Application of Compact Piping Sedimentation Unit as Pretreatment for Ultrafiltration Plant

Abstract

Abstract The study aimed to create a compact pretreatment unit before the ultrafiltration modules. This unit targeted to improve the inlet water quality to meet the average values of the feed water quality required for the ultrafiltration plants according to the manufacturer. The used unit in this study was a pipe worked as a sedimentation unit with inclined plates to apply the plate settler technology. The suitability of using this unit was determined by using varied water sources with different Total Suspended Solids (TSS) concentrations and different retention times. The removal efficiencies for the low TSS water source reached 96.47 %, 82.94 %, 64.80 % & 30.59 % with retention time 30 minutes, 15 minutes, 5 minutes & 20 seconds respectively. For the medium TSS water source at the same retention times, the removal efficiencies reached 97.33 %, 92.87 %, 86.10 % & 63.89 %. For the high TSS water source, the removal efficiencies reached 98.64 %, 93.86 %, 87.51 % & 76.23 %. These results make the sedimentation unit able to work as an effective pretreatment unit for the ultrafiltration units for all water sources.