Descriptif

Water treatment: drinking water

This module aims both at presenting an overview of current technologies for producing potable water, and at getting students acquainted with modeling techniques enabling them to optimize industrial processes. Fundamental notions in terms of present legislation, chemical engineering, technologies will be given in the first part of the module. The second part will focus on modeling techniques applied to water production or distribution. Software tools widely used in the industry will be presented and used for specific case-studies. Finally, two site visits of full-scale water works are planned.

Teaching staff

- Pierre Mandel, Research engineer, VEDIF

- Marie Maurel, Project Manager, Birdz

- Guillaume Lellouche, Data scientist, Eau de Paris

- Fabien Vergnolle, Process Engineer, Sidem Desalination

Course outline

Drinking water production: generalities and current approaches (16 h: 14h lectures; 2h tutorial)

• Water: issues and challenges – The water crisis in Barcelona (lecture 4h)

1. Contextual elements
   • Water resources
   • Water needs
   • Notions on the legal framework for water management
   • The water-energy nexus
2. The water crisis in Barcelona
   • Sequence of events (2007-2008)
   • Resources and needs
   • Present and future water management policy
   • Processes for potable water production (lecture 4h)
3. Generalities
   • Measured parameters and legal framework
   • Different resources
4. Processes for potable water production
   • Pretreatment, filtration
   • Coagulation, Flocculation
   • Disinfection
   • Membrane-based processes for potable water production (lecture 4h)

• Practical case-study: sizing of emergency water treatment units (tutorial 2h)

1. Hypothesis and constraints
2. Flowchart
3. Sizing of the equipments
4. Discussion

• Water distribution networks: asset management (lecture 2h)

1. Definitions & concepts
2. Actions to be taken
3. Predictive approaches

Modeling tools for the water industry (16h: 8h lecture; 8h tutorial)

• Modeling water treatment processes: basics (lecture 4h)

1. Definitions and generalities
   • What is a model?
   • Different types of models
2. Basic modelling skills
   • Chemical kinetics
   • Hydraulics
3. Modelling methodologies
   • Systemic approach
   • CFD approach
   • Water distribution networks: generalities & modeling (lecture 4h)
4. Water distribution systems
   • Historical perspective
   • Definitions
   • Characteristics
   • Legal framework
5. Modelling water distribution systems
   • Hydraulic modelling
   • Water quality modelling
6. Setting up a new model: Data gathering, GIS data
7. Presentation of some software tools : Porteau, Epanet

• Practical case-study on water distribution modeling: coupling Epanet and a third party software (tutorial 4h)
• Practical case-study on potable water production modeling using Matlab/Simulink (tutorial 4h)

Site visits

• One of the largest nanofiltration plant worldwide: SEDIF’s water works at Méry-sur-Oise
• An Eau de Paris site

The module includes 22 hours of lectures, 10 hours of tutorials and 8 hours of site visits.

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Level required: Basic knowledge of chemical engineering and biology

Language: English

Credits ECTS: 6

Supervisor: Pierre Mandel