Evaluación hidráulica de un floculador convencional en la planta potabilizadora de la Junta Administradora de Agua Potable Regional Bayas-Azogues

Abstract

Flocculation is one of the priority processes for the purification of water; which, being ineffective, results in lower quality drinking water for downstream treatment processes, decreasing the quality of the treated water and increasing operating costs. The objective of this study was to evaluate the hydraulic efficiency of a horizontal flow screen flocculator in the water treatment plant of the “Bayas-Azogues”. To do this, first the geometric characteristics of the three zones of the flocculator were measured. Subsequently, the salt tracer test was performed for the three study flows (6.78, 7.84 and 8.59 l/s). To systematically predict the real behavior of the flocculator, the Hec-RAS (one-dimensional) and IBER (twodimensional) mathematical models were used. The main results are divided into a first phase of the study that consisted in obtaining and comparing the experimental and analytical hydrodynamic factors that determine the operation of this reactor. The second phase consisted of the study and comparison of the hydraulic results obtained from the models (Hec-RAS and IBER). As conclusions, the flocculator works predominantly in piston flow, with the presence of dead zones in a higher percentage in zone 3 of it. From the results of the IBER model (two-dimensional), it was determined that, in the corners of the flocculator, that is, where changes in direction occur, there are areas of stagnation due to the very low speeds reached in those sections.