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This work investigated the effect of floc microstructure (size and fractal structure) and shear forces on dewatering processes, which are crucial for environmental and economical aspects in many industries. Due to limitations inherent In experimental investigations, a numerical code using the discrete element method and including some novel force models (polymer bridging force, elastic bending moment and a modified concept of rolling friction torque) was developed to simulate the consolidation behavior of flocculated systems. The code showed good agreement with experimental results. The elastic behavior of aggregates is known to depend on the backbone structure (stress bearing structure of the aggregate). However, there is little known about backbone structure. It was found that backbone represents a fractal structure with a fractal dimension value close to 1 and increasing with increase of aggregate mass fractal dimension. The dewatering process was characterized by compressive and hindered settling behavior. The numerical study of compressive rheology with different aggregate microstructure showed that the compaction results from a reduction of the correlation length rather than increase in fractal dimension. The compressive behavior is consistent with theoretical models at higher compressive stresses but is not well described at low compressive stresses. A semi- empirical model is presented describing the compressive rheology in both regions via a correction factor derived using dimensional analysis. The hindered settling behavior was in good agreement with the theoretical model based on the assumption of self similar structure. The investigation revealed that shear effect is not due entirely to hydrodynamics and can arise from the particle bonding mechanism alone. The study showed that low shear increases compressibility but high shear is detrimental. At low shear, bond bending at local voids results in solid densification. High shear increases kinetic energy and kinetic repulsion of the particles. The effect of shear is analogous to the anomalous behavior of the water density- temperature function. At low temperature bond breakage increases the density and at high temperature thermal expansion decreases the density. The investigation showed that shear increases the permeability due to bending of the structure in the shear direction, resulting in large pores.

Master of Science

This study was undertaken to evaluate the dewatering characteristics of a bench-scale belt filter press and a full-scale screw press, and to develop a suitable bench-scale test to simulate dewatering in a full-scale screw press. Tests were conducted to determine the effect of pressure and shear on dewatering of anaerobically digested, alum, waste activated, and pulp and paper sludges. The first part of the study involved tests conducted on a bench-scale belt filter press. Pressure was varied to develop performance characteristics with respect to cake and filtrate solids, and polymer demand. The second part of the study consisted of mixing intensity tests conducted to evaluate the effect of shear on dewatering in sludges. The third part of the study involved field evaluation of dewatering performance using a full-scale screw press. Tests were conducted to determine the shear produced in the dewatering process and to assess its effect on polymer conditioning requirements. The tests indicated that the polymer demand produced by the belt filter press simulator and the screw device was minimal. Rather, a substantial polymer demand was observed as a result of shear in the pipes and pumps during full-scale screw press dewatering operations. A combination of a high speed mixing device and a free drainage tester was capable of predicting polymer conditioning requirements for a full-scale screw press. Individual sludge performance characteristics varied with pressure producing changes in cake solids and filtrate quality. / M.S.

Thesis (MTech (Chemical Engineering))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2016. / Polymers used as flocculants in the secondary sludge dewatering process are one of the most expensive inputs in these plants. The disadvantage is that these polymers cannot be recycled. Currently, controlling of polymer dosing rate is done by trial and error method. It has been shown that huge savings can be made by optimising the polymer dosing using rheological properties. It is not an easy task to optimise this process because of changing sludge characteristics on a daily, seasonal and annual basis. To try and optimise polymer dosing and polymer concentration, the variation in rheological properties needs to be understood first. The correlation between the process parameters and the rheological properties needs to be determined. There is currently no database of rheological properties of secondary wastewater sludge feeding belt filter presses available. To address these issues, a 12 week assessment of the rheological properties of the sludge feed to the belt filter press before and after conditioning in four wastewater treatment plants in Cape Town was conducted. The rheological properties were determined using an MCR-51 rheometer with parallel plate geometry under controlled temperature. After concluding the assessment, a 3-level Box-Behnken factorial trial was conducted at Plant K wastewater treatment plant to statistically analyse the correlation and/or interactions between the process parameters (sludge feed flow rate, polymer dosing concentration, polymer dosing rate and belt press speed) and the rheological properties of the sludge to optimise the plant performance.