本算法。将基于该方法的絮凝体沉速测量设备(FVD)应用于临江水厂,对试验结果进行的分析表明,絮凝体沉速既可作为评价絮凝效果的指标,又可作为控制混凝剂加注量的依据。     

Strength of natural soil flocs

To obtain the strength of flocs against breakup is crucial for controlling flocculation in water treatment and predicting transport of colloidal particles in aqueous environments. Recently, the author reported a method to obtain floc strength from a simple experiment of floc breakup subjected to a laminar converging flow. In this study, this method was applied to natural soil flocs. The flocs were formed by coagulation with 0.5 M NaCl (pH 5.4-5.5, pH 6.6) solutions, 0.1M CaCl2 (pH 6.4-6.9) solutions, or acidified distilled water with dilute HCl (pH 5.6). Obtained floc strengths were 0.3, 0.7 and 4 nN for Na-, Ca-, and H-coagulated flocs, respectively. Also, floc strength did not change with floc size. These values of floc strengths were 1-3 orders smaller than those of flocs formed with polymer flocculants and/or precipitated ferric or aluminum coagulants.     

Colour and turbidity removal with reusable magnetic particles—I. Use of magnetic cation exchange resins to introduce aluminium ions

Clarification of hard, turbid surface water by Al³⁺ ions introduced on a sulphonic acid ion exchanger is described. If the resin beads are sufficiently fine, they act as nuclei for floc formation and accelerate the subsequent settling of the flocs. Incorporation of magnetic iron oxide in the resin beads enables them to be conveniently separated from the clarified water. Acidification of the resin-containing sludge then results in partial reloading of the resin with Al³⁺ ions. However, the regenerated resin proved ineffective as a coagulant, a result attributed chiefly to hydrolysis of Al³⁺ ions within the resin. The findings of this work are significant for the theory of coagulation and also suggested the possibility of enhancing clarification by adding fine particles with an absorbing surface.