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This semester, I worked on the Sedimentation Tank Hydraulics Team. We made a lot of great progress during the semester that included (1) changing the bottom geometry of the sedimentation tank, (2) switching to using PACl and finding the optimum dosage (5 mg/L), (3) exploring the relationship between energy dissipation rate in the jet diffuser and floc blanket performance, and (4) learning about the influence of floc hopper depth on sludge consolidation. We also ran a dye test to better understand the flow of water and colloids through the floc blanket (videos of this dye test can be found on the AguaClara YouTube channel). We found that even at high energy dissipation rates (130 mW/kg), there was improvement in performance over blankets created with lower energy dissipation rates. In addition, we discovered that compression settling occurs in the floc hopper, contrary to our hypothesis that only zone settling was occurring. The dye test showed that while there is evidence showing a slightly preferential flow path through the blanket, the blanket does become uniform and models a PFR as fluid moves through the upper portions. It was a semester filled with lots of hard work and late nights in the lab, but the significance of our findings made it worth all the while.
Fall 2014 Contributions
This semester, I will be working with the Foam Filtration team with goals to write a proposal for the EPA Phase II Award, explore the possible hazard of chemical leaching in our current foam model, improving the chemical dosing and flow measurement mechanism, redesign the lever and foam frame system, and complete several performance testing experiments to characterize the filter performance and explore design options for improvement.