Challenges for Spring 2009 Pilot Plant Team

Team Members:

Jeff Katz (jak232)
Art Shull (avs32)
Eladio Lopez (el447)
Rustom Meyer (rlm56)
Michael Liu (ml627)

Important team member skills:

Returning Members

• Familiarity with Aguaclara Project
• CEE 4540

It would be helpful to have a "handy" person on the team that feels comfortable using power tools to do stuff. (Not super complicated work, just some comfort).

Challenges

Floc Tank

• Team members should test consecutive alum doses in order to familiarize themselves with the tank and floc formation
• Compare uniform and non-uniform baffle configuration results from the flocculation tank with high incoming turbidity

Tube Flocculator

• Alter the tube flocculat set-up to minimize air trapped from joints and it has a more permanent location at the plant.
• Set up FReTA to be used with the tube flocculator
• Use FReTA to compare settling velocities at different points in the tube flocculator
• Compare raw water readings from the Pilot Plant FReTA with the laboratory results

Sed Tank

• Discover how much time it takes to form a sludge blanket.
• Can a sludge blanket form if the lamella are present? Can the lamella be designed differently so that this is possible?
• What is the best way to drain a sed tank so as to cause the least amount of distrubance and water waste. How often would this need to occur?
• What else could be done to optimize the sed tanks?
• Are the two sed tanks equal? Is the tank turbidity comparable? Are flocs remaining equally intact from the flocculator to the tanks?

Goals

• Familiarize new members with plant and plant processes
• Get the plant up and running without leaks and problems
• Design and build new, robust baffle system
• Install a dose controller to vary alum dosing linearly with plant flow rate
• Make Process Controller remotely accessible so alum dose can be changed off-site
• Take turbidity profiles of the flocculator under different arrangements, including tapered and non-tapered baffle spacing
• Set up FReTA to be used with the tube flocculator
• Use FReTA to compare settling velocities at different points in the tube flocculator
• Compare raw water readings from the Pilot Plant FReTA with the laboratory results
• After completion of flocculation goals, sed tank research will commence