Determining Microflocculation Effect
William Becker and Charles O'Melia from Johns Hopkins University conducted research to define the parameters whereby ozone would create the microflocculation effect in water. Dr. Wesley L. Bradford applied this research to mixed oxidant technology and determined that the same parameters for ozone applied to mixed oxidants. When this effect can be applied, utilities have seen significant improvement in clarifier operation. In particular, improvements include much faster and more effective floc formation, improved clarifier turbidity, reduced consumption of alum and polymer, better organic precursor removal resulting in lower TTHMs, extended filter run times, reduced sludge handling, and other beneficial effects.
The key parameters are raw water calcium content, dissolved organic carbon (DOC), and turbidity. Once you have obtained the annual high, low, and average vales for these parameters of your raw water, enter them in the appropriate fields in the table below and then click the Determine The Effect button to see if MOS-induced microflocculation might occur in your water.
	High	Average	Low
Calcium (1):				mg/L
DOC (2):				mg/L
Turbidity:				NTU
1. Calcium can be estimated by multiplying total hardness by 0.4 2. TOC can be used in place of DOC
	Calculated Ratios
	High	Average	Low
Calcium/DOC:
Turbidity/DOC:
Parameters:
· Calcium/DOC must be greater than 10 under all · If Turbidity is less than 2, turbidity/DOC must be greater than 0.5 · If Turbidity is between 2 and 10, turbidity/DOC must be greater than 1.3 · If Turbidity is greater than 10, turbidity/DOC must be greater than 2
	Will the Effect work in your water?
	High	Average	Low
Calcium/DOC in range?
Turbidity/DOC in range?				For turbidity less than 2
Turbidity/DOC in range?				For turbidity between 2 and 10
Turbidity/DOC in range?				For turbidity greater than 10
Interpretation of Results:
· Microflocculation is expected to occur in a treatment process with MOS preoxidation if both the Calcium/DOC and Turbidity/DOC ratios are in the expected window. · For all waters and scenarios, the Calcium/DOC ratio should be greater than 10. To verify that this is the case, check the boxes in the Calcium/DOC row to see if the answer is Yes or No. If a Yes is present, than the water fits the microflocculation criteria for this parameter. · Similarly, the Turbidity/DOC boxes must also read  boxes must also read Yes for an expected microflocculation effect to occur. Be sure to check the row that is appropriate for your raw turbidity level (first row is for raw turbidity of less than 2, second row is for raw turbidity of between 2 and 10, and the third row is for turbidity of greater than 10). · Turbidity:DOC ratio windows are dependent on the turbidity of the raw water: o For a raw turbidity less than 2, the turbidity/DOC ratio must be greater than 0.5 o For a raw turbidity between 2 and 10, the turbidity/DOC ratio must be greater than 1.3 o For a raw turbidity greater than 10, the turbidity/DOC ratio must be greater than 2 · It should be noted that these results from this calculator are merely first level indicators of a microflocculation effect. We have often seen waters that do not strictly meet these criteria still exhibit microflocculation. The best way to determine if microflocculation will occur in your water with MOS used as a preoxidizer is to run an onsite jar test with your water and current process chemicals. In addition to determining if the effect will occur in your water, these tests can also provide a rough idea of coagulant and polymer savings your plant would experience if the process is implemented in the treatment train. If you are interested in running such a test, please contact MIOX’s Regional Sales Manager for your area.
Notes to Calculator:
· MIOX Corporation DOES NOT offer this calculator as a process guarantee in design and construct of your application. · MIOX Corporation only offers this calculator to determine if your application might have the microflocculation effect. Further studies, lab and field, of your raw water data as well as your existing process MUST be evaluated before a process guarantee is issued by MIOX Corporation.