Significance and determination of fraction of non-separable particles of impurities in water purification

Abstract

The method to determine the quantity of non-separable particles in water, together with the calculations for the determina­tion of the conditions of centrifugation under which the quantity of the non-separable particles can be determined, are dealt with in this paper. It is shown that for the determination of the quantity of non-separable particles it is beneficial to replace sedimentation in a gravity field with sedimentation in a centrifugal field. Reduction in the quantity of non-separable parti­cles is characterised by the degree of destabilisation δ, which is proportional to the efficiency of the purification process. The development of separable aggregates is characterised by the degree of aggregation αA which is proportional to the aggrega­tion and separation efficiency of the system. The degree of destabilisation δ corresponds to the collision frequency factor αP in the Smoluchowski equation for the perikinetic coagulation. The degree of aggregation αA corresponds to the collision frequency factor αO in the Smoluchowski equation for orthokinetic coagulation.