Intoduction to Environmental Engineering

Davis and Cornwell

Shown below are the results of water quality analyses of the Thames River in London. If the water is treated with
60.00 mg/L of alum to remove turbidity, how much alkalinity will remain? Ignore side reactions with phosphorus
and assume all the alkalinity is HCO- 3 ion. Does the final pH of the water rise or fall ? Why ?

Expressed as
CaCO 3
CaCO 3
CaCO 3
Fe
Cu
Cr
CaCO 3
Cl
PO4
SiO2
-

Constituent
Total hardness
Calcium hardness
Magnesium hardness
Total iron
Copper
Chromium
Total alkalinity
Chloride
Phosphate (total)
Silica
Suspended Solids
Total Solids
pHa

a Not

mg / l
260.0
235.0
25.0`
1.8
0.05
0.01
130.0
52.0
1.0
14.0
43.0
495.0
7.4

in mg/L

Solution: When alum is added to water containing alkalinity the following reaction occurs
carbon dioxide
Al2(SO4)3.14H2O + 6HCO3- <====> 2Al(OH)3(s) + 6CO2 + 14H2O + 3SO4alum

3-37 alkalinity reactions.mcd

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alkalinity

precipitate
aluminum hydroxide

water

sulfate

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CLASSIC COAGULANT ADDITION SEQUENCE OF OPERATIONS *

flocculation basin - purpose
is to promote collisions
between floc particles medium to low mixing
intensity. Detention time
approximately 20 minutes

treated water
to
filtration
settling
basin

flash mix

flocculation
sludge - to disposal

flash mix basin - purpose is to achieve

complete mixing of coagulant with raw
water. Short detention time, high
mixing intensity

settling basin - purpose is to allow floc and

colloids to settle out and be removed from
system

* Many existing/older plants may lack one or more of these processes

or have flocculation and settling combined into a single unit

We see from the reaction that the following occurs:

a. 1 mole alum uses up 6 moles bicarbonate alkalinity

b. carbon dioxide is released which will require additional alkalinity to prevent a drop
in the pH, why?
c. Aluminum hydroxide, a precipitate, is created, which settles, hopefully taking turbibity
causing suspended solids with it.
d. 1 mole alum produces 2 moles aluminum hydroxide
MWalum := [ 2 26.98 + ( 32 + 4 16) 3 + 14 ( 18) ]

MWHCO3 := ( 1 + 12 + 3 16)

MWCaCO3 := 100
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gm
mole

gm
mole

gm
mole

EWCaCO3 :=

MWCaCO3
2

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Aluminum hydroxide is the precipitate (floc) MWfloc := [ 26.98 + ( 17 3) ]

gm
mole

note: Alkalinity given as: mg/liter as CaCO3.

130
bicarb :=

mg
liter

EWCaCO3

MWHCO3

60
alum :=

bicarb = 158.6

mg

mg/liter as the HCO-3 ion:

liter

mg
liter

alum = 1.01 10

MWalum

mole
liter

The alkalinity used up by the alum and that remaining is:

Alkalinity - mg/liter as the ion HCO3 used up in the reaction alkHCO3 := 6 alum MWHCO3
alkHCO3 = 36.972

mg
liter

Alkalinity used up in the reaction expressed as calcium carbonate alkCaCO3 :=

alkCaCO3 = 30.305

alkremaining := 130

mg
liter

alkremaining = 99.695

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mg
liter

alkHCO3
MWHCO3

EWCaCO3

mg
liter

alkCaCO3
NOTE : The creation of carbon dioxide will use up additional alkalinity

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How much alum sludge will have to be disposed of if 12 Mgd of water are treated and 100% of the total
suspended solids in the raw water are removed.

Q := 12 10

gal
day

dry_sludge := Q

TSS := 43

mg
liter

( alum 2 MWfloc) +

dry_sludge = 5.884 10

lb

day

TSS

dry solids

If the alum sludge coming from the clarifier is, in fact 98% water, by weight, what is the volume of sludge to be
disposed of ?

solids_content := .02
dry_sludge = solids_content total_weight

total_weight :=

dry_sludge
solids_content

total_weight = 294198.522

lb
day

weight of solids and water

Convert lbs of wet sludge to gallons of wet sludge by dividing by the unit weight of the wet sludge. This is
obtained as the product of the unit weight of water * specific gravity of the wet sludge

3-37 alkalinity reactions.mcd

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Assume the specific gravity of the wet mixture is 1.05. This will depend on the degree to which the sludge is
thickened, i.e. the solids content.

sg := 1.05

vol_sludge :=

total_weight
sg 7.48

vol_sludge = 3.746 10

lb
gal
gal
day

solids_content := .005 , .01 .. .09

vol_sludge ( solids_content) :=

1 . 10

sludge volume, gal./day

solids_content ( sg lb) 7.48

gal

1 . 10

dry_sludge

79018
38986

1 . 10

1 . 10

0.5

2.2

3.9

5.6

7.3

solids content of sludge

Notice that a seemingly small increase in solids content of the sludge initially results in a major decrease in
sludge volume. However, as the sludge solids content increases further thickening becomes a process of
diminishing returns.

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