Dewatering of alumino-humic sludge: impacts of hydroxide

Solidification effect of river bottom sediments after flocculation via different composite flocculants

The main problem in the reduction of river bottom sediments is to solve the dewatering of the rive sediments. The reduction of river bottom sediments is usually dehydrated by natural air drying and requires more time and economic costs. Different proportions of composite flocculants and curing agents have been developed to the reduction of river bottom sediments according to the requirements of the project. Two or more flocculants were mixed with the rive sediments. Therefore, anionic polyacrylamide (PAM), polyaluminum chloride (PAC), polysilicate aluminum ferric (PSAF), and iron perchloride (IC) were selected for flocculation of river sediments. Through the sedimentation column test, the relationship between sedimentation amount and time was plotted, the turbidity value and pH value of the supernatant filtration supernatant were detected, and the flocculation effect of different flocculants was evaluated to obtain suitable groups of composite flocculants. The optimum ratio of two types of polyacrylamide with a molecular weight of 18 million and 23 million was 3:7. The turbidity of the supernatant of water could well be reduced by adding polysilicate aluminum ferric. Finally, the 6 groups of composite flocculants were determined according to the sedimentation and the turbidity value of the supernatant. The relative water content was maintained at about 60% before and after flocculation. At the same curing age, the compressive strength increased as the amount of curing agent increased after flocculation. At the same curing agent dosage, the overall solidification effect was reduced with increase of curing time after flocculation.

Effect of conditioning by PAM polymers with different charges on the structural and characteristic evolutions of water treatment residuals

Three types of polyacrylamide (PAM) flocculants with different charges (cationic PAM WD4960, nonionic PAM M351, and anionic PAM WDA110) were used for water treatment residuals (WTRs) conditioning, and the physicochemical, morphological and structural characteristics of raw and conditioned WTRs were investigated. Rheological methods were employed to analyze the internal structural transition between the raw and conditioned WTRs under a typical dosage of WD4960. Results showed that when the raw WTRs were conditioned with the polymers, the optimum dosage of WD4960 was 4.82 g/kg total suspended solid (TSS) while that of both M351 and WDA110 was 7.24 g/kg TSS. The residual PAM content in the supernatant of the WTR matrix conditioned at the optimum WD4960 dosage was 5.59 mg/L, which is the least among the supernatants obtained with the three types of PAM. Furthermore, the visible fulvic acid (FA) in the supernatant disappeared and the intensity of the ultraviolet FA decreased. The average diameter of irregularly shaped aggregates in the WTR suspensions increased from 35.73 μm to several hundred micrometers with increasing PAM dosage. The size of WTR aggregates conditioned at the optimum WD4960 dosage was much larger than that of aggregates obtained at the optimum M351 or WDA110 dosages. Two-dimensional fractal dimension (D2) values presented an increasing trend with increasing PAM dosage. D2 values of the conditioned WTR aggregates were 1.87, 1.76, and 1.83 at optimum WD4960, M351, and WDA110 dosages, respectively. The cationic PAM (CPAM) WD4960 thus appears to be a more ideal conditioner for WTRs. Consistent relationships were observed among the capillary suction time (CST), average particle size, and D2 values of the conditioned WTR aggregates at the optimum WD4960 dosage. Mass fractal dimensions (D(f)) indicated that both the raw and WD4960-conditioned WTRs behave like weak-link flocs/aggregates. D(f) values (log G'-log TSS) of the WTR aggregates before and after conditioning with the optimum WD4960 dosage were 2.79 and 2.81, respectively. Although the transition from an alum/ferric hydrogel to a cross-linked gel occurred during the WD4960-conditioning process, only a small amount of the alum/ferric hydrogel was destroyed, and the conditioned WTR aggregates showed a gel-like matrix in which residual alum-ferric hydrogels were embedded in cross-linked WD4960 molecules.

Rheological and fractal characteristics of unconditioned and conditioned water treatment residuals

The rheological and fractal characteristics of raw (unconditioned) and conditioned water treatment residuals (WTRs) were investigated in this study. Variations in morphology, size, and image fractal dimensions of the flocs/aggregates in these WTR systems with increasing polymer doses were analyzed. The results showed that when the raw WTRs were conditioned with the polymer CZ8688, the optimum polymer dosage was observed at 24 kg/ton dry sludge. The average diameter of irregularly shaped flocs/aggregates in the WTR suspensions increased from 42.54 μm to several hundred micrometers with increasing polymer doses. Furthermore, the aggregates in the conditioned WTR system displayed boundary/surface and mass fractals. At the optimum polymer dosage, the aggregates formed had a volumetric average diameter of about 820.7 μm, with a one-dimensional fractal dimension of 1.01 and a mass fractal dimension of 2.74 on the basis of the image analysis. Rheological tests indicated that the conditioned WTRs at the optimum polymer dosage showed higher levels of shear-thinning behavior than the raw WTRs. Variations in the limiting viscosity (η(∞)) of conditioned WTRs with sludge content could be described by a linear equation, which were different from the often-observed empirical exponential relationship for most municipal sludge. With increasing temperature, the η(∞) of the raw WTRs decreased more rapidly than that of the raw WTRs. Good fitting results for the relationships between lgη(∞)∼T using the Arrhenius equation indicate that the WTRs had a much higher activation energy for viscosity of about 17.86-26.91 J/mol compared with that of anaerobic granular sludge (2.51 J/mol) (Mu and Yu, 2006). In addition, the Bingham plastic model adequately described the rheological behavior of the conditioned WTRs, whereas the rheology of the raw WTRs fit the Herschel-Bulkley model well at only certain sludge contents. Considering the good power-law relationships between the limiting viscosity and sludge content of the conditioned WTRs, their mass fractal dimensions were calculated through the models proposed by Shih et al. (1990), which were 2.48 for these conditioned WTR aggregates. The results demonstrate that conditioned WTRs behave like weak-link flocs/aggregates.

Isolation and molecular identification of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) producing bacterial strains for sludge settling and dewatering

One of the major problems in overall wastewater treatment process is sludge settling and dewatering. In general, sludge settling and dewatering is carried out using conventional physico-chemical methods that are known to be expensive, and these processes further increase the sludge volume and ultimate disposal costs. To overcome this problem, a suitable alternative could be the use of bioflocculants for sludge settling and dewatering. To achieve bioflocculation, extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) producing bacterial strains were isolated from the complex microbial community of wastewater sludge. Crude EPS produced in the form of bacterial broth was used to test kaolin flocculation activity. Three out of 10 bacterial strains (B2, B8 and B9) were pre-selected for sludge settling. Based on sludge settling and dewatering results, B8 possessed better flocculating property than other bacterial strains. These sludge microorganisms were identified based on their 16S rDNA sequences and bacterial strain B8 was identified as Serratia sps.

How the natural organic matter to coagulant ratio impacts on floc structural properties

Periods of elevated natural organic matter (NOM) loadings at water treatment works (WTW) can lead to operational problems as a result of deterioration in floc structural quality. This study used a range of diagnostic tools to evaluate floc structure with increasing organic fraction in the floc. It was observed that when the organic fraction in the floc went significantly over a mass ratio of 1 mg of DOC to 1 mg of Fe (coagulant), the floc size, settling velocity, fractal dimension, and strength were seen to decrease even when the NOM removed during coagulation remained high. A model was proposed to explain these changes that was dependent upon the adsorption of NOM on primary particle surfaces. The operational significance of these results suggests that for the coagulant under investigation the correct coagulant dose must be applied to give good floc structure.