Surface water treatment benefits from the presence of algae: Influence of algae on the coagulation behavior of polytitanium chloride

Highlights

• Emerging titanium coagulation was high-efficient for algae-laden water treatment.

• Polytitanium coagulation was capable for both algae and organic matter removal.

• Surface water purification was improved by around 30% due to algae inclusion.

• Algae functioned as flocculant aid to assist polytitanium coagulation.

• Algae could enhance charge neutralization capability of polytitanium coagulant.

Abstract

Titanium-based coagulation has proved to be effective for algae-laden micro-polluted water purification processes. However, the influence of algae inclusion in surface water treatment by titanium coagulation is barely reported. This study reports the influence of both Microcystis aeruginosa and Microcystis wesenbergii in surface water during polytitanium coagulation. Jar tests were performed to evaluate coagulation performance using both algae-free (controlled) and algae-laden water samples, and floc properties were studied using a laser diffraction particle size analyzer for online monitoring. Results show that polytitanium coagulation can be highly effective in algae separation, removing up to 98% from surface water. Additionally, the presence of algae enhanced organic matter removal by up to 30% compared to controlled water containing only organic matter. Polytitanium coagulation achieved significant removal of fluorescent organic materials and organic matter with a wide range of molecular weight distribution (693–4945 Da) even in the presence of algae species in surface water. The presence of algae cells and/or algal organic matter is likely to function as an additional coagulant or flocculation aid, assisting polytitanium coagulation through adsorption and bridging effects. Although the dominant coagulation mechanisms with polytitanium coagulant were influenced by the coagulant dosage and initial solution pH, algae species in surface water could enhance the charge neutralization capability of the polytitanium coagulant. Algae-rich flocs were also more prone to breakage with strength factors approximately 10% lower than those of algae-free flocs. Loose structure of the flocs will require careful handling of the flocs during coagulation-sedimentation-filtration processes.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

Coagulation / Polytitanium chloride / Coagulation behaviour / Algae / Floc property

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by grants from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51978311) and the Shandong Provincial Natural Science Foundation, China (No. ZR2019BEE044).

Electronic Supplementary Material

Supplementary material is available in the online version of this article at https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-020-1350-x and is accessible for authorized users.

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