Design of slow sand filters for water treatment

Respects the NBR12216 standard

Filter Conventional layout (single chamber) Compact layout (2 chambers)

Flow 0.6 m/h
L or D
Flux 0.2 m/h
Area 3 m
Width/Lenght - square shape - L 1.7 m
Diameter - circular shape - D 2.0 m HL
Average sand particle diameter 0.3 mm H1 H1
Sand bed height H3 1m H
H2 L H2
Minimum water height over the filtration bed H2 0.3 m HC
Maximum water height over the filtration bed H1 0.8 m
Height of the inter-compartment channel HL 0.10 m H3
Height of the compact filter Hc 1.9 m
Height of the conventional design filter H 2.1 m Flow
H4 H3 Flow
Support layers
Uniform coefficient of the support materials 1.3 H5
Top layer - Sand - Particle diameter 1.3 mm
HL
Top layer- Areia - Height H4 0.10 m H6
Intermediate layer - Seixos - Particle diameter 5 mm
Intermediate layer - Seixos - Height H5 0.1 m
Inferior layer - Seixos - Particle diameter 10 mm
Inferior layer - Seixos - Height H6 0.1 m Notes about the operation:
- Slow sand filters cannot be backwashed. The top of the filter bed should be scraped (2 - 5cm) every time the
water depht reached the H1 height.
- Never allow the water level to be beyond the H2 height (follow the piping layout from the conventional layout
drawing).
- Slow sand filters are based on biological processes therefore the water cannot be pre-chlorinated.
- The turbidity of the feedwater should be under 5 NTU for optimal performance.
- The best performance will be reached after 10 or 15 days of operation, when the biological filtration layer
(schmutzdecke) is stabilished and functional.
- It's recomended to keep the filter covered to avoid algae growth.
Dimensionamento de Filtros Lentos
Atende a norma NBR12216

Filtro Arranjo Convencional Arranjo Compacto (2 cmaras)

Vazo 0.6 m/h
L ou D
Taxa 0.2 m/h
rea 3 m
Lateral - quadrado - L 1.7 m
Dimetro - circular - D 2.0 m HL
Dimetro dos gros de areia 0.3 mm H1 H1
Profundidade do leito de areia H3 1m H
H2 L H2
Altura mnima de gua acima da areia H2 0.3 m HC
Altura mxima da gua sobre a areia H1 0.8 m
Altura do canal de interligao HL 0.10 m H3
Altura do tanque compacto Hc 1.9 m
Altura do tanque convencional H 2.1 m Fluxo
H4 H3 Fluxo
Camadas de base
Coeficiente de uniformidade das camadas 1.3 H5
Base superior - Areia - Dimetro 1.3 mm
HL
Base superior - Areia - Espessura H4 0.10 m H6
Base intermediria- Seixos - Dimetro 5 mm
Base intermediria - Seixos - Espessura H5 0.1 m
Base inferior - Seixos - Dimetro 10 mm
Base inferior - Seixos - Espessura H6 0.1 m Notas sobre a operao:
- Filtros lentos no podem ser contralavados. A camada superior da areia (2 a 5cm) deve ser raspada quando
a altura H1 de gua for atingida.
- Nunca deixar a gua ficar abaixo da altura H2 (ver desenho do tubo de sada no arranjo convencional).
- Filtros lentos no podem receber dosagem de cloro na alimentao pois baseiam-se em princpios
biolgicos.
- A turbidez de entrada deve ser baixa (< 5 NTU).
- O desempenho mximo atingido aps cerca de 10 dias, quando a camada de biofilme (schmutzdecke)
estabelecida.
- recomendvel cobrir o filtro para evitar a proliferao de algas.