Evaluation of flow hydrodynamics in a pilot-scale dissolved air flotation tank: a comparison between CFD and experimental measurements.

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) models of dissolved air flotation (DAF) have shown formation of stratified flow (back and forth horizontal flow layers at the top of the separation zone) and its impact on improved DAF efficiency. However, there has been a lack of experimental validation of CFD predictions, especially in the presence of solid particles. In this work, for the first time, both two-phase (air-water) and three-phase (air-water-solid particles) CFD models were evaluated at pilot scale using measurements of residence time distribution, bubble layer position and bubble-particle contact efficiency. The pilot-scale results confirmed the accuracy of the CFD model for both two-phase and three-phase flows, but showed that the accuracy of the three-phase CFD model would partly depend on the estimation of bubble-particle attachment efficiency.

A model of particle removal in a dissolved air flotation tank: importance of stratified flow and bubble size.

An analytical model and a computational fluid dynamic model of particle removal in dissolved air flotation were developed that included the effects of stratified flow and bubble-particle clustering. The models were applied to study the effect of operating conditions and formation of stratified flow on particle removal. Both modeling approaches demonstrated that the presence of stratified flow enhanced particle removal in the tank. A higher air fraction was shown to be needed at higher loading rates to achieve the same removal efficiency. The model predictions showed that an optimum bubble size was present that increased with an increase in particle size.

Importance of flow stratification and bubble aggregation in the separation zone of a dissolved air flotation tank.

The importance of horizontal flow patterns and bubble aggregation on the ability of dissolved air flotation (DAF) systems to improve bubble removal during drinking water treatment were explored using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling. Both analytical and CFD analyses demonstrated benefits to horizontal flow. Two dimensional CFD modeling of a DAF system showed that increasing the amount of air in the system improved the bubble removal and generated a beneficial stratified horizontal flow pattern. Loading rates beyond a critical level disrupted the horizontal flow pattern, leading to significantly lower bubble removal. The results also demonstrated that including the effects of bubble aggregation in CFD modeling of DAF systems is an essential component toward achieving realistic modeling results.