Water Treatment Process Design
8 weeks · 0 milestones
Design a water treatment process for a defined water quality problem — drinking water treatment, wastewater treatment, or industrial water reuse. The design must include: a treatment objectives statement (inlet quality, target outlet quality, and applicable standards or guidelines), a treatment train selection (the sequence of unit processes chosen with alternatives considered and screening rationale), sizing calculations for at least 2 unit operations (e.g. coagulation–flocculation basin, sedimentation tank, filtration bed, disinfection contact time) with documented methodology and design parameters, a treated water quality estimate comparing the calculated performance against the treatment objective, and identification of the primary operational challenges (sludge handling, chemical storage, energy use). Preferred proof: design calculations from a real water treatment project. Accessible alternative: hand sizing calculations using EPA Design Manual for Wastewater Treatment (freely available), WHO Drinking Water Quality Guidelines (free), or equivalent national guidance — applied to a real water quality dataset from a public environmental monitoring database (USGS NWIS, EPA STORET, or equivalent). Proof artifacts: the treatment train flowsheet (design artifact) and the unit operation sizing calculations and performance estimate (analysis artifact). Verification: an environmental engineer reviews the sizing — 'your detention time assumes a surface loading rate of X — if the influent flow peaks at 150% of design, what happens to your effluent quality?' — requiring you to reason from your own design parameters.
Milestone map
Milestone map
3 milestones
Analyse a real or openly published raw-water quality dataset (turbidity, suspended solids, BOD, pathogens). Select the appropriate primary treatment train (screening, grit removal, primary sedimentation or clarification) and size each unit using standard hydraulic loading rates. Produce a process flow diagram (PFD) that names each unit, flow direction, and key design parameters.
Proof required
Submit your PFD (hand-drawn or CAD, clearly dimensioned) alongside the raw-water quality data source, your loading-rate calculations as a worked spreadsheet or annotated working, and a short paragraph explaining why you chose this treatment train over alternatives.
What gets checked
- PFD shows every primary unit with flow arrows, inlet/outlet labels, and at least one key sizing parameter per unit (surface overflow rate, detention time, or hydraulic loading rate).
- Calculations reference a named design standard or textbook equation (e.g. Metcalf & Eddy, Crittenden, or equivalent) — not unsourced rules of thumb.
- Treatment-train selection is justified by the specific contaminants in the source-water data, not as a generic template.