Chemical Dose Controller, Spring 2011

Matthew Higgins, Adam Salwen, Christopher Guerrero

Abstract:

Accurate chemical dosing is important in water treatment plants to ensure optimal conditions for flocculation, sedimentation and disinfection of the treated water. The linear chemical dose controller uses laminar flow through a small diameter tube to create a linear relationship between head loss and chemical flow. The linear flow orifice meter then maintains a linear relationship between plant flow and water elevation. The linear relationships simplify chemical dosing for plant operators who may have a limited education. Our team is researching the upper-flow limit of the linear dose controller and developing innovative designs to increase the capacity of this system to function in plants with flow rates approaching and above 100 L/s. Furthermore, we are redesigning and simplifying the linear flow orifice meter algorithm to improve its precision and performance in the field.