Errata

In the August issue, biographical

information regarding the fourth
author of Evaluating Buoyant Coarse
Media Flocculation was inadvertently
omitted from the author tagline at the
end of the article. James E. Nix was a
graduate research assistant at the Uni-
versity of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
at the time the study was performed.
Nix is currently with Mobil Corp. in
New Orleans, La. b

Copyright (C) 1994 American Water Works Association

A INNOVATIONS IN TRADITIONAL TREATMENT

Evaluating
buoyant
MIIXmedia
flocculatio
In laborato y and field studies, a two-stage buoyant coarse
media flocculator provided settled water turbidities c2 ntu at
loading rates as high as 12 gpmlsq ft.

Christopher R. Schulz,
Philip C. Singer, Robert Gandley,
and James E. Nix

locculation is the process of gen-

tle and prolonged agitation, during which suspended,
destabilized particles in water are brought into con-
tact with one another, coalescing into larger, heav-
ier, and more easily removed floes. Agitation for
flocculation can be induced by either mechanical
or hydraulic methods. Mechanical flocculators
include reel or paddle flocculators for low- to me-
dium-energy mixing and pro-
peller or turbine flocculators for
A new type of coarse media floceulator, using buoyant medium- to high-energy mix-
media instead of the heavier gravel in order to facilitate ing. Hydraulic flocculators in-
cleaning, was evaluated in laboratory and field studies. clude baffled channel, hydraulic
The results indicate that a two-stage buoyant coarse jet-action, and coarse media (or
media (BCM) floeculator provided effective treatment at gravel-bed) flocculators.
higher loading rates and shorter residence times than are In the United States and
typically employed in designing mechanical flocculators. most industrialized countries,
Source-water quality and coagulant chemistry directly mechanical flocculators are pre-
influenced flocculator performance and dictated the ferred over hydraulic types
type of flocculator configuration selected. Tapering because of their greater flexibil-
velocity gradients in the first-stage flocculator enhanced ity; i.e., the speed of the motor-
performance. The authors recommend that additional driven paddles can be adjusted
studies be performed to develop reliable design and to suit variations in flow, tem-
operating criteria for full-scale BCM flocculators. perature, or water quality.
Hydraulic flocculators lack such

Copyright (C) 1994 American Water Works Association AUGUST1994 51

 compartments, baffles, or me-
Upflow gravel-bed flocculator and high-rate settler in prefabricated
dia rcquircd to induct a suf-
water treatment plant in Brazil
ficient head loss for mixing.
As a result, there is very little
-I- flow short-circuiting in hy-
draulic flocculators compared
with mechanical flocculators,
which are often designed with
multiple mixing compartments
in series and diametrically op-
posed inlet and outlet ports to
minimize short-circuiting
problems.
In the developing coun-
tries of Africa, Latin America,
and Asia, hydraulic floccula-
tors are widely used because
they can be built at low cost
using local labor and materi-
als, are simple to operate and
maintain, and do not rely on
spare parts that must be
Drains\ ordered from abroad. The
2L
inherent inflexibility of hy-
draulic flocculators, compared
with mechanical types, is of
little consequence in places
ownflow gravel-bed flocculator in compact water treatment plant where the equipment cannot
be kept in repair and where
skilled operators are unavail-
able to make necessary adjust-
ments. An effective type of
hydraulic flocculator is the
gravel-bed flocculator, which
has been used successfully in
small to medium-sized water
treatment plant4 in Rra7il and
India (Figures 1 and 2). It is
reported to offer the follow-
ing advantages.3
l A packed bed of media,
such as gravel, provides ideal
conditions for floe formation
because of continuous recon-
tacts provided by the tortu-
ous flow of water through the
Sludge drains -I
void spaces that are formed
by the media.
l Agglomcratcd floes arc
stored within the coarse
flexibility because their hydraulic and, consequently, media bed and can enhance subsequent flocculation
flocculation parameters are a function of flow and can- of other particles flowing through the bed.
not be adjusted independently. Moreover, head losses l Tapered velocity gradients can be achieved by
across hydraulic flocculators are much higher than for changing the cross-sectional area of the bed or by
mechanical flocculators. Despite these shortcomings, grading the bed with different sized media.
hydraulic flocculators continue to be designed in the l Flocculation time can be reduced considerably
United States and elsewhere, often with automated because the entire bed is effective in forming sizable
gates or valves to control the hydraulic parameters floes and there is very little flow short-circuiting.
that affect floe formation.lr2 An attractive feature of The main shortcoming of gravel-bed flocculators
most hydraulic flocculators is that the flow approxi- is that regular cleaning is required to remove inter-
mates plug flow conditions by virtue of the multiple cepted floes or biological growths from the gravel

52 JOURNAL AWWA Copyright (C) 1994 American Water Works Association

bed in order to avoid Rather than the heavier media used in previous designs, through a tortuous path
excessive head losses this flocculator uses buoyant coarse media-alowingr around the individual
across the bed. Cleaning more operational flexibility and esder &a~&@. grains of media. This
is often accomplished by results in the formation of
taking the flocculation small eddies around the
chamber out of service, media that promote inter-
opening a drain valve, particle contacts and floe
and rapidly draining the formation. In addition, floe
water and accumulated is continuously retained in
sludge within the gravel the bed, reducing the void
bed to waste. Other alter- space and creating more
natives include back- contact opportunities for
washing or air scouring smaller particles in the
of the gravel bed, al- influent water. The head
though bed expansion is loss across the bed dictates
not possible because of the degree of mixing in the
the weight and size of the water and is a function of
gravel media. Although (1) size of the media, (2)
these cleaning methods cross-sectional area of the
have been reasonably bed, (3) rate of flow, and
effective, they are not (4) volume of floe retained
practical for larger treat- in the bed. The first two
ment plants with many items are fixed by the
flocculators in service. designer; the last two
On the basis of pub- items depend on operat-
lished data on gravel-bed ing conditions and will
flocculators,3-s the first tend to vary over time.
author developed a new The basic components
type of coarse media floc- of the BCM flocculator
culator, which uses buoy- are shown in Figure 3.
ant coarse media rather Some of these compo-
than the heavier media nents were developed as a
used in previous de- result of the research pro-
signs.9 It was anticipated ject discussed in this arti-
that this new design cle. Coagulated water
would provide the same enters the flocculation
level of performance as chamber through an inlet
gravel-bed flocculators, plus more operational flex- port, flows downward through a bed of buoyant (usu-
ibility and ease of cleaning. ally spherical) media, and is then conveyed through
To demonstrate the effectiveness of the buoyant an outlet port to a downstream treatment unit-
coarse media (BCM) flocculator, a two-year research either a sedimentation basin or filter. A retainer is
project was performed by the University of North used to keep the buoyant media in place during oper-
Carolina at Chapel Hill from September 1990 to July ation. The flocculation chamber is designed with at
1992. The objectives of this
study were to optimize the
design of the BCM floccu-
lator and evaluate its per- ollowing the first-stage downflow
formance in laboratory-and
field studies. Comnlete dis- f locculator with a second-stage upf low
cussions of the laboratory flocculator containing plastic packing
and field studies are pre-
sented in project re- media led to improved turbidity removal.
ports.lO,ll Key results are
summarized in this article. least one inclined sidewall to reduce the velocity of
flow from top to bottom in the chamber, thereby pro-
Principles of BCM flocculation viding continuously tapered mixing through the
BCM flocculation is a form of hydraulic flocculation. media bed, which is confined within the tapered por-
In coarse media flocculation, coagulated water passes tion of the chamber. Tapered mixing can also be
through a bed of media (typically gravel) that is several achieved by grading the bed with different sized
feet deep. The head loss associated with passage through media, as shown in Figure 3. An air scour grid is
the bed is caused by fluid shear as the water flows placed beneath the media bed and is used to clean the

Copyright (C) 1994 American Water Works Association AUGUST 1994 53

 ber. Sufficient space should
Key components of single-stage BCM flocculator
be provided between the floor
and underside of the BCM
Flocculation chamber
bed to accommodate the
floor-mounted sludge collec-
Media retainer
tion equipment. If the BCM
Inclined sidewall flocculation chamber is
installed at the front end of a
Buoyant media (top layer) sedimentation basin, the col-
lection system for the sedi-
Buoyant media (middle layer) mentation basin can also be
used to serve the flocculation
Buoyant media (lower layer) chamber.

BCM flocculation
Air-scour
distribution pipe
research project
The objective of the BCM
Flocculator
outlet
flocculation research project
f
was twofold: (1) to optimize
the configuration and oper-
ating criteria of the BCM floc-
culator using model suspen-
sions of kaolinite clay in a
controlled laboratory setting
?+# Pilot flocculator with straight-bed configuration and (2) to evaluate the per-
formance of an optimized
BCM flocculator using coag-
ulated water from two sur-
I face water treatment plants.
These objectives were
addressed in two phases of the
project. In phase 1, testing
was conducted at the Baity
c Flocculation
Engineering Rcscarch Labo-
tank with ratory at the University of
straight bed North Carolina at Chapel Hill
using a specially designed
pilot-scale BCM flocculator
Bet cers c media unit. In phase 2, the pilot unit
was installed at two water
treatment plants in Durham
and Carrboro, N.C.

Phase 1: laboratory
1 studies
Pilot-scale SCM floccu-
Drain lines
lator. The pilot-scale BCM
Drain valve flocculator consisted of a rec-
Pump
/ tangular flocculation cham-
Feedwater Che\mi~%~ed point
ber and a multitap overflow
column, both fabricated from
clear acrylic to permit visual
monitoring of particle behav-
bed by agitating the media and releasing entrapped ior within the units. The overflow column was used
floes to the floor of the chamber. not only to establish the water level in the floccula-
Sludge will tend to collect at the bottom of the tion chamber but also to serve as a second stage floc-
chamber, particularly after the bed has been cleaned, culation chamber (when filled with plastic packing
and should be removed intermittently. This may be media) for many of the test runs. The flocculation
accomplished by (1) using a hopper bottom arrange- chamber was 8 ft high x 4 ft wide x 1 ft deep. A rel-
ment with drain valve, or (2) installing mechanical atively large tank was required to provide a reason-
sludge collection equipment on the floor of the cham- able ratio of tank width to media diameter (~15: 1) to

54 JOURNAL AWWA Copyright (C) 1994 American Water Works Association

minimize the potential for pilot flocculator with tapered-bed configuration
flow short-circuiting along
the walls of the flocculator.
Overflow column
Multiple taps were provided
along both sides of the floc-
culator to measure head loss
at various depths of media.
The inside of the floccu-
lator contained one or more
partitions that allowed the
flocculator to be arranged in c Flocculation
tank with
several configurations. In one tapered bed
configuration, the dividers
were used to form four par-
allel flocculation chambers,
each 1 ft square, as shown
in Figure 4. This configura-
tion was used to evaluate
alternative media in side-by-
side testing. In the second
configuration, a single, larger
flocculation chamber with an
interior divider inclined at
30 degrees was used, as
shown in Figure 5. This
arrangement allowed the Feedwater Chemical feed point
flocculator to be operated
with tapered velocity gradi-
ents as water flowed down-
ward through the bed.
Feedwater characteristics. The feedwater for influent piping and mixed by in-line static mixers.
the laboratory tests consisted of Chapel Hill tap water Flow rates ranged from 3 to 30 gpm and were mea-
spiked with kaolinite clay to provide a turbidity of sured by a calibrated rotameter in the influent piping.
20 ntu, although some tests were conducted with Jalctest procedures. Standard jar tests were used
feedwater turbidities of 5 and 200 ntu. Sodium bicar- to determine optimal coagulant dosages for all of the
bonate was added to the feedwater to increase the laboratory test runs. The optimal coagulant dosage
alkalinity for pH buffering. Alum and ferric chloride was chosen as the lowest dosage that provided a set-
were used as primary coagulants. Some runs were tled water turbidity of 2 ntu after 20 min of settling.
conducted with a cationic polymer to strengthen the The optimal dosage changed periodically because of
floe. Chemicals were injected into the flocculator changes in the temperature of the feedwater.
Jar tests of the coagulated feedwater to the pilot
flocculator were also performed at regular intervals to
confirm that the correct coagulant dosages were being
locculator design variables
used. Samples were collected in 2-L square jars and
valuated during the pilot study
mechanically flocculated using the same jar-test pro-
cedure as used in selecting the optimal coagulant
Alternstlves Evaluated
dosage.
Air-entrained ceramic* Tracer tests. Pulse-feed tracer tests using a meth-
Solid polypropylenet ylene blue dye were conducted for straight and
Polyethylene packing medIai
3f8-in., l/z-in., 3/&n. diameter tapered flocculation chamber configurations, for dif-
1to5ft ferent types and depths of media, and for clean and
Smgle-medium layer
Multimedia layers
ripened media beds, in order to estimate the mean res-
Straight bed idence time in the media bed for given flow rates and
Tapered bed (30 degrees) to visually identify any short-circuiting patterns within
Single stage
Two stages
or around the bed. The clean-bed tests were con-
Hydreuiic loading rate 3 to 12 gpm/sq ft ducted with tap water only or were conducted at the
Bean-bed residence ttme 1.0 to 4.0 mm start of a coagulated-water test run when the bed
Macroike, 3M Co., St. Paul, Mlnn. was clean. The ripened-bed tests were conducted
Univafsal Pla~tks, Ann Arbor, Mich.
NORFAG, NSW Corp., Roanoke, Va.
after the bed had accumulated a considerable amount
of floe and the head loss across the bed was relatively
stable.

Copyright (C) 1994 American Water Works Association AUGUST 1994 55

 ::
the media bed, because such a
INURE Flocculator discharge sampling arrangement
value would allow the floccu-
lator to be retrofitted into most
existing treatment plants with-
out exceeding the maximum
hydraulic grade line through
the plant. A target value of 2
ntu was established for the 20-
min settled water turbidity
measurements. This is indi-
cative of a well-settled water
suitable for application to rapid
filters. No target value was es-
tablished for the instantaneous
turbidity measurements. Head
loss and turbidity measure-
ments were made at intervals
ranging from hourly to three
to four times per day, depend-
ing on the amount of change
observed.
To avoid floe breakup dur-
ing sampling, flocculator efflu-
ent samples were collected in
a modified 2-L square jar, as
shown in Figure 6. A 1.25-in.
diameter hole was drilled into
the bottom of the jar and fit-
ted with a plastic nipple and
ball valve. Plastic tubing of the
same diameter was routed
from the BCM flocculator
effluent piping to the jar. Dur-
ing sampling, the ball valve
was partially opened to main-
tain a low velocity in the tub-
ing and closed after a 2-L sam-
ple was collected. The sample
, Flocculator
was then allowed to settle for
20 min in the jar prior to tak-
ing the settled-water turbidity
measurement. This procedure
proved to be effective in min-
imizing floe shearing during
sample collection.
The bed was cleaned
between runs by increasing
Flocculation test procedures. Continuous-flow the flow rate to the bed by 2040 percent for several
flocculation tests were conducted to evaluate the per- minutes. This resulted in the release of a large per-
formance of the BCM flocculator under different centage of the floe that had accumulated within the
operating conditions. Using a coagulated suspension bed to the bottom of the flocculation chamber. The
of kaolinite as the feedwater, the flocculator was oper- amount of floe released from the bed could be con-
ated under a constant set of conditions until it per- trolled by the rate and duration of the flushing pro-
formed consistently over an extended period of time. cedure. The head loss across the bed was reduced in
The variables that were examined are summarized proportion to the amount of floe released and, for
in Table 1. most test runs, dropped to a level slightly higher than
?tyo criteria were used to evaluate the performance the clean bed head loss for that particular media bed
of the BCM flocculator: (1) head loss across the media configuration. A minimum floe volume was retained
bed and (2) flocculator effluent turbidity, both instan- in the bed after cleaning so that the bed would be
taneous and 20-min settled values. A target value of ripened and produce settleable floe at the start of a
1 ft was established for the maximum head loss across flocculation run.

56 JOURNAL AWWA Copyright (C) 1994 American Water Works Association

 range of 4 ntu for a 20 ntu
Quality of source waters of two water treatment plants participating
in the study
feedwater, consjd erably
above the desired target of 2
Parameter OWASA Plant
ntu. The influent loading
rates for these tests ranged
Universitv Lake Lake Mtchie from 5 to 10 gpm/sq ft. In
une-August 1991 October-November 1991
25-29 13-24
an attempt to improve per-
3-12 2-13 formance, the overflow col-
6.9 7.1 umn was converted into a
6.3 6.5
30 26 second-stage upflow floccu-
6-9 lator by filling it with 4 ft of
polyethylene packing media
(Figure 5). The packing
media retained a consider-
Results and discussion. The results of numerous able volume of floe formed by the first-stage floc-
test runs on different flocculator configurations led to culator as flocculated water flowed upward through
the selection of the following optimal configuration the column, forming a dense sludge blanket. Figure
for the BCM flocculator: ( 1) media type-air-entrained 8 indicates that by using a two-stage flocculator,
ceramic spheres; (2) bed configuration-tapered bed settled-water turbidities were consistently <2 ntu.
with stratified ceramic media as follows: 3/8-in. (top), The second stage could be conveniently cleaned by
%-in. (middle), and %-in. (bottom); (3) bed depth- increasing the flow rate to the upflow unit or apply-
4.5 ft; and (4) two stage. ing a short air-scour burst. Floe released by these
Tracer tests were conducted on this BCM floccu- cleaning methods can be readily captured by the
lator configuration-both initially when the bed was downstream clarifier.
clean and again after 100 h of operation when a con-
siderable amount of floe had deposited within the Phase 2: field studies
bed (Figure 7). The results indicate that the mean Based on the laboratory test results, most of the
residence time for the clean bed was 167 s at a flow phase 2 field studies were performed using a two-
rate of 15 gpm, whereas the mean residence time of stage flocculation arrangement, with the first stage
the ripened bed dropped to 90 s after 100 h of oper- consisting of a stratified, tapered bed with ceramic
ation. The residence time dropped as a result of floe media and the second stage consisting of an upflow
accumulation in the media bed. The shape of the two straight bed with polyethylene packing media. The
curves indicates that an acceptable plug-flow pattern second-stage flocculator added little to the overall
was maintained through the media bed with minimal head loss of the pilot unit bccausc of its high poros-
flow short-circuiting. ity so the maximum head loss target of 1 ft could still
Figure 8 indicates that a single-stage floccula- be easily met.
tor with a tapered, stratified bed was only able to Source-water quality. The field studies were con-
achieve a 20-min settled water turbidity in the ducted at two local water treatment plants: the Orange

w a Turbidity removal by BCM flocculator

I,
using synthetic feedwater spiked with
kaolinite clay

- Initial 111~1**(1~~
Effluent - Settled (firs{ stage)
I.. Settled (second stage)
Beginning of new run

7
:: O I , , , , ..
I
0 20 40 60 80 120
0 100 200 300
Time-h
Time-s

Copyright (C) 1994 American Water Works Association AUGUST 1994 57

 County Water and Sewer Authority (OWASA) plant
Typical head loss accumulation over time
in first-stage flocculator
in Carrboro, N.C., and the Williams plant in Durham,
N.C. The source waters for both facilities are North
Carolina central Piedmont lakes. Both have relatively
well-protected watersheds that yield a consistent
water quality. The average water quality of these two
sources is summarized in Table 2.
Plant treatment processes. The source water
at the OWASA plant is treated by coagulation and is
then split between two parallel pretreatment trains.
Part of the flow is treated by conventional mechan-
ical flocculation and horizontal-flow sedimentation
basins. The remainder of the flow is treated by a pro-
prietary sludge-blanket clarifier.* During the period of
testing, the influent water was treated with 25-40
mg/L alum, 0.1 mg/L cationic polymer, l-3 mg/L
40
Time-h
powdered activated carbon, and 0.5 mg/L potassium
permanganate.
The Williams plant process train includes rapid
mixing, mechanical flocculation, and a unique upflow
clarification design employing a sludge blanket clar-
Settled-water turbidity over time in first-
stage flocculator at OWASA and Williams
ifier at the front end of a horizontal-flow sedimenta-
plants tion basin; additional turbidity is removed by settling
in the latter portion of the basin. During the period of
testing, only alum was added to the influent water at
a dose of 25 to 30 mg/L.
Flocculation test procedures. The BCM pilot
flocculator was set up at both water treatment plants
as close to the rapid mix basins as possible. For the
OWASA plant, coagulated water from the rapid mix
chamber was diverted to the flocculator unit by
gravity using an existing pipeline to the plants
streaming-current detector. For the Williams plant,
coagulated water was pumped from the rapid-mix
chamber to the pilot flocculator, which was located
in a chemical room on the second floor of the oper-
ations building.
Continuous-flow flocculation test runs were con-
ducted for several flocculator configurations. These
included the optimal configuration established during
the laboratory studies, as well as other media bed
configurations in an attempt to improve performance.
OtlRE l* Settled-water turbidity over time in
second-stage flocculator at OWASA and The performance criteria established for the field stud-
ies were essentially the same as for the laboratory
studies, focusing on head loss buildup across the
media bed and settled-water turbidity, plus the degree
- OWASA 1111111,Williams
of head loss stabilization during long-term test runs.
Some of the key aspects of the field study testing pro-
tocol are summarized here.
l In all test runs, coagulated water from the plant
rapid-mixing basins was used as the feedwater to the
BCM flocculator. For the Williams plant, a polymer aid
was added to the feedwater for later test runs to
improve performance.
l Although a two-stage BCM flocculator was set
up at both treatment plants, turbidity and head loss
measurements were taken at each stage to assess the
I I relative performance of single-stage and two-stage
0 20 40 60 do IA0 120 140
Time-h
flocculation.

*Superpulsator, Inlilco-Degrernont, Richmond, Va.

58 JOURNAL AWWA
Copyright (C) 1994 American Water Works Association
 achieved a 20-min settled-water turbid-
Comparison of settled-water turbidity ity in the range of 2 ntu (the desired tar-
get value), whereas the Williams test
iypeof OWASA Plant Wllllams Plant results ranged from 5 to 6 ntu. Intro-
nacsulatw ntu ntu ducing a second flocculation stage
Plant mechanical flocculator 0.5 4.0
improved the settled-water turbidity at
Jar tests 0.5 2.0 both plants (Figure 1 l), but the Williams
First-stage BCM flocculator 2.0 5.5 plant was still unable to meet the desired
Secon&+stage BCM flocculator 0.5 4.0
target of 2 ntu. Clearly, the BCM unit
produced a better settleable floe at the
OWASA plant than at the Williams plant.
Effect of polymer addition on head loss To explain the difference in floccula-
accumulation at Williams plant tor performance, jar-test flocculation was conducted
on coagulated water from both plants. In addition,
400 mechanically flocculated water from both plants was
- No polymer - Polymer (0.1 mg/L)
collected and allowed to settle for 20 min in jars.
These results are compared in Table 3 with 20-min set-
300 tled-water turbidity measurements from the first-
stage and second-stage BCM pilot flocculators.
The data indicate that the OWASA settled-water
200 turbidities were significantly lower than those of the
Williams samples in all cases. The two-stage BCM
flocculator was able to achieve the same level of per-
100
formance as the plant mechanical flocculators at both
plants and as the jar tests at the OWASA plant. These
observations led to the conclusion that the difference
0 I I I I I I
:, 100 120
in performance of the BCM flocculator at the two
20 40 60 60
plants was attributable to quality differences in the
Time---h
coagulated water used during the pilot testing.
Because the source-water qualities at the two plants
are similar, it is believed that the BCM flocculator
would have produced a lower settled-water turbidity
l The sampling procedures were the same as those at the Williams plant (comparable to the OWASA
used in the laboratory studies, with special care being plant results) if the coagulant chemical dosages were
taken to avoid floe breakup during sampling. the same as those used at the OWASA plant; i.e., a
l Jar tests were used to verify that the coagu- higher alum dosage and a cationic polymer.
lated water applied to the BCM pilot flocculator (from PoZymer a&ition. On the basis of visual observa-
the plants rapid-mixing basins) could be flocculated tions during the test runs, it became clear that the
and settled effectively in the jars. addition of a 0.1 -mg/L dose of cationic polymer at
l A perforated air-diffuser pipe
was installed underneath the BCM
bed for air-scour cleaning. This
proved to be an effective method deeper first-stage flocculator bed will
of cleaning the bed, even at rela-
tively low air flow rates. No appre- result in greater head losses, longer
ciable expansion of the bed or dis-
ruption of the stratified media
residence times, and improved turbidity
occurred during cleaning. removal.
Results and discussion.
Source-water quality and coagu-
lant chemistry. The performance of the single-stage the OWASA plant was beneficial in preventing shear-
BCM flocculator was markedly influenced by the ing of aluminum hydroxide floes through the ripened
quality of the coagulated water applied to the floc- BCM bed of the first-stage flocculator. By contrast,
culator. For example, the overall head loss across the floe shearing was observed along the flow paths within
BCM bed increased much more rapidly in the OWASA the BCM bed at the Williams plant, which does not
tests than in the Williams tests, as shown in Figure 9 add a polymer aid for coagulation.
for the same flow rate and bed configuration. This To improve performance at the Williams plant, a
result indicates a greater degree of floe retention in the cationic polymer dose of 0.1 mg/L was added to the
media bed for the OWASA tests. coagulated influent water to the BCM flocculator. The
Different results were also observed with regard to effect of such polymer addition on head loss and set-
settled-water turbidity (Figure 10). The OWASA tests tled-water turbidity of the first-stage flocculator is pre-

Copyright (C) 1994 American Water Works Association AUGUST 1994 59

 sented in Figures 12 and 13, respectively. The use of
Effect of polymer addition on settled-
a polymer aid increased the strength of the floe, which
water turbidity at Williams plant
led to greater retention of floe within the bed and,
correspondingly, a more rapid head loss buildup across
the bed. The greater retention of floe within the bed
led to better floe formation and improved settled-
water turbidity (2-3 nut), although these turbidity
values were not quite as low as those achieved in the
first-stage flocculator at the OWASA plant (2 ntu).
Subsequent jar testing with polymer addition verified
that the mixing and feeding of the polymer to the
pilot-plant unit were less than optimal and that when
properly mixed with the feedwater, the polymer was
able to achieve settled-water turbidities comparable to
jar-test treated water at the OWASA plant.
0 I Hydrutllic Zoaditig rates. The pilot BCM floccula-
0 do do $0 do lk l&l tor unit was stress-tested at both the OWASA and
Time-h Williams plants to determine the maximum loading
rates at which each unit could be operated and still
achieve effective treatment.
For the OWASA tests, the first-stage BCM floc-
Effect of hydraulic loading rate
culator was operated in a tapered bed configuration
, on settled-water turbidity in first-stage
with a single layer of 4 ft of %- to %-in. ceramic
media. Figure 14 shows that the 20-min settled-
water turbidity averaged <2 ntu, even at flow rates
up to 12 gpm/sq ft (12 gpm/sq ft at the top of the
bed, tapering to 5 gpm/sq ft at the bottom of the
bed). During these same test runs, the loading rate
to the second-stage flocculator ranged from 5 to 12
gpm/sq ft and effluent turbidities averaged <I ntu
(Figure 15).
For the Williams tests, the first-stage flocculator
was operated in a straight-bed configuration con-
taining two layers of stratified ceramic media: 2 ft of
%-in. media over 3 ft of %- to 3/-in. media. Cationic
polymer was fed at a dose of 0.1 mg/L during these
test runs. Figure 16 shows that thcrc was no signifi-
cant deterioration in flocculator performance, even at
flow rates as high as 12 gpm/sq ft. The settled-water
turbidity was consistently in the range of 3-5 ntu at
various hydraulic loading rates. During these tests,
@aaRE 1S Effect of hydraulic loading rate the loading rate to the second-stage flocculator ranged
. ., l. I,. ,. on settled-water turbidity in second-stage from 6 to 12 gpm/sq ft and effluent turbidity ranged
flocculator at OWASA plant from 1.5 to 3 ntu (Figure 17).
!*a$), $!kf : ,,a~*.
Higher loading rates did influence the rate of
4 +-
*a I s
3 I
I head loss accumulation at the Williams plant, par-
ri B
f Straight-bed configuration ticularly at loading rates of 12 gpm/sq ft, which
L!c - 12 gpm/sq ft 5 gpm/sq ft
resulted in frequent cleaning intervals (approxi-
mately every 10 h) because of the rapid head loss
buildup (Figure 18). It is interesting, however, that
this trend was not repeated at the OWASA plant,
where the head loss stabilized at around 200 mm (8
in.) at loading rates up to 12 gpm/sq ft (Figure 19).
Other test runs performed at both the OWASA and
Williams plants (including the results shown in Fig-
ures 9 and 12), indicate that with a few notable
8
exceptions, steady-state head loss conditions gen-
0 I I I I I I
0 10 20 30 40 50
erally occurred at around 200 mm regardless of the
Time-h flow rate, chemical treatment, and bed geometry
and configuration. This finding suggests that after an
initial ripening period, the deposition and release

60 JOURNAL AWA Copyright (C) 1994 American Water Works Association

 ,, ,..,, )_ i
L . ...;+

*i& Effect of hydraulic loading rate on Effect of hydraulic loading rate on

. settled-water turbidity in first-stage settled-water turbidity in seconb-stage
flocculator at Williams plant flocculator at Williams plant

Straight-bed configuration Straight-bed configuration

0 12 gpmkq ft ~\\\\. 9 gpmlsq ft IIIIIIII 6 gpmlsq ft - 12 gpm/sq ft .\\\\x 9 gpm/sq ft ~c+BP&v~,
6 gpm/sq ft
i

60 $0 6b I
40
I
60
I
60
Time-b Time-b

of floe particles in the media bed occurred at approx- two source waters tested in the field studies. A single-
imately the same rate. Under these conditions, clean- stage flocculator provided effective treatment for one
ing of the bed would not be required, because the of the source waters at the same loading rates. Floc-
stabilized head loss value is less than the established culation performance was not influenced by chang-
target of 1 ft. However, this finding must be tem- ing the hydraulic loading rate over the range 3-12
pered by the fact that for some test runs, head loss gpmlsq ft (higher loading rates were not tested dur-
conditions did not stabilize and head loss accumu- ing the study). At a loading rate of 12 gpm/sq ft, it may
lation rates were somewhat erratic, as illustrated in be possible to increase the capacity of an existing
Figure 20, possibly because flow pathways within the mechanical flocculator by more than 50 percent
media bed were not properly developed and exces- (assuming the mechanical flocculator has a 15-ft basin
sive clogging occurred, especially at higher loading depth and average residence time of 30 min) without
adding additional tankage, by
applying BCM flocculator tech-
nology. More testing should be
ecause of the relatively high shearing conducted on different coagulated
waters and on colder waters to
forces within the BCM bed, the use of a confirm these results.
Source-water quality and
polymer aid may be required as a floc- l

coagulant chemistry directly influ-

conditioning agent, especial y if alum is - flocculator performance
enced
and dictated the type of floccula-
used as the primary coagula 1t. tor configuration (e.g., single stage
versus two stages) that would
rates. This result is an indication that the BCM floc- provide the most effective treatment. It is therefore
culator needs to be further tested in a long-term important that jar tests and pilot studies be performed
demonstration study to confirm operational perfor- prior to designing and installing a BCM flocculator in
mance and cleaning requirements for different order to determine the best type and dosage of coag-
source waters. ulants and polymers and the flocculator configuration
required to achieve optimal floe formation for a given
Conclusions source water.
Although the study reported here was exploratory Because of the relatively high shearing forces
l

in nature to determine the effect of various design within the BCM bed, the use of a polymer aid may be
and operational parameters on BCM flocculator per- required as a floe-conditioning agent, especially if
formance and to evaluate its performance on two alum is used as the primary coagulant.
different coagulated waters, the following conclu- In general, the overall head loss across the BCM
l

sions can be drawn. bed appeared to stabilize around 200 mm (8 in.) for
l A two-stage BCM flocculator provided effec- the range of hydraulic loading rates tested, although
tive treatment (20-min settled-water turbidities <2 higher head loss peaks were noted in several test
ntu) at loading rates as high as 12 gpm/sq ft for the runs; this phenomenon should be further evaluated

Copyright (C) 1994 American Water Works Association AUGUST 1994 61


Effect of hydraulic
loss accumulation at Williams
0 f I I
a A 40
Time-h
Effect of hydraulic
loss accumulation
I I
50
in future studies. Because of these occasional peaks,
loading rate on head
it can be concluded that bed cleaning will be required
plant
from time to time to control head loss accumulation
but may be relatively infrequent if the head loss across
the BCM bed can be stabilized. An air-scour grid,
placed underneath the media bed and operated at
low air flow rates, can be used to effectively bump the
bed at a predetermined head loss (say 1 ft) to open up
the flow paths within the bed and maintain stable
head loss operating conditions, e.g., at 8 in. total head
loss. This occasional partial cleaning procedure should
not affect settled-water quality because floes released
from the bed by the disturbances will tend to refloc-
culate and settle out in the downstream sedimenta-
tion basin.
l Following the first-stage downflow floccula-
$0 80 tor with a second-stage upflow flocculator contain-
ing plastic packing media led to improved turbidity
removal. The second-stage flocculator acted as both
an upflow sludge-blanket clarifier (the packing media
filled up with floes formed in the first stage) and as
loading rate on head
a polishing flocculator. When operated at higher
at OWASA plant
loading rates (e.g., I2 gpm/sq ft), well-formed set-
tleable floes were continuously released from the
second stage, resulting in 20-min settled-water tur-
bidities <2 ntu. The head loss across the second-
stage flocculator was minimal (<2 in.) and stable, so
cleaning of the second stage may not be required.
The choice of single-stage versus two-stage BCM
flocculation will depend on the source-water qual-
ity and coagulant chemistry, as evidenced by the
different results achieved at the OWASA and
Williams plants. At the OWASA plant, the target
settled-water turbidity of 2 ntu was achieved by sin-
gle-stage flocculation, whereas at the Williams plant,
two-stage flocculation was required to achieve that
I target.
100 150 Tapering velocity gradients in the first-stage
l

Time-h flocculator enhanced performance. Tapering can be

achieved by stratifying the media (smaller media over
larger media) or by physically tapering the dimen-
Head loss accumulation over time for the
sions of the bed. Decreasing the head loss and the
same flocculator configuration and associated velocity gradients, as the water flows
hydraulic loading rate at OWASA plant through the BCM bed, decreases the amount of floe
shearing, allows for floe agglomeration, and yields
lower settled-water turbidities.
Tapere&bed configuration Effective performance
l of the first-stage floc-
culator was achieved for head losses in the range
II Second run w First run of 100-300 mm (4-12 in.) and packed-bed resi-
dence times in the range of 1-3 min. Lower settled-
water turbidities were observed at the higher head
losses, after the bed had fully ripened or when
smaller media were used to increase the initial head
loss across the bed. These findings indicate that the
flocculator should be operated at all times with a
ripened bed to provide the best results. If cleaning is
required, the bed can be partially cleaned by using
I I I I I an air-scour grid or increasing the flow rate through
20 40 60 80 100
the bed (as discussed earlier), so as to retain a min-
Time-h
imum head loss across the bed, e.g., a steady-state
head loss of 8 in.

62 JOURNAL AWA Copyright (C) 1994 American Water Works Association

 A deeper first-stage flocculator bed will result in
l and Sewer Authority and the City of Durham for
greater head losses, longer residence times, and their assistance in the field testing of the, process.
improved turbidity removal. A depth of 4-5 ft Technical assistance was also provided by Paul Pren-
achieved acceptable results during the field tests. diville, the late John Thompson, and Walter Pitts of
Although deeper beds may improve performance, Camp Dresser 6 McKee Inc. and Hollie Scott of
the media costs will be higher and the maximum bed EIMCO.
depth must still be within the limits for head loss
accumulation, e.g., maximum of 1 ft. References
1. MACDONALD, D.V. & STREICHER, L. Water Treat-
Future studies ment Plant Design Is Cost-Effective. PtrbIic Works,
The BCM flocculator process requires further test- 108:8:86 (1977).
ing on different source waters before it can be applied 2. WETSTEIN, D.I? 6 CUMMINGS, E.W. Full-Scale Appli-
on a wide scale in drinking water treatment plants. cation of Direct Filtration to San Francisco Bay
The following studies are recommended: Delta Water. Proc. 1991 AWWA Ann. Conf.,
Additional BCM flocculator configuration
l stud- Philadelphia, Pa.
ies should be conducted on different source waters 3. SCHULZ, C.R. 6 OKUN, D.A. Surface Water Treat-
and at different temperatures to determine the appro- ment for Communities in Developing Countries. John
priate chemical dosages, loading rates, and residence Wiley and Sons, New York (1984).
times that will optimize performance for each source 4. BHOLE, A.G. Design and Fabrication of a Low-
water. The optimal chemical dosage for BCM floccu- Cost Package Water Treatment Plant for Rural
lation may be less than those determined from jar Areas in India. AQUA, 5:315 (1981).
testing because the floe retained in the BCM bed may 5. KARDILE, J.N. Development of Simple and Eco-
contribute to particle destablization and floe formation. nomic Filtration Methods for Rural Water Sup-
Polymer addition may be required for highly colored plies. AQUA, 1:226 (1981).
waters or in conjunction with certain coagulants (e.g., 6. RICHTER, C.A. Metodo Simplificado de Calculo
alum) because of the relatively large shearing forces de Floculadores Hidraulicos de Chicanas. Unpubl.
within the BCM bed. Colder water may require longer Parana, Brazil ( 1981).
residence times for effective floe formation than 7. AYOUB, G.M. S- NAZZAI, F.F. Gravel Packed Baffled
warmer water. Channel Flocculator. Jour. Envi. Engrg. Div.-
lThe BCM flocculator should be tested in a pilot- ASCE, 111:6:1448 (Dec. 1988).
plant study using two parallel and complete trains 8. KAWAMURA, S. Two-Stage Filtration. Jour. AWWA,
(e.g., rapid mixing, flocculation, sedimentation, and 77:12:42 (Dec. 1985).
filtration), with the BCM flocculator in one train 9. SCHULZ, C.R. Buoyant Coarse Media Flocculator.
and three-stage mechanical flocculators in the other US Patent 4,865,734 (1989).
train. In this way, the effects of BCM flocculation 10. NIX, J.E. A Laboratory Study of Buoyant Coarse
on settled- and filtered-water turbidities could be Media Flocculation. Masters thesis, Dept. Envir.
compared in side-by-side tests with mechanical floc- Sci. &- Engrg., Univ. of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
culation. The study could investigate both conven- (May 1992).
tional and direct filtration process trains, using the 11. GANDLEY, R. Buoyant Coarse Media Flocculation:
BCM flocculator to product a scttleable and filterable A Field Study. Masters thesis, Dept. Envir. Sci. 6
floe, respectively. Engrg., Univ. of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (May
l A long-term demonstration study should be per- 1992)
formed to fully assess operating characteristics of the
BCM flocculator, including materials of construction About the authors: Christopher
for new and retrofit applications, head loss accumu- R. Schulz is a principal with Camp,
lation rates and stabilization values, media fouling, Dresser eZMcKee, 7611 Little River
cleaning procedures, sludge collection requirements, Turnpike, Suite 6OOW Annandale,
and instrumentation and automation requirements. VA 22003. A graduate of the Uni-
One approach would be to retrofit a full-scale BCM versity of Detroit (Mich.) with a
flocculator into an existing mechanical flocculation BSCE and of the University of North
basin and perform side-by-side tests with the on-line Carolina with an MSEE, Schulz has
mechanical flocculators over a one-year period. Ide- 12 years experience in water treat-
ally, this type of study should be conducted at sev- ment process design. He is a member of AWWA, the Inter-
eral sites with different source-water qualities and at national Ozone Association, and the Inter-American Asso-
plants with conventional and direct filtration processes. ciation of Sanitary Engineers. His work has been published
previously by JOURNAL AWWA and Ozone Science and
Acknowledgment Engineering. Philip C. Singer is a professor and Robert
The authors acknowledge EIMCO Process Equip- Gandley is a research assistant, both in the Department of
ment Company for financially supporting this study, Environmental Sciences and Engineering at the University
Michael Hacker for his technical assistance, and the of North Carolina, 114 Rosenau Hall, CB 7400, Chapel
water plant operations personnel of the Orange Water Hill, NC 2 7599-7400

Copyright (C) 1994 American Water Works Association AUGUST 1994 63