Cationic polymer and clay or metal oxide combinations for natural organic matter removal

The effect of adding suspended matter in the form of clay or metal oxide when a cationic polymer was employed as the primary coagulant was found to be beneficial. The solids provide both an adsorbent for natural organic matter (NOM) and a nucleating species for precipitating the NOM-polymer complex. Metal oxides in conjunction with a cationic polymer were more promising than clay, with effectiveness in the order Fe2O3 > Fe3O4 > Al2O3 > MnO2. Magnesium oxide at a much lower dose was nearly as effective as ferric oxide, but of course raised the pH level significantly. A simpler and more convenient way of having reactive solids present was to add alum to form flocs; for one of the waters studied the alum dose could be reduced by 67% by adding 1 mg/L of polymer, to give equal or better performance than alum alone at the optimum dose.