Sand has been the main filter media used in rapid gravity filtration since their emergence in the 19th century. This dominance is due to its low cost, availability and extensive experience which has led to dependable and predictable performance. Over recent years multi-media filters have become the typical filter arrangement. Sand still remains the preferred filter medium in the lower layer with typically anthracite used in the upper layer. A limitation to match previous work has been the emphasis on overall performance but mechanistic analysis as to the reasons for the variations compared to sand has been rare. The fundamental effects of particle size and consolidation on filtration performance and headloss are known but were not often accounted for in the reported research. This has limited the academic contribution of previous work and made it more difficult to compare with the data for this thesis. At an average treatment works the highest costs are associated with the use of chemicals (30 %) and power (60 %) required mainly for pumping. Rapid gravity filters are one of the least energy demanding stages in this system, only requiring pumping for backwashing and air scour, assuming gravity feed was incorporated into the design. Energy efficiency of water treatment has become more important and the research was conducted to determine if the use of novel new media could be used to improve the performance of the filters with regards to turbidity and headloss. For example, the result presented within this thesis demonstrates through the use of angular media improved performance to benefit both turbidity and headloss performance. This was obtained from slate having a sphericity of 0.49 compared to sand at 0.88. In addition the use of novel materials with different physical properties has allowed an extension to analysis of performance using fundamental filtration mechanisms. The greater range of properties available from the novel media used in this thesis compared to sand has suggested additions to this theory. The use of surface reactive materials, including limestone, has shown the removal of additional contaminants such as phosphorus, iron, aluminium and manganese not typically associated with rapid gravity filtration. An assessment of the impact these reactions had on typical filter performance criteria, for example turbidity, headloss and life expectancy. The results showed an 97 % removal of Fe in the limestone compared to 13 % for sand. This was brought about by the precipitation of hydroxide, coagulation, a pH change and consequent co-precipitation. In the case of iron and aluminium removal this pH induced change was theorized as the most likely cause of coagulation within the filter bed itself leading to improved turbidity removal performance. Filter media chosen for laboratory and pilot study in this work was firstly assessed using British Standards tests, but additional tests were added that could provide additional characterisation data. The media were selected based on an individual fundamental property that differed from the other media selected whilst retaining the standard RGF size. Filtralite for example offered a high surface area, limestone a more active surface and slate a plate-like particle shape. Glass had a very smooth surface texture and as a recycled material better sustainability. Four of these filter media (Sand (control), Glass, Filtralite and Slate) were then selected for further on-site pilot plant studies, based on results from the laboratory work. Both the laboratory and pilot study suggested that turbidity and headloss performance could be improved by changes in media specification. The results showed that after particle size, angularity of the media was the most important factor affecting turbidity and headloss performance. A greater angularity led to improvements in filter run time with for example a doubling of filter run time with the slate compared to sand for the same turbidity removal in the pilot plant. Previous literature had suggested an improvement in turbidity performance but that head loss would deteriorate but this was not seen in the data from this research, with slate (sphericity of 0.49) offering improved headloss performance. This improvement was attributed to the varied packing of the filter bed and associated porosity variations throughout the filter. The objectives of the pilot study were to provide understanding of scale-up factors and adjust these theories with real variable clarified water. Real water chemistry is too complex to model and enabled experiments more typical of the variation that a rapid gravity filter would encounter. The pilot plant is 0.07 % the plan area of a full scale filter compared to the 0.01 % of the laboratory columns. Results corroborated the laboratory work on the effect of extreme particle shapes on filter performance. The pilot study also highlighted problems from floc carry over with the use of clarified water and quantified the impact it had on filtration performance. In this case floc carryover changed the performance of the pilot plant results significantly. Thus an overall conclusion from the work was that an integrated design approach to filters, to account for the clarifier type the likelihood of floc carryover and raw water anticipated could be further researched. There were also limitations to the current monitoring equipment that could not quantitatively measure the floc carryover because of large particle size.

Die vorliegende Arbeit zeigt die Anwendung tomographischer und bildverarbeitender Methoden an Partikelabscheidungen in Filterschüttungen. Im betrachteten Tiefenfilter wird dabei der besonders praxisrelevante Fall abstoßender Wechselwirkung zwischen der Filterkorn-Oberfläche und Kolloid realisiert. Die durch Röntgentomographie erzeugten dreidimensionalen Bilddatensätze werden unter Zuhilfenahme eines einfachen geometrischen Modells ausgewertet, wodurch Aussagen zur lokalen Position der Kolloidabscheidungen an einem repräsentativen Filterkorn getroffen werden können. Die experimentellen Ergebnisse werden hinsichtlich der derzeit bekannten Filtertheorie diskutiert.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T14:08:53Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 AdrianoJAMB_DISSERT.pdf: 6352547 bytes, checksum: 4f7f1e181e2f04659c084a8901764e58 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-07-13 / Injectivity decline, which can be caused by particle retention, generally occurs during water injection or reinjection in oil fields. Several mechanisms, including straining, are responsible for particle retention and pore blocking causing formation damage and injectivity decline. Predicting formation damage and injectivity decline is essential in waterflooding projects. The Classic Model (CM), which incorporates filtration coefficients and formation damage functions, has been widely used to predict injectivity decline. However, various authors have reported significant discrepancies between Classical Model and experimental results, motivating the development of deep bed filtration models considering multiple particle retention mechanisms (Santos & Barros, 2010; SBM). In this dissertation, inverse problem solution was studied and a software for experimental data treatment was developed. Finally, experimental data were fitted using both the CM and SBM. The results showed that, depending on the formation damage function, the predictions for injectivity decline using CM and SBM models can be significantly different / A perda de injetividade, que pode ser causada pela reten??o de part?culas, ocorre geralmente durante a inje??o ou reinje??o de ?gua em campos de petr?leo. V?rios mecanismos, incluindo a exclus?o pelo tamanho (straining), s?o respons?veis pela reten??o de part?culas e bloqueio dos poros da forma??o, causando dano e o decl?nio da injetividade. A previs?o para o dano ? forma??o e a queda da injetividade ? essencial para o gerenciamento de projetos de inje??o de ?gua. O modelo cl?ssico (MC), que incorpora os coeficientes de filtra??o e de dano ? forma??o, tem sido amplamente utilizado na previs?o da perda de injetividade. Esse modelo apresenta bons resultados quando apenas um mecanismo de reten??o ? atuante. Entretanto, v?rios autores relataram discrep?ncias significativas entre o modelo cl?ssico e os dados experimentais, motivando o desenvolvimento de modelos que consideram m?ltiplos mecanismos de reten??o de part?culas, como o modelo de Santos e Barros (MSB, 2010). Neste trabalho, foi estudada a solu??o do problema inverso para diferentes modelos. A partir deste estudo, foi desenvolvido um software para o tratamento dos dados experimentais. Finalmente, os dados experimentais foram ajustados usando tanto o MC quanto o MSB. Os resultados demonstraram que, dependendo da fun??o dano ? forma??o utilizada, as previs?es dos modelos MC e MSB para a perda de injetividade podem ser significativamente diferentes

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T14:09:18Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 JulianaAA_TESE.pdf: 2312979 bytes, checksum: 31c1a19cbf37d537febd576ec54e5eb2 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-09-13 / Discrepancies between classical model predictions and experimental data for deep bed filtration have been reported by various authors. In order to understand these discrepancies, an analytic continuum model for deep bed filtration is proposed. In this model, a filter coefficient is attributed to each distinct retention mechanism (straining, diffusion, gravity interception, etc.). It was shown that these coefficients generally cannot be merged into an effective filter coefficient, as considered in the classical model. Furthermore, the derived analytic solutions for the proposed model were applied for fitting experimental data, and a very good agreement between experimental data and proposed model predictions were obtained. Comparison of the obtained results with empirical correlations allowed identifying the dominant retention mechanisms. In addition, it was shown that the larger the ratio of particle to pore sizes, the more intensive the straining mechanism and the larger the discrepancies between experimental data and classical model predictions. The classical model and proposed model were compared via statistical analysis. The obtained p values allow concluding that the proposed model should be preferred especially when straining plays an important role. In addition, deep bed filtration with finite retention capacity was studied. This work also involves the study of filtration of particles through porous media with a finite capacity of filtration. It was observed, in this case, that is necessary to consider changes in the boundary conditions through time evolution. It was obtained a solution for such a model using different functions of filtration coefficients. Besides that, it was shown how to build a solution for any filtration coefficient. It was seen that, even considering the same filtration coefficient, the classic model and the one here propposed, show different predictions for the concentration of particles retained in the porous media and for the suspended particles at the exit of the media / Discrep?ncias encontradas entre dados experimentais e previs?es feitas a partir do modelo cl?ssico foram relatadas por v?rios autores. Para entender essas discrep?ncias, um modelo anal?tico cont?nuo para a filtra??o profunda ? proposto. Neste modelo, cada mecanismo de reten??o est? associado a um coeficiente de filtra??o diferente. Foi mostrado que os coeficientes de filtra??o n?o podem ser somados e considerados em um ?nico coeficiente de filtra??o global como se apenas um mecanismo de reten??o atuasse no sistema, o que ? feito no modelo cl?ssico. Al?m disso, foram obtidas solu??es expl?citas para o sistema de equa??es que representam o modelo proposto. Tais solu??es foram usadas para ajustar os dados experimentais, e um bom ajuste foi obtido. Comparando os resultados obtidos com rela??es emp?ricas dispon?veis na literatura foi poss?vel identificar o mecanismo de reten??o mais atuante na filtra??o. Foi mostrado ainda, que quanto maior o tamanho das part?culas injetadas, mais atuante ? o mecanismo de exclus?o pelo tamanho e maiores as discrep?ncias entre o modelo proposto e o modelo cl?ssico. Os modelos cl?ssico e proposto foram comparados atrav?s de uma an?lise estat?stica. Tal an?lise mostrou que os ajustes feitos com o modelo proposto s?o significativamente melhores que os ajustes feitos com o modelo cl?ssico, principalmente quando o mecanismo de exclus?o pelo tamanho ? o mais atuante na filtra??o. Neste trabalho foi, tamb?m, estudado a filtra??o de part?culas em meio poroso com capacidade finita de filtra??o. Observou-se, neste caso, que ? necess?rio considerar mudan?as nas condi??es de fronteira com a evolu??o do tempo. Foi obtida a solu??o para tal modelo para diferentes fun??es de coeficiente de filtra??o. Al?m disso, foi mostrado como construir a solu??o para um coeficiente de filtra??o qualquer. Observou-se que, ainda que se considere o mesmo coeficiente de filtra??o, o modelo cl?ssico e o modelo proposto apresentam previs?es distintas para as concentra??es de part?culas retidas no meio e de part?culas em suspens?o na sa?da do meio

[pt] Esta dissertação apresenta um estudo numérico, utilizando o método dos elementos finitos, para simular o entupimento de rochas provocado pela injeção de água contendo partículas sólidas. Dentre os diferentes parâmetros que afetam o declínio de injetividade, quatro foram analisados, considerando-se a situação de fluxo unidimensional: fator de dano, concentração de partículas sólidas presentes no fluido de injeção, coeficiente de filtragem e taxa de injeção. Um estudo paramétrico ressaltando a influência destes fatores na perda de injetividade é também apresentado neste trabalho, concluindo-se que os resultados numéricos obtidos concordam satisfatoriamente com as observações experimentais disponíveis e soluções analíticas publicadas na literatura. O trabalho estuda também numericamente a simulação do entupimento dos poros da rocha considerando dois modelos de redução de permeabilidade e recupera valores do coeficiente de filtragem (Lambda ) e do fator de dano ( Beta ) através de análises inversa pelo método dos elementos finitos. / [en] This dissertation presents a numerical study, based on the finite element method, to simulate rock pore plugging caused by the injection of water containing solid particles in suspension. Amongst the parameters that affect rock injectivity decline, the following four were analyzed, considering undimensional flow: damage coefficient, solid particle concentration present in the injection fluid, filtration coefficient and injection rate. A parametric study standing out the influence of the these factors in the loss of injectivity is also presented in this work, concluding that the numerical results agree satisfactorily with the available experimental data and analytical solutions published in the literature. This work also numerically investigates the process of rock pore plugging considering two different permeability reduction models and recovers values of the filtration coefficient (Lambda ) and the damage factor ( Beta ) through inverse analyses carried outn by the finite element method.

Die vorliegende Arbeit zeigt die Anwendung tomographischer und bildverarbeitender Methoden an Partikelabscheidungen in Filterschüttungen. Im betrachteten Tiefenfilter wird dabei der besonders praxisrelevante Fall abstoßender Wechselwirkung zwischen der Filterkorn-Oberfläche und Kolloid realisiert. Die durch Röntgentomographie erzeugten dreidimensionalen Bilddatensätze werden unter Zuhilfenahme eines einfachen geometrischen Modells ausgewertet, wodurch Aussagen zur lokalen Position der Kolloidabscheidungen an einem repräsentativen Filterkorn getroffen werden können. Die experimentellen Ergebnisse werden hinsichtlich der derzeit bekannten Filtertheorie diskutiert.

In dieser Arbeit werden mit einem Raumtemperatur-Modellsystem die Wechselwirkungen und Überlagerungen der verschiedenen Einflussparameter auf die Partikelabscheidung in keramischen Tiefenfiltern dargestellt. Aussagen zum zeitlichen Beladungsverhalten, dem Einfluss der Strukturparameter und der Oberflächenrauheit der Filter auf die Abscheidung werden diskutiert. Außerdem wird die Abscheideeffizienz in Abhängigkeit der Eigenschaften der Verunreinigungen (Größe, Agglomeratzustand, Dichte), sowie dem Vorhandensein von Mikro- oder Nanogasblasen untersucht. Mit Hilfe der Computertomografie können die im Filter abgeschiedenen Verunreinigungen lokal abgebildet werden, was zum Verständnis der in schaumkeramischen Filtern ablaufenden Prozesse bei der Aluminium-Schmelzefiltration beiträgt. Ergebnisse einer dynamischen Bildanalyse lassen Rückschlüsse auf den Fraktionsabscheidegrad der Filter zu.