What is sedimentation in wastewater treatment?
Sedimentation is the process of solid material deposition from a condition of suspension or solution in a fluid (usually air or water).
In broader sense, it also encompasses glacial ice deposits and materials accumulated only by gravity. The phrase is frequently used interchangeably with the term’s sedimentary petrology and sedimentology.
The mechanics of the most prevalent sedimentation process, solid particles settling from fluids, has long been understood!
The standard starting point for any study of the sedimentation process is G.G. Stokes' settling velocity equation, which he developed in 1851. The terminal settling velocity of spheres in a fluid was found to be inversely related to the fluid's viscosity and directly proportional to the density difference between the fluid and the solid, the radius of the spheres involved, and the force of gravity, according to Stokes.
However, Stokes' equation is only true for extremely small spheres (less than 0.04 mm [0.0015 inch] in diameter), hence different variations of Stokes' law have been proposed for non-spherical particles and bigger particles.
Even the most basic physical features of natural sediments are not well explained by any settling velocity equation, no matter how correct it is.
The sorting, shape, roundness, fabric, and packing of elastic elements are the result of complex processes involving not only the density and viscosity of the fluid medium, but also the depositing fluid's translational velocity, turbulence caused by this motion, and the roughness of the beds over which it moves. These processes are further influenced by the mechanical qualities of the solid materials pushed, the length of sediment transport, and other unknown variables.
Geologists study sedimentation in terms of the textures, structures, and fossil content of deposits formed in various geographic and geomorphic contexts. The geologic record has gone to great lengths to distinguish between continental, near-shore, marine, and other deposits. The classification of habitats and the criteria for recognizing them are still hotly debated topics. The study of current sedimentation has aided in the investigation and interpretation of ancient deposits. Sedimentation in the Gulf of Mexico, the Black Sea, and the Baltic Sea, as well as in different estuaries, lakes, and river basins across the world, has been studied extensively by oceanographic and limnologic expeditions.
Chemical concepts and rules are used to explain chemical sedimentation!
Although J.H. Van't Hoff, a well-known physical chemist, applied phase equilibrium ideas to the problem of crystallizing brines and the genesis of salt deposits as early as 1905, little attempt was made to apply physical chemistry to the challenges of chemical sedimentation. However, more recently, the role of redox (mutual reduction and oxidation) potential and pH (acidity–alkalinity) in the precipitation of many chemical sediments has been investigated, and a renewed effort has been made to apply known thermodynamic principles to the origin of anhydrite and gypsum deposits, the chemistry of dolomite formation, and the problem of ironstones and related sediments.
Conclusion
The process of sedimentation, be geological or in wastewater treatment, the base is same. The process of sedimentation is one of the most important step for the suspended solids to settle. Without settlement, the processes further will not occur properly due to clogging.
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