There is a consensus among technicians that degritters ought to remove discrete particles which present elevated settling velocities (e.g. sand, silt, ashes, fruit seeds etc.) and that units which are able to retain particles larger than or equal to 0.2 mm remove most of the material which causes operational problems to wastewater treatment plants (WWTP). Nevertheless, there is no agreement on how to determine grit concentration in wastewater and particle size distribution of this material. This paper presents a method to determine particle size distribution of grit carried by sewage based on the use of digital image analysis techniques. The use of the proposed method demonstrated that, on average, 84% of grit mass carried by the WWTP Jardim das Flores (Rio Claro, SP, Brazil) influent was made up of particles larger than or equal to 0.2 mm.
image analysis; particle size distribution; degritters; sewage; Wastewater Treatment Plant Jardim das Flores
