Analytic Solution on Critical Suspended Particle Size and Minimum Collection Efficiency in Deep Bed Filtration

Deep bed filtration is one of the most frequently employed water treatment techniques, and is routinely applied in the clarification of dilute particle suspensions. The prediction of critical suspended particle size is important due to the fact that the corresponding minimum collection efficiency is one of the primary considerations in the design of facilities based on filtration mechanisms. In this study, critical suspended particle size was studied analytically for the case of the Rajagopalan and Tien (RT) filtration model using a harmonic mean type of approximation, as well as a calculation of minimum collection efficiency. The obtained analytic solutions were then compared with the experimental and numerically calculated results, showing good agreement. This analytic solution for critical suspended particle size appears to be applicable to the determination of optimal conditions in deep-bed filtration protocols.