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Dynamic responses of the blanket in full-scale flat-bottom type floc blanket clarifiers at the PingTsan Water Works, Taiwan Water Supply Corporation, were monitored given a step-change in coagulant (polyaluminum chloride, PACl) dosage. The blankets in the clarifiers were easily washed out using the conventional coagulation-clarification process (the single-stage process), seriously threatening drinking water quality. Consequently, the PingTsan Water Works included a pretreatment stage before the single-stage process to enhance treatment efficiency. The performance of this full-scale two-stage process for treating high-turbidity storm water was monitored on November 9 to 10, 2000. The two-stage process achieved a stable blanket and good quality clarified water that was insensitive to variation in raw water turbidity or PACl dose. Pilot tests were also conducted on October 6 to 7, 2001 to reveal performance differences between the single-stage and two-stage processes in dealing with high-turbidity water. The single-stage process yielded a blanket that was sensitive to PACl change. Not only was the produced blanket easily washed out when the PACl dose was step-decreased, it was also slow to recover when the chemical dosage was returned to its original value. The blanket yielded by the two-stage process was more robust to low coagulant dose, and recovered more easily when coagulant supply was increased. Applying the two-stage process to achieve the same effluent quality from single-stage process could significantly reduce total PACl dosage.

In this work we investigated the use of a short time, low superheat boiling process to treat biological sludge. The treated sludge would exhibit a deteriorated filterability, and a marked increase in soluble organics content. A large portion of extracellular polymers was released from the solid phase by boiling. The microbial density levels of the total coliform bacteria and the heterotrophic bacteria were reduced after treatment. Dilution in sludge concentration could allow more organic compounds to be hydrolyzed and a greater fraction of microbes to be disinfected when compared with the undiluted samples.