Evaluation of floc strength by morphological analysis and PDA online monitoring

This paper established a method for the evaluation of floc strength by morphological analysis and PDA online monitoring. Theoretically, the binding force of a floc can be expressed as B=k(1)d(2Df/3), where k(1) is a coefficient, d is floc size and D(f) is the fractal dimension of the floc. In order to calculate the binding force under a given flocculation condition, a jar test was conducted and d and D(f) were measured by image analysis. A shear force was exerted on the grown flocs by introducing the flocculated suspension through a transparent tube where the velocity gradient value of the flow could be accurately controlled. As the tube was connected with a particle dispersion analyzer (PDA), the condition of floc breakage was online monitored and the critical condition was identified by analyzing the PDA outputs (FI curves). The binding force coefficient k(1) could thus be determined, and the binding force B which represented the floc strength was evaluated. The validity of this method was proved by a series of experiments using aluminium sulphate as coagulant for the flocculation of humic substances.