Comparison of a novel polytitanium chloride coagulant with polyaluminium chloride: coagulation performance and floc characteristics

Y X Zhao; S Phuntsho; B Y Gao; Y Z Yang; J-H Kim; H K Shon

doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2014.09.023

Comparison of a novel polytitanium chloride coagulant with polyaluminium chloride: coagulation performance and floc characteristics

J Environ Manage. 2015 Jan 1:147:194-202. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2014.09.023. Epub 2014 Oct 4.

Authors

Y X Zhao¹, S Phuntsho², B Y Gao³, Y Z Yang⁴, J-H Kim⁵, H K Shon⁶

Affiliations

¹ Shandong Key Laboratory of Water Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shandong University, No. 27 Shanda South Road, Jinan 250100, China.
² Centre for Technology in Water and Wastewater, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Technology, Sydney (UTS), P.O. Box 123, Broadway, NSW 2007, Australia.
³ Shandong Key Laboratory of Water Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shandong University, No. 27 Shanda South Road, Jinan 250100, China. Electronic address: baoyugao_sdu@aliyun.com.
⁴ Key Laboratory for Special Functional Aggregated Materials of Education Ministry, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Shandong University, Jinan 250100, China.
⁵ School of Applied Chemical Engineering & The Institute for Catalysis Research, Chonnam National University, Gwangju 500-757, South Korea.
⁶ Centre for Technology in Water and Wastewater, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Technology, Sydney (UTS), P.O. Box 123, Broadway, NSW 2007, Australia. Electronic address: Hokyong.Shon-1@uts.edu.au.

PMID: 25291677
DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2014.09.023

Abstract

Polymerized inorganic coagulants are increasingly being used in the water supply and wastewater treatment process, yet there is limited research on the development of polytitanium coagulants. The aim of this study is to synthesize polytitanium chloride (PTC) coagulants and investigate their coagulation behavior and floc characteristics for humic acid removal in comparison to polyaluminum chloride (PAC). The PTC samples with different B (molar ratios of OH/Ti) values were prepared using an instantaneous base-feeding method, employing sodium carbonate as the basification agent. The coagulation efficiency was significantly influenced by different B values. The results suggest that the humic acid removal increased with the increasing B value for PAC, while the inverse trend was observed for PTC. The optimum B value was chosen at 1.0 and 2.0 for PTC and PAC, respectively. Under the optimum coagulant dose and initial solution pH conditions, the PTC coagulant performed better than the PAC coagulant and the floc properties were significantly improved in terms of floc growth rate and floc size. However, the PAC coagulants produced flocs with better floc recoverability than the PTC coagulants.

Keywords: Coagulation and flocculation; Floc characterization; Polyaluminium chloride; Polytitanium chloride.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Alkalies
Aluminum Hydroxide / chemistry*
Chemical Precipitation*
Chlorides / chemistry*
Flocculation
Humic Substances
Polymers / chemistry*
Solutions
Titanium / chemistry*
Water Pollutants, Chemical / chemistry*
Water Purification / methods

Substances

Alkalies
Chlorides
Humic Substances
Polymers
Solutions
Water Pollutants, Chemical
aluminum oxychloride
Aluminum Hydroxide
Titanium