Experimental and numerical investigations of sedimentation of porous wastewater sludge flocs

The paper studies the properties and sedimentation characteristics of sludge flocs, as they appear in biological wastewater treatment (BWT) plants. The flocs are described as porous and permeable bodies, with their properties defined based on conducted experimental study. The derivation is based on established geometrical properties, high-speed camera data on settling velocities and non-linear numerical model, linking settling velocity with physical properties of porous flocs. The numerical model for derivation is based on generalized Stokes model, with permeability of the floc described by the Brinkman model. As a result, correlation for flocs porosity is obtained as a function of floc diameter. This data is used in establishing a CFD numerical model of sedimentation of flocs in test conditions, as recorded during experimental investigation. The CFD model is based on Euler–Lagrange formulation, where the Lagrange formulation is chosen for computation of flocs trajectories during sedimentation. The results of numerical simulations are compared with experimental results and very good agreement is observed.

Research highlights
► Simultaneous measurement of sedimentation and size distribution of sludge flocs.
► Computation of sludge flocs porosity and permeability based on sedimentation data.
► CFD based Lagrangian particle tracking of permeable sludge flocs.