Abstract
The effect of floc strength on the dewatering efficiency of alum sludge is studied in this work. Addition of polymer strengthens the floc structure of the sludge, which reduces floc breakage and sludge dewaterability. The result of vacuum filtration suggests that a confined floc strength growth benefits the filterability, although the strongest floc structure does not guarantee maximal dewatering efficiency. For centrifugal dewatering, increasing floc strength can not reduce the moisture content of the sludge cake when the centrifugal G value is under 7000. At high G, a strong floc structure is necessary to reduce cake blinding from floc deformation, and the lowest moisture content is found in sludge cake with the highest floc strength. Therefor, floc strength should be included with other traditional dewaterability indices in determining sludge dewatering. Centrifugation is suggested for the dewatering of sludge with high floc strength, and vacuum filtration for middle floc strength.
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