Technical note: 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 ä, which is proportional to the efficiency of the purification process. The development of separable aggregates is characterised by the degree of aggregation áA which is proportional to the aggregation and separation efficiency of the system. The degree of destabilisation ä corresponds to the collision frequency factor áP in the Smoluchowski equation for the perikinetic coagulation. The degree of aggregation áA corresponds to the collision frequency factor áO in the Smoluchowski equation for orthokinetic coagulation.

Keywords: non-separable particles, number of non-separable particles,  degree of destabilisation, degree of aggregation, centrifugation, collision frequency factors