Enhanced Coagulation Research Articles

A multi-analytical approach to investigate DOM dynamics and alum dose control in enhanced coagulation process using wide-ranging surface waters

In this study, enhanced coagulation (EnC) − as a recommended water treatment process for disinfection by-product control − was investigated using jar testing, multi-analytical techniques, and a wide range of surface water sources. In addition to commonly used dissolved organic matter (DOM) concentration indices, DOM characteristics using UV–Vis spectroscopy, fluorescence EEM (fEEM) data, high-performance size exclusion chromatography (HPSEC), as well as turbidity, zeta potential and chlorophyll-a were studied. The results showed similar removal trends for the DOC, A254 and fluorescent DOM (fDOMs) signals with increasing alum dosing. Absorbance at ∼230 nm and fEEM data near Peak C in raw waters showed the highest correlations with enhanced dose. A decrease in weight-average apparent molecular weight following EnC, and a higher coagulability of DOM fractions with higher molecular weight, was noticed. The optimum zeta potential window was found to be −13 to +4 mV for EnC. Charge neutralization is suggested as the dominant mechanism for the EnC process. In addition to providing comprehensive information on the DOM dynamics during the EnC process, this study helps assess the potential of different water quality analysis techniques for EnC process monitoring and alum dose control, particularly using a field-deployable fDOM probe, offering potential for online, real-time applications.

DOC signal-based alum dose control for drinking water treatment plants

This paper describes a model, based on dissolved organic carbon (DOC) input data, developed for prediction of alum dosage for targeted removal of DOC from raw surface waters. DOC, UV absorbance at 254 nm/cm (A254), colour and turbidity data were acquired for raw and treated water samples. The results show that for 17 samples jar tested, only ~57 % ± 13 % (mean ± SD) of the DOC content was coagulable. For the range of samples studied, it was found that 85 % (±8 %) removal of coagulable DOC fraction was achieved at enhanced coagulation (EnC) based on ΔDOC/ΔAlum = −0.015 mg/mg. The 85 % value was then used as a basis to develop an alum dose prediction model for application over the wide range of water qualities of the samples studied. The model outputs were compared with EnC doses (EnD) obtained through jar testing, as well as predicted EnD values obtained through mEnCo© software, that uses input data of A254 and colour. Trials of the model predictions were conducted for five drinking water treatment plants (DWTPs) over a four-month period. The results show the potential of the model for alum dose predictions with correlation coefficients of predicted alum doses versus 1) actual alum doses and 2) estimated EnD from the mEnCo© software ranging from 0.72 to 0.98 and 0.92 to 0.99, respectively. It is suggested that the DOC model has potential to be deployed for online feedforward alum dose control.

Efficiencies and mechanism of enhanced coagulation pre-treatment on domestic sewage with PAC-HCA compound.

Poly dimethyl diallyl propyl ammonium chloride (HCA) and poly aluminum chloride (PAC) were used to prepare complex coagulants for the enhanced coagulation (EC) pretreatment of domestic sewage. The influences of hydraulic conditions, the dosage ratio of PAC-HCA complex coagulants, initial pH value, and dosage on the removal efficiency of SS, COD, and TP in domestic sewage were investigated. The fractal dimension and Zeta potential were used to verify and characterize the experimental results. The results showed that the optimum coagulant conditions were as follows: G1 = 200.0-265.0 s-1, T1 = 1.5 min, G2 = 40.0 s-1, T2 = 5 min, PAC: HCA = 25:1, dosage = 15 mL/L, pH = 8. At the mentioned point, the removal rates of SS, COD, and TP are 98.74%, 44.63%, and 89.85%, respectively. In addition, through comparative tests, PAC-HCA compound coagulants show better treatment efficiency than PAC and HCA used alone. When the HCA dosage was 15 mg/L, Zeta potential and flocs fractal dimension was 2.29 mv and 0.9844, respectively. This indicates that PAC-HCA has a good treatment effect on domestic sewage, and the mechanism of enhanced coagulation to remove nutrients is mainly electrical neutralization.

Effect of backwashing biologically activated carbon on coagulability of organics in surface water

This study shows if biologically activated carbon (BAC) is backwashed at the correct frequency, a number of benefits can be derived in addition to aiding the subsequent coagulation process. Previous studies have shown that the BAC improves the removal of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) by subsequent coagulation by decreasing non-coagulable dissolved organic carbon (NC-DOC). However, the actual mechanism of such observation or optimising strategies of NC-DOC removal is unknown. The impact of backwashing on BAC reactor performance in terms of NC-DOC removal and microbial community structure was investigated. A laboratory scale BAC column was operated for more than five months with backwashing at once every five days, but in one cycle it was operated without backwashing for 14 days and the effluent collected at different times from the last backwash was subjected to enhanced coagulation (EC). All the effluent of BAC collected at different days depicted better floc forming characteristics than the feed water which is raw surface water. The effluent collected on day three from the last backwash (BAC-3d) contained the least amount (1.64 mg/L) of NC-DOC despite the highest DOC (3.89 mg/L) of all effluents. The coagulant requirement (5 mg-Fe3+/mg-DOC) was minimal for BAC-3d effluent among raw water and all other BAC effluent water samples. This is remarkable given the raw water contained 2.76 mg/L of NC-DOC. The microbial community on BAC granules on day three contained a higher abundance of biodegradable organic matter (BOM) removing microorganisms and low abundance of opportunistic pathogens. Similar performance in terms of DOC removal with the backwash was also observed in the continuous operation of other BAC columns. Possible backwash frequency that optimises the BAC/EC and derives many other benefits is proposed. The BAC/EC combination could help solve many emerging issues cost-effectively hence, needs further investigation.

Potential of biologically activated carbon to improve chlorine stability from biodegradation in surface waters

We report that biological activated carbon (BAC) has the significant potential to improve chlorine stability in the drinking water and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) is not a good indicator of chlorine stability. The BAC followed by enhanced coagulation (EC) could be beneficial for improving chlorine stability. BAC granules obtained from an aged (>26,000-bed volume over a year) BAC column was incubated in the same surface water. The prolonged (58 days) incubation achieved a DOC removal (up to 47%) and improvement of chlorine stability (up to 93% of chlorine reactive agents) with time. Surprisingly, a smaller initial biological removal in DOC (12% or 0.61 mg/L) by BAC substantially improved chlorine stability (64% of chlorine reactive agents), but a further improvement per mg-DOC removal is small. BAC process removes non-coagulable compounds that are chlorine reactive, but at the same time increases the coagulable compounds that are chlorine reactive, implying coagulation after BAC (BAC/EC) is beneficial in stabilising the chlorine and DOC removal. Over the incubation period, a shift in the microbial community is less significant except for the abundance of Nitrospira increasing with the removal in biodegradable organic carbon. BAC treatment followed by coagulation is a good strategy, but the evaluation should be based on chlorine stability and disinfection by-products (DBPs) formation rather than the DOC.

Coagulation Process for Removing Algae and Algal Organic Matter—An Overview

In drinking water sources, seasonal algal blooms have augmented greatly dur-ing the last decades following the elevated temperature and nutrient loading in surface water because of agricultural and surface runoff. More than 95% of algal cells may be retained via coagulation/flocculation techniques. Nevertheless, algal organic matter (AOM) stays not eliminated well throughout coagulation, therefore it provokes many working dares in potable water treatment. This work aims to discuss the performance of coagulation on AOM reduction. The main pathway of algae and AOM reduction stays charge neutralization (CN) at an optimum pH of about 6.0. More research has to follow the reduction of low-molecular weight AOM, reluctant to coagulate, with additional treatment methods to diminish its negative influence on water safety. As dissolved microcystins (MCs) are efficaciously eliminated via CN, enhanced coagulation (EC) would be more suitable for their elimination. On the other hand, some precautions must be followed to guarantee that the acid injection has not a secondary impact in the form of algaecide treatment to avert the dissolved MCs concentration augmentation. Consequently, both algae and dissolved MCs may be efficiently removed by EC when appropriate rapid mixing and acid/coagulant dosage are guaranteed.

Comparing three Australian natural organic matter isolates to the Suwannee river standard: Reactivity, disinfection by-product yield, and removal by drinking water treatments

Water treatments that provide efficient removal of organic and inorganic disinfection by-product (DBP) precursors across variable natural organic matter (NOM) sources are desirable. Treatments that effectively remove inorganic DBP precursors such as bromide, which significantly shift the speciation of DBP formation towards more toxic DBPs, are of particular interest and have been less investigated.This study characterised NOM isolated from three major drinking water sources in Southeast Queensland (SEQ), Australia, and compared it to the International Humic Substances Society (IHSS) Suwannee River NOM isolate (SR) in terms of DBP precursor removal treatments and DBP formation. Each NOM isolate was used to make synthetic water samples with otherwise identical water quality parameters, that were treated with enhanced coagulation (EC) or EC followed by; anion exchange (MIEX® resin), powdered activated carbon (PAC), granular activated carbon (GAC) or silver impregnated activated carbon (SIAC), to investigate the removal of DBP precursors (bromide and DOC), minimisation of DBPs, as well as the change in specific chlorine demand. EC/SIAC treatment was the most effective method of DBP control studied, due to the efficient simultaneous NOM and bromide adsorption of the SIAC (99 ± 1% bromide removal regardless of NOM source). This treatment also resulted in >92% removal of each of the measured DBPs across all NOM sources, with the exception of DBAN and 1,1-DCP, which achieved >80% removal across all NOM sources. Increases in tribromomethane (TBM) and dibromoacetonitrile (DBAN) formation were observed after all other treatment/NOM-isolate combinations, due to increased Br:DOC ratio after treatment, whereas chlorinated DBPs were generally well-controlled by all treatment/NOM-isolate combinations. Differences in reactivity of the individual NOM isolates were found to be related to both the origin of the isolate and the treatment employed, however, bromide removal capacity for each treatment was independent of NOM source.

Sustainable treatment of municipal landfill leachate by combined association of air stripping, Fenton oxidation, and enhanced coagulation.

The present world has been facing the problem of municipal solid waste disposal with the generation of highly complex and toxic landfill leachate. Thus, in this research work, treatability of landfill leachate had been investigated by the combined approach of air stripping, Fenton oxidation, and enhanced coagulation to comply with discharge standard. At the initial stage of treatment, air stripping of raw leachate was implemented which removes around 51.50% of COD, 74.60% of BOD5, and 97.60% of NH3-N within 36h of optimum retention time. Following air stripping, Fenton oxidation was applied with an optimum molar ratio of 1.9 of H2O2/Fe+2 which register a maximal removal of 67.70% of COD, 92.30% of BOD5, and 14.90% of Hg. Finally, enhanced coagulation (EC) with in situ formed Mn-Fe hydr(oxides) was employed and optimized by central composite design (CCD) of response surface methodology (RSM). Response surface plots denote an optimum condition of 0.13M ratio of Mn/Fe, 22.67mM of coagulant dose, and 7.78 of pH which corresponds to a maximum removal of 55.98% of COD and 77.68% of Hg. FTIR analysis of the precipitates of EC explained that the hydroxyl groups are primarily involved in the process of Hg removal. Moreover, EDAX spectrum also assured the removal of Hg by its existence with Mn-Fe complexes. Thus, the present line of treatment record an overall removal of 90.80% of COD, 98.0% of BOD5, 97.60% of NH3-N, and 82.68% of Hg which proves to be effective for the removal of leachate pollutants.

Conventional, Enhanced, and Alkaline Coagulation for Hard Ghrib Dam (Algeria) Water

This work aims to study coagulation process for hard Ghrib Dam (GD) water treatment. Conventional coagulation (CC), enhanced coagulation (EC) and alkaline coagulation (AC) experiments were realized on jar tests. This study demonstrated the effectiveness of GD water treatment by the EC process compared to CC. Indeed, by CC, it has been demonstrated that each of the two coagulants studied (alum and FeCl₃) is effective for remarkable reductions in OM of 36% and 47.4%, respectively. However, EC, by slightly acidifying water, gave better removal efficiencies of the studied parameters. Indeed, the best abatement of OM is about 78% when water is treated with ferric chloride at pH 5.5, lowered with nitric acid. The observed disadvantage here is the residual nitrate, which existed in the raw water at only low level. On the other hand, at the same pH, the reduction of the OM is 64% when alum is used as coagulant. In addition, the data collected have led to the conclusion that the physicochemical quality of the GD water has a high salinity and lowering its pH (EC) does not affect it at all. On the other hand, its pH elevation (AC) considerably reduces its total hardness which is 41% with NaOH. Such a performance advantageously positions this total hardness reduction technology among the possible solutions to the problems associated with total hardness.

The simultaneous removal of turbidity and humic substances from water using the enhanced coagulation process

This study aimed to investigate the efficiency of the enhanced coagulation (EC) process for the simultaneous removal of turbidity and humic substances (HS) from raw water from the Sanandaj Water Treatment Plant (SWTP). This study was conducted on a laboratory scale using a jar test device and ferric chloride (FeCL3) as the coagulant. Accordingly, the effects of pH and coagulant dosage variations on the simultaneous removal efficiency of turbidity and humic substances in the enhanced coagulation process were investigated. Furthermore, certain parameters including the total organic carbon (TOC), dissolved organic carbon (DOC), ultraviolet absorbance (UV254), and chemical oxygen demand (COD) were determined as the indices of the humic substances and turbidity in the water samples. The results of the raw water analysis showed that the mean values of TOC, DOC, UV254, COD, and turbidity parameters were 4.41 mg/L, 4.11 mg/L, 16.47 1/cm, 15 mg/L, and 4.37 NTU, respectively. Moreover, the results of the present study showed that the average efficiency of the enhanced coagulation process in the removal of TOC, DOC, UV254, COD, and turbidity was 65%, 62%, 70%, 69%, and 93%, respectively. Accordingly, the EC process using FeCL3 coagulant is a suitable, cost-effective, and highly efficient method for the simultaneous removal of turbidity and humic substances from water. Furthermore, this process can be used as an applicable method in SWTP as well as in other similar water treatment plants.

ENHANCED COAGULATION FOR ALGAE REMOVAL IN A TYPICAL ALGERIA WATER TREATMENT PLANT

This work aims to study the physicochemical and biological parameters of Boukerdene Dam s water and treated water at different steps of the treatment processes in Sidi-Amar s Station (Tipaza, Algeria) with a particular interest to the phytoplankton. This work is also related to the demonstration of the enhanced coagulation (EC) process as an efficient method in algae and organic matter (OM) removal from surface water by its application in jar tests. The diversity of the phytoplankton shows the presence of 21 genera comprising 30 algae species out of 8 samples taken from the Boukerdene Dam. Among the identified genera, seven of them are responsible for the unpleasant tastes and odours of water; six others are responsible for filter fouling. Generally, the conventional drinking water treatment processes employed at this water treatment plant shows a limited efficiency of OM and algae removal. The novelty of this work is that the jar tests of EC (pH 6 and alum dose 15 mg L-1) as only one stage of water treatment, without chlorination and filtration, improve the removal of OM and algae at 97 to 99%, respectively.

Evaluation of enhanced coagulation coupled with magnetic ion exchange (MIEX) in natural organic matter and sulfamethoxazole removals: The role of Al-based coagulant characteristic

Abstract The removals of humic acid (HA) and a kind of antibiotic compound by enhanced coagulation (EC) employing various Al-based coagulants with, and without MIEX resin pre-treatment were systematically investigated in this study. A range of techniques were used to evaluate the purification behaviors and mechanisms of the coagulation and MIEX adsorption processes. The experimental results indicated that sufficient dose of Al-based coagulants removed 60–70% of HA, while traditional Al 2 (SO 4 ) 3 (AS) coagulant with low dose of 1.0–5.0 mg/L coupled with MIEX contributed to a removal rate of 85%. For sole coagulation, Al 13 ([Al 13 O 4 (OH) 24 (H 2 O) 12 ] 7+ ) only removed 11% to 13 led to the smallest flocs, while the adsorption and sweep mechanisms in AS and PACl coagulation processes resulted in larger aggregates. Besides, the pretreatment of MIEX could evidently decrease the floc sizes for all the coagulants.

Comparing a silver-impregnated activated carbon with an unmodified activated carbon for disinfection by-product minimisation and precursor removal

During disinfection, bromide, iodide and natural organic matter (NOM) in source waters can lead to the formation of brominated and/or iodinated disinfection by-products (DBPs), which are often more toxic than their chlorinated analogues. The objective of this study was to compare the efficiency of a silver-impregnated activated carbon (SIAC) with the equivalent unimpregnated granular activated carbon (GAC) for the removal of bromide, iodide and NOM from a matrix of synthetic waters with variable NOM, halide, and alkalinity concentrations, and to investigate the impact on DBP formation. An enhanced coagulation (EC) pre-treatment was employed prior to sample exposure to either carbon adsorbent. Excellent halide removals were observed by the SIAC treatment across the sample matrix, with iodide concentrations consistently reduced to below the method reporting limit (<2μg/L) from as high as 25μg/L, and 95±4% removal of bromide achieved. Bromide removal by unimpregnated GAC was poor, however iodide removal was comparable to that achieved by SIAC. The combination of EC with SIAC treatment removed 77±8% of the dissolved organic carbon (DOC) present, across the sample matrix, which was similar to removals by EC/GAC (67±14%). Combined EC/SIAC treatment reduced both total trihalomethanes (tTHMs) and total dihaloacetonitriles (tDHANs) formation by 97±3%, while also achieving a greater than 74% removal of two chloropropanones and a 92±8% decrease in chloral hydrate (CH), compared to untreated samples, regardless of the sample's starting water quality (bromide, alkalinity and NOM concentration). Combined EC/GAC treatment led to similar DBP removals to EC/SIAC for the fully chlorinated DBPs, however, brominated DBPs were less efficiently removed, or experienced concentration increases.

Review of Coagulation’s Rapid Mixing for NOM Removal

This review focuses on rapid mixing in the coagulation process for improved natural organic matter (NOM) removal in water treatment. Rapid mixing aims to instantly and efficiently disperse coagulant species into raw water, before flocculation, sedimentation, and filtration processes. Mechanical mixing with a longer retention time cannot guarantee an instantaneous and uniform coagulant dispersion. For this reason, the so-called pump diffusion mixer (PDM) has been proposed. Using various rapid mixing devices to test the sedimentation performance, it is showed that in-line hydraulic jet and static mixers are able to achieve performance equivalent to that of the mechanical mixing type at a lower coagulant dosage. On the other hand, the removal of NOM as disinfection by-products (DBPs) precursor by chemical coagulation (CC) has been extensively studied. It is well reported that enhanced coagulation (EC) by adjusting the pH downwards to 4-5 prior to coagulant addition will encourage the formation of soluble NOM–Al complex from low-turbidity waters. In case of most waters, therefore, acid must be added to maintain the desired coagulation pH for EC, and excess coagulant is required to improve the removal of NOM. However, CC using in-line hydraulic jet mixer such as PDM is a reasonable method for the improvement of coagulation process compared to EC, since it is possible to obtain good removals of NOM as well as turbidity using a lower dosages of coagulant without supplementary addition of chemicals for pH control and thus producing a smaller volume of waste solids.

Enhanced coagulation with powdered activated carbon or MIEX® secondary treatment: A comparison of disinfection by-product formation and precursor removal

The removal of both organic and inorganic disinfection by-product (DBP) precursors prior to disinfection is important in mitigating DBP formation, with halide removal being particularly important in salinity-impacted water sources. A matrix of waters of variable alkalinity, halide concentration and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentration were treated with enhanced coagulation (EC) followed by anion exchange (MIEX® resin) or powdered activated carbon (PAC) and the subsequent disinfection by-product formation potentials (DBP-FPs) assessed and compared to DBP-FPs for untreated samples. Halide and DOC removal were also monitored for both treatment processes. Bromide and iodide adsorption by MIEX® treatment ranged from 0 to 53% and 4–78%, respectively. As expected, EC and PAC treatments did not remove halides. DOC removal by EC/PAC was 70 ± 10%, while EC/MIEX® enabled a DOC removal of 66 ± 12%. Despite the halide removals achieved by MIEX®, increases in brominated disinfection by-product (Br-DBP) formation were observed relative to untreated samples, when favourable Br:DOC ratios were created by the treatment. However, the increases in formation were less than what was observed for the EC/PAC treated waters, which caused large increases in Br-DBP formation when high Br-DBP-forming water quality conditions occurred. The formation potential of fully chlorinated DBPs decreased after treatment in all cases.

Trihalomethanes in public drinking water and stillbirth and low birth weight rates: an intervention study

During 2003–2004, United Utilities water company in North West England introduced enhanced coagulation (EC) to four treatment works to mitigate disinfection by-product (DBP) formation. This enabled examination of the relation between DBPs and birth outcomes whilst reducing socioeconomic confounding. We compared stillbirth, and low and very low birth weight rates three years before (2000–2002) with three years after (2005–2007) the intervention, and in relation to categories of THM change.We created exposure metrics for EC and trihalomethane (THM) concentration change (n=258 water zones). We linked 429,599 live births and 2279 stillbirths from national birth registers to the water zone at birth. We used Poisson regression to model the differences in birth outcome rates with an interaction between before/after the intervention and EC or THM change.EC treatment reduced chloroform concentrations more than non-treatment (mean -29.7µg/l vs. -14.5µg/l), but not brominated THM concentrations. Only 6% of EC water zones received 100% EC water, creating exposure misclassification concerns. EC intervention was not associated with a statistically significant reduction in birth outcome rates. Areas with the highest chloroform decrease (30 – 65μg/l) had the greatest percentage decrease in low -9 % (-12, -5) and very low birth weight -16% (-24, -8) rates. The interaction between before/after intervention and chloroform change was statistically significant only for very low birth weight, p=0.02. There were no significant decreases in stillbirth rates.In a novel approach for studying DBPs and adverse reproductive outcomes, the EC intervention to reduce DBPs did not affect birth outcome rates. However, a measured large decrease in chloroform concentrations was associated with statistically significant reductions in very low birth weight rates.

Treatability of South African surface waters by enhanced coagulation

The majority of South African inland surface water sources are compromised due to a long-standing national policy of mandatory return flows. With renewed emphasis on the removal of organic carbon in the latest SANS 241 water quality standard, many South African water treatment managers may need to consider adoption of enhanced coagulation (EC) in the near future to achieve both turbidity and NOM removal. From the study of 4 South African inland waters, this paper demonstrates that UV254 absorbance provides a more accessible, reliable and rapid way of monitoring NOM at treatment plant level. This report also provides a detailed procedure for determining the dosages for EC in terms of UV254 absorbance at jar test level. Using ferric chloride as coagulant, a correlation was established to estimate the coagulant dosage for any desired level of UV254 absorbance removal. This correlation enables a preliminary assessment of EC as a means of planned NOM removal. Should EC promise to be a candidate process for NOM removal, it should be verified at jar test level using the proposed procedure.Keywords: Natural organic matter, enhanced coagulation, ferric chloride, jar test, UV absorbance, modelling

The response of typical South African raw waters to enhanced coagulation

Drinking water treatment plants in South Africa rely almost entirely on surface water sources, which are often compromised due to high return flows and indirect reuse. The typical treatment plants focus on the removal of physical and microbial contaminants which include turbidity, colour, chemical compounds and microorganisms. A relatively new concern to this list is natural organic matter (NOM) which has become a major concern in potable water treatment due to its recent regulation. In this study, eight different raw water samples from the various water types found in the country were seasonally collected and treated for the removal UV absorbance at a wavelength of 254 nm (UV254) using enhanced coagulation (EC). The efficacy of EC, which can be employed as a practical technology in the removal of both turbidity and NOM, was evaluated in remaining UV254 from these raw water sources. Jar tests were conducted, with ferric chloride used as the coagulant (due to its extensive use as a coagulant in the water treatment industry in South Africa) and specific pH values (initial water pH, 7.0, 6.0, 5.5, 5.0 and 4.5) were chosen as target values guiding the six different coagulant dosages for the jar tests. The pH of the low-alkalinity (&amp;lt;60 mg/L CaCO3) raw waters were adjusted and raised by the addition of sodium carbonate. The response parameters of the tests were turbidity (NTU), pH and UV254. Algorithms for finding the optimum coagulant dosage for UV254 removal were developed and consistently applied to all the results. Results showed large variations in the nature of NOM across the country from specific ultraviolet absorbance values. From the UV254 values, the concentrations of NOM also varied greatly geographically than temporally. The general trend observed in the EC results suggested that the pH should always be dropped to between 4.5 and 7.0 to lower the amounts of UV254 and turbidity to reasonable levels.

낙동강 원수를 대상으로 Al염계 및 Fe염계 응집제를 이용한 고도응집의 적용

Enhanced coagulation is best available technologies to treat NOM in water to produce clean drinking water. In this research, the comparison experiments between conventional coagulation (CC) and enhanced coagulation (EC) using 4 type coa- gulants i.e., ferric chloride, aluminium sulphate (alum), poly aluminium sulphate organic magnesium (PSOM) and poly aluminium chloride (PACl) were performed in terms of surrogate parameters such as dissolved organic carbon (DOC), trihalomethane formation potential (THMFP), haloacetic acid formation potential (HAAFP) and zeta potential variation in order to find out the most effective coagulant and conditions to fit Nakdong River water. When applied to EC process, the turbidity removal efficiency did not increased gradually compared to the CC process when adding coagulants. Furthermore, the removal efficiency of turbidity became decreased much more as coagulants were added increasingly whereas the removal efficiency of DOC, THMFP and HAAFP became increased by 13~18%, 9~18% and 9~18% respectively compared to the CC process. The characteristics of turbidity removal showed relatively high removal efficiency considering the pH variation in entire pH range when using FeCl3 and PACl. Additionally, in case of alum and PSOM steady removal efficiency was shown between pH 5 and pH 8. In terms of DOC surrogate the coagulants including 4 type coagulants indicated high removal efficiency between pH 5 and pH 7. The removal efficiency of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in EC between less than 1 kDa and more than 10 kDa augmented by 11~21% and 16% respectively compared to the CC process. The removal efficiency of hydrophobic and hydrophilic organic matter proved to be increased by 27~38% and 11~15% respectively. In conclusion, the most effective coagulant relating to EC for Nakdong River water was proved to be FeCl3 followed by PSOM, PAC and alum in order.

Feasibility of humic substances removal by enhanced coagulation process in surface water

Aims: This study evaluates the effectiveness of polyaluminium chloride (PACl)as a coagulant for enhanced coagulation (EC) of humic substances (HS) in surface water. Materials and Methods: Dissolved organic carbon (DOC), ultraviolet absorbance (UV 254 ), specific ultraviolet absorbance (SUVA), and humic acid (HA) were determined as the HS indices. HS was extracted by Amberlit XAD-7HP from water and HA was analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The HS index was determined in raw water and after clarification and filtration in all seasons. The efficiency of PACl for removal of HS, both in the jar test and pilot scale were determined. Results: The average extraction efficiency for XAD-7HP was 77%, and the HA concentration was determined in all seasons ranging from 0.15 to 0.29 mg/ L in raw water. The DOC in raw water was in the range of 1.5 to 4mg/L, in all seasons. The average removal efficiency of PACl for EC was 52% for HA in the pilot scale. Also the average removal efficiencies of PACl EC for DOC and UV 254 were 43 and 57% on the pilot scale and 38 and 41% in the jar test, respectively. The optimum pH for removal of HS was 7.5 ± 0.2 and the optimum PACl dose was 12 ± 0.5 mg/L. Conclusions: After EC, the aluminum concentration was lower than the maximum concentration level (MCL) of aluminum in drinking water ( 8.5 was very poor for the HS index and turbidity.