Study on the mechanism of hydrodynamic manipulation of floc structure to achieve high-flux of coagulation macro-filtration for the rapid removal of Aphanizomenonflos-aquae

Abstract

Coagulation-filtration hybrid process has been widely used in algae removal treatment to improve the water quality and alleviate the membrane fouling. However, the intricate interplay of how floc structure induced by coagulation hydraulic shear influences the cake layer and filtration performance in coagulation macro-filtration of microalgae remains unexplored. In this study, a novel coagulation filtration with macro-pore of 75 μm was first adopted for the rapid removal of Aphanizomenonflos-aquae, and the floc structure was artificially manipulated through various velocity gradients to explore the effect mechanism of the coagulation hydrodynamic shear on the macro-filtration performance from the perspectives of floc characteristics (size and fractal dimension) and cake layer structure (thickness and roughness). The results showed that an optimal average flux of 31257.64 ± 2776.28 L·m−2·h−1 can be achieved at a manipulated appropriate velocity gradient (19 s−1), which is 1.1–2.3 times the flux achieved at higher or non-velocity gradients. The flocs formed at low velocity gradient were large and loose, while those formed at high velocity gradient were small and compact. Subsequently, the cake layer stacked by loose flocs was thicker and coarser than that by compact flocs, and exhibited a lower specific cake resistance, yielding a higher average flux. Moreover, a theoretical model for average flux was developed by introducing the velocity gradient, which directly elucidates how hydrodynamic shear affects floc characteristic, cake structure and filtration flux for the coagulation macro-filtration of Aphanizomenonflos-aquae. This study lays a theoretical foundation for the optimization of coagulation macro-filtration performance of microalgae and provides a new solution for the large flux removal of cyanobacteria by artificially regulating the coagulation hydrodynamic shear.