INVESTIGATION OF NATURAL FLOCCULANTS FOR USE IN WASTEWATER PURIFICATION PROCESSES

Abstract

Contaminated industrial wastewater significantly reduces the volume of drinking water. A wide range of composition and insufficient treatment of wastewater from enterprises such as the textile, chemical or metalworking industries, which often fall into water bodies, negatively affect the state of aquatic ecosystems, and that is why it is necessary to carefully select the optimal treatment method. Among the types of wastewater treatment, the coagulation-flocculation process has gained considerable popularity, which occurs due to the adhesive and adsorption properties of coagulants and flocculants, which is widely used in the purification technologies of both natural and industrial wastewater from colloidal particles, radionuclides, phosphates, dyes and suspended particles. Coagulants are able to hydrolyze in water with the formation of various coagulation structures with high adsorption and adhesion properties, flocculants, in turn, contribute to the formation of flakes, sedimentation and filtration, stabilize the cleaning process, improve quality and increase the efficiency of equipment. During the experimental work, the employees of the Department of Chemical Technology and Water Treatment established the advantages of using natural flocculants in the process of wastewater treatment using colored model solutions as an example. A study was made of the influence on the degree of purification of such characteristics as the type of flocculant (for example, chitosan and sodium alginate) and coagulant (Al2(SO4)3·18H2O, ALS, PIX-318), the optimal dose of reagents, the type of dye (direct, active, dispersed) , settling time and content of residual ions. During the research, the Jar-test method was used, the essence of which is to simulate the process of floc formation, which is typical for industrial wastewater treatment plants. The study of the composition of model water samples was carried out using the spectrophotometric analysis method.