[Coagulation characteristics of different Al species on humic acid removal from water]

Polyaluminum chloride PAC-Al13 with high Al13 content and PAC-Al30 with high Al30 content were prepared. Coagulation behaviors of PAC-Al30, PAC-Al13 and AlCl3 for humic acid removal from water were compared by jar-test. The floc growth, the charge neutralization capacity, the effect of pH and coagulant dosage on coagulation efficiency were investigated, and the residual aluminium in the purified water was considered. The results show that the order of the floc formation capacity is PAC-Al30 > PAC-Al13 > AlCl3. PAC-Al30 and PAC-Al13 have a broader effective pH range of 5.0-8.0, compared with AlCl3. The difference of charge neutralization capacity between PAC-Al30 and PAC-Al13 is not significant, but PAC-Al30 performs a more effective coagulation at low coagulant dosages because of its stronger adsorption and bridging, and PAC-Al30 has a broader effective dosage range of 0.08-0.64 mmol/L, compared with AlCl3 and PAC-Al13. The humic acid removal reaches 98.5% at a pH of 7.0 and a PAC-Al30 dosage of 0.16 mmol/L for the sample water with a humic acid content of 10 mg/L; and the residual aluminum in the purified water is 0.066 mg/L. The results verify that Al30 is another highly efficient coagulation/flocculation species for humic acid removal.