Mapua Institute of Technology

School of Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, Biological

Engineering and Material Science and Engineering

CHEMICAL ENGINEERING LABORATORY 1

EXPERIMENT 10: SETTLING VELOCITY
Bismonte, Ma. Elizabetha, Gara, John Patrick N.a, Surnit, Rebecca T.a,
Tabaquero, Renz James T.a
Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering, Mapua Institute of Technology, School of Chemistry and
Chemical Engineering
a

ARTICLE INFO

ABSTRACT

Keywords:
Sedimentation
Suspension
Coagulant
Settling Velocity
Date Performed
December 2, 2014
Date Submitted
December 9, 2014

The objectives of this

experiment were to
analyze
a
settling
velocity
curve
of
different
suspensions
from a single batch
test, to determine the
effect
of
initial
concentration of the
suspensions
of
sedimentation rate, to
determine the effect of
initial
suspension
height of the suspensions on sedimentation rate and
to determine the effect of the addition of coagulant
in the sedimentation rate. The students were able to
graph the data points gathered from the experiment.
The students analysis of the settling velocity of
suspensions with different concentration but with the
same amount of solvent is that as time progresses,
the settling velocity decreases. Meanwhile, settling
velocity
of
chalk
suspensions
with
same
concentrations also yields the same observations to
that of those with different concentrations. Therefore,
the students concluded that the settling velocity of
the three suspensions decreases with time.
The

Expt.10 | SETTLING VELOCITY (SEDIMENTATION APPARATUS) 1

initial concentration of suspensions is inversely

proportional to the sedimentation rate since there
are many particles in the suspension; the velocity of
the particle is slow, taking some time before the
particles reach the bottom part of the vessel.
into the Sedimentation apparatus to
1. INTRODUCTION
observe the settling of the chalk
Sedimentation
is
the
particles at the bottom. It aims to
accumulation of sediments in a
determine the following: to analyze
specified mixture (Vanoni, 1975). It is
the settling velocity curves of
a phenomenon where the particles in
different
suspensions,
and
to
a suspension settle out of the fluid
determine the effect of initial
and rest at the bottom of the
concentration and initial suspension
container (Julien, 2010).
height
of
suspensions
on
sedimentation rate (Gutierrez et al.,
Several factors affect the
2005).
sedimentation process of a mixture.
The density is the most important
factor in this process. The material
that is denser will tend to settle at
2. METHODOLOGY
the bottom leaving the less dense
component at the top layer (Bustos,
1999). These are also affected by the
The
experiment
had
four
forces acting on them such as
objectives. The first one was to
centrifugal force, electromagnetism,
analyze settling velocity curves of
and gravity. It is commonly applied to
different suspensions from a single
processes which involved purifying of
batch test. The second was to
a mixture to separate the solid
determine
the
effect
of
initial
materials from the liquid mixture.
concentration of the suspensions on
Example of this is in water treatment
sedimentation rate. Third was to
plants where the treated water is
determine
the
effect
of
initial
made to be still in order for the solid
suspension and the height of the
particles or sludge to resolve at the
suspensions on sedimentation rate.
bottom of the tank.
The fourth one was to determine the
effect of adding coagulant in the
The process starts with a fast
sedimentation rate.
settling of the solid particles creating
a layer of clear liquid and a transition
The equipment and materials
layer. In the transition layer, the
used in this experiment were the
concentration of the solid particles is
sedimentation
apparatus,
digital
less of the original concentration. The
balance,
1-L
plastic
graduated
settling process will continue to
cylinder, stop watch, pail, funnel,
progress until only two layers are
powdered chalk, distilled water and
seen in the column (Garcia, 2008).
stirrer.
In this experiment, chalk will be
dissolved in the water and it will put

Figure

2.1:

The

Sedimentation

Expt.10 | SETTLING VELOCITY (SEDIMENTATION APPARATUS) 2

Apparatus

Figure 2.2: Parts of Sedimentation

Apparatus

Figure 2.3: Monitoring and Recording

of the Height of Interface

To begin the experiment, three

types of suspension were prepared.
Suspension A (10% chalk) was
prepared by mixing 150 grams of
powdered chalk and 1350 ml of
distilled water. Suspension B (5%
chalk) was prepared by mixing 70
grams of powdered chalk and 1350 ml
of distilled water. Suspension C (5%
chalk) was prepared by mixing 35
grams of powdered chalk with 675 ml
of
distilled
water.
Then,
the
suspensions were poured separately
into the glass cylinders of the
sedimentation apparatus as the initial
height of each was noted and
recorded. Next, for every 1 minute,
the height of the interface between
the clear supernatant liquid and slurry
for each suspension was monitored
and recorded. This was continuously
done until at least five similar values
of height were obtained. Lastly, a
graph was constructed by plotting the
interface
height
(y-axis)
versus
settling time (x-axis) for each
suspension.

Expt.10 | SETTLING VELOCITY (SEDIMENTATION APPARATUS) 3

Time
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54

Interface Height
A
B
C
41.94
26.5
9.9
41.81
26.4
9.8
41.68
26.1
9.7
41.48
26
9.6
41.15
25.8
9.5
41.02
25.6
9.4
40.84
25.5
9.35
40.64
25.4
9.3
40.39
25.1
9.2
40.18
25
9.1
40.07
24.9
9.05
39.52
24.8
9
39.44
24.7
8.95
39.37
24.5
8.9
39.07
24.4
8.85
39.07
24.3
8.8
38.89
24.1
8.7
38.74
24
8.65
38.58
23.9
8.6
38.43
23.8
8.55
38.33
23.5
8.5
38.25
23.4
8.45
38.07
23.3
8.4
37.95
23.2
8.35
37.95
23.2
8.3
37.82
23
8.3
37.62
22.9
8.25

Table 3.2: Data Gathered

Interface Height
A
B
C
0
71.72
70
34.04
1
69.34
66
29.85
2
67.95
58
25.91
3
66.8
57
21.9
4
65.02
54.2
18.4
5
62.87
51.3
16.5
6
60.96
48.1
15.24
7
59.93
45.2
14.3
8
56.64
42.1
13.7
9
54.61
39.4
13.4
10
52.32
36.7
12.9
11
49.53
34.6
12.7
12
48.01
32.9
12.3
13
47.24
32.1
12.15
14
46.48
31.1
11.85
15
46.63
30.5
11.7
16
45.87
30
11.5
17
45.47
29.5
11.3
18
45.16
29.3
11.2
19
44.56
28.9
11.1
20
44.25
28.5
10.9
3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
21
44.07
28.3
10.7
22
43.82
28
10.6
23
42.98
27.8
10.45
24
42.9
27.5
10.3
The table below shows the data obtained
25
42.52
27.2
10.2
by observing the interface height of three
26
42.37
26.9
10.1
chalk suspensions:
27
42.27
26.8
10
Table 3.1: DataExpt.10
Gathered
| SETTLING VELOCITY (SEDIMENTATION APPARATUS) 4
Time

Table 3.3: Data Gathered

Settling Velocity Curves

The settling velocity of three chalk
suspensions with different concentrations
was observed in the glass cylinders of the
sedimentation apparatus. Suspension A
and B have the same amount of solvent
but with concentrations of 11.11 and
0.512 g/mL respectively while Suspension
B and C have the same concentration but
with different amount of solvents used.
Settling Velocity of Suspensions with
different concentration but with the same
amount of solvent.

Time
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82

Interface Height
A
B
C
37.47
22.8
8.2
37.29
22.7
8.2
37.16
22.6
8.15
37.16
22.5
8.1
36.98
22.4
8.1
36.91
22.35
8.1
36.83
22.3
8.05
36.75
22.2
8
36.53
22.1
8
36.53
22.05
7.95
36.35
21.9
7.9
36.35
21.9
7.9
36.27
21.8
7.9
36.2
21.7
7.9
36.04
21.6
7.9
35.86
21.6
7.85
35.86
21.5
7.8
35.71
21.4
7.8
35.71
21.3
7.8
35.64
21.3
7.8
35.56
21.2
7.75
35.56
21.1
7.7
35.41
20
7.7
35.26
19
7.7
35.26
19
7.7
35.26
19
7.7
35.26
19
7.7
35.26
19
7.7

Expt.10 | SETTLING VELOCITY (SEDIMENTATION APPARATUS) 5

Different Concentrations

Same Concentrations

80

80

70

70

60

60

50

50

Interface Height, m 40
30

Interface Height, m 40
30

20

20
10

10
0

0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90

Settling Time, min

Settling Time, min

Suspension A

Suspension B

Figure 3.1: Comparison of chalk

suspensions with different concentrations
In Figure 3.1, the settling rate for both
suspension were increasing for 13 seconds
but at t = 2 seconds, we observed that the
particles in suspension B settled at the
bottom of the vessel faster than suspension A.
This is because as the concentration is
increased, the settling velocity decreases
(Mohammed, 2013). There are a lot of factors
to consider like gravity, viscous forces,
particle path, size and shape and interactions
of the particles to each other and to the wall.
Both suspensions have different particle sizes
and shapes. Spherical particles follows a
vertical path when settling and have
increasing settling velocity with increasing
diameter due to the uniform viscous forces
and impact of water striking the particle while
irregular shaped particles follows unstable
path and decreases the settling velocity with
increasing the volume (Mohammed, 2013).
The interactions of the particles with each
other and with the wall affects the settling
velocity since the particles are bumping each
other and the wall which causes the
distraction in the path of the moving particle
and slows down the settling velocity.

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90

Suspension B

Suspension C

Figure 3.2: Comparison of chalk suspensions

with same concentrations
Figure 3.2 shows the graph of chalk
suspensions B and C with the same
concentration of 0.0512 g/mL but with
different amount of solvent used. We
observed that the settling rate of suspension
C has a fast increasing rate for only 5 seconds
compared to suspension B with 13 seconds.
This is because there are more particles in
suspension B than in C thus, more solids are
still settling down the vessel, making
suspension C achieve the ultimate height

of the settled solids faster than

suspension B. Also, the suspension height
of B is higher than C which takes longer
the particle to settle down the vessel.

Settling velocity profile of the three

suspensions

Settling velocity of chalk suspensions

with same concentrations

Expt.10 | SETTLING VELOCITY (SEDIMENTATION APPARATUS) 6

Settling Velocity Curves

80
70
Suspension A

60

Suspension B

50
Interface Height, m 40
30
Suspension C

20
10
0

0 20 40 60 80 100

Settling Time, min

Figure 3.3: Settling velocity curve of the

three suspensions

Figure 3.3 shows the settling

velocity curves of suspension A, B and C.
We observed that the settling velocity of
the three suspensions decreases as time
increases. Also, suspension C achieved
the ultimate height of the settled solids
fastest among the three suspensions. This
is because the amount of the particles is
smaller wherein few particles only are
settling thus, the particle quickly reaches
a constant velocity (Zhang).

height
of
the
suspensions
on
sedimentation rate.
The settling velocity of the three
suspensions decreases with time.
The
initial
concentration
of
suspensions is inversely proportional to
the sedimentation rate since there are
many particles in the suspension; the
velocity of the particle is slow, taking
some time before the particles reach the
bottom part of the vessel. The initial
suspension height of the suspensions is
inversely
proportional
to
the
sedimentation rate since the particles in
the lower suspension height is nearer the
bottom of the vessel and achieved the
ultimate height of the settled solids faster
compared with the higher one.

5. REFERENCES
Vanoni, V. A. 1975. Sedimentation
Engineering: Classic Edition. 1.
Julien, P. Y. 2010.
Sedimentation.

Erosion
24-25.

and

Bustos, M. C. 1999. Sedimentation

and Thickening: Phenomenological
Foundation
and
Mathematical
Theory.
52-53.
Garcia, M. H. 2008. Sedimentation
Engineering:
Processes,
Measurements,
Modeling,
and
Practice.33-34.

4. CONCLUSION

Gutierrez, C. L., Ngo, R. L, 2005,

Chemical Engineering Laboratory
Manual Part 1, 85-86.

The objectives of this experiment

were achieved. We were able to analyze
settling velocity curves of different
suspensions from a single batch test and
determine
the
effect
of
initial
concentration and initial suspension

Mohammed, Muhaned A.R., (2013).

Studying the Factors Afecting the
Setling Velocity of Solid Particles
in Non- Newtonian Fluids, Journal
(NUCEJ) Vol.16No.1, 2013, p.41

Expt.10 | SETTLING VELOCITY (SEDIMENTATION APPARATUS) 7

50. NUCEJ
Vol.16
No1
Mohammed 41
http://www.che.iitb.ac.in/online/system
/files/92/course_details/FM+304.pdf
http://lorien.ncl.ac.uk/ming/particle/cp
e124p2.html
6. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The group would like to thank God
for the talents and resources He
bestowed. The group would like to
thank Dr. Allan Soriano and the
laboratory
assistant
for
their
knowledge and guidance in the
experiments theory and procedures.

Expt.10 | SETTLING VELOCITY (SEDIMENTATION APPARATUS) 8