Publication: Efficiency study of preliminary and primary wastewater treatment system using computational fluid dynamics
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Date
2024-09
Authors
Purany a/p Kalimuthu
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Abstract
Preliminary and primary treatment studies are both crucial in the first stage of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). Computational Fluid dynamics (CFD) was used to model and simulate the hydrodynamic behaviors and solid settling of preliminary and primary treatment in a physical operation unit. The CFD model can predict flow dynamics in secondary screening tank, grit and grease chamber and sedimentation tank as well as solid deposition in the sedimentation tank. The 3D model was developed using ANSYS FLUENT 2022 R1 software with an Eulerian multiphase approach (air-water-sludge), Multi-Fluid VOF method, and SST k-𝜔 turbulent model with Navier-Stokes equations. The analysis examines water and solid velocity profiles, volume fractions, flow distributions, travel time from inlet to outlet, and tank characteristics. An analysis of the vector profile was conducted to investigate the flow characteristics within the tanks and chamber. The numerical simulation results were validated against experimental data, showing relative errors of 1.5 % for inlet velocity and 4.6 % for output velocity. The purpose of the research is to develop a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model to simulate the fluid dynamics, sedimentation tank solid distribution, and deposition. This simulation tool evaluates flow characteristics during the preliminary and primary treatment stages, offering insights to improve fluid behavior and process efficiency for future research work. This proposed Eulerian model can be a reference for future research works, and this model can be improved to produce a better water treatment plant.