Modeling of Class I Settling Tanks

Sedimentation is one of the earliest and most important unit operations in water and wastewater treatment. Conventional approaches for studying sedimentation of Class I settling tanks did not present enough information on suspended particle size distribution in the effluent. This information is very important for further treatment units such as filtration. In this research, a relatively simple and practical mathematical model is introduced to study sedimentation of non-uniform particle size in Class I settling tanks. The model is capable of providing such information as removal efficiency, size distributions in sludge and in effluent suspension, and thickness of bottom sludge. If desired removal efficiency is provided, the length of the tank can also be determined. Through numerical experiments, a sensitivity analysis was performed to examine the effects of tank dimensions, overflow rate, and detention time on the removal efficiency. Comparison with other models and a set of experimental data indicates a good agreement.