Determining Flocculation Efficiency

The efficiency factor being used in the flocculation model had been the best estimate of a completely unknown parameter, so it was not necessarily an accurate measure of flocculation efficiency. When the existing design parameters were used to create a model in MathCAD, the observed flocculation did not match that predicted by the model, and it was therefore determined that the efficiency factor had been incorrectly estimated.  In order to determine a more realistic model for the new plant design, we set out to determine the actual efficiency factor.

Flocculation in the demo plant was observed in order to determine at what point in the length of the flocculator the flocs reached a maximum size before beginning to break up. The flocs in the current plant were also measured in order to accurately represent the maximum floc size currently being achieved in the flocculation model. Using this as an estimate of the optimum plant length, we changed the value of the efficiency factor in the flocculation model until the design created by the MathCAD design program was consistent with the observed results.

demo plant design program was used with the previously estimated efficiency,