Abstract
Humic acid (HA) removal from water with inorganic polyaluminum coagulants is reported in this paper. Polyaluminum chloride (PAC) and three kinds of polyaluminum chloride sulfate (PACS) with a [SO42-]/[Al3+] (S) molar ratio of 0.02, 0.06, and 0.10 were prepared. The coagulation behaviors of these coagulants were investigated in the view of coagulant dosage, initial pH, and aging time. PACS (S=0.06) showed the best HA removal efficiency, and there was no restabilization within a broad effective dosage range. The proper initial pH range was broad and was 4.0-9.0 for PACS (S=0.06). The stability of PACS (S=0.06) reduced with a long aging time, so the proper aging time should not exceed 1 month. The aluminum species distribution, particle mean size, charge neutralization, and infrared spectrum of prepared coagulants were tested. Results showed that SO42- addition promoted the hydrolysis/polymerization of aluminum and reduced the charge neutralization capacity of PACS. Besides charge neutralization, the bridge-aggregation and sweep-flocculation mechanisms may play important roles for HA removal. The coexisting Ca2+ and kaolin slightly promoted the HA removal with polyaluminum coagulants. DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)EE.1943-7870.0000412. (C) 2012 American Society of Civil Engineers.