QA

What Do Coagulants Do

What are coagulants used for? In water treatment, coagulants are used to remove a wide variety of hazardous materials from water, ranging from organic matter and pathogens, to inorganics and toxic materials, like arsenic, chemical phosphorous and fluoride.

What is a coagulant and why is it used?

Coagulants are used to increase the size of aquatic substances, making them large enough to settle or to be removed by sand, dual layer filtration, or the membrane.

What does coagulation remove?

Coagulation is the chemical water treatment process used to remove solids from water, by manipulating electrostatic charges of particles suspended in water. This process introduces small, highly charged molecules into water to destabilize the charges on particles, colloids, or oily materials in suspension.

What is the difference between coagulant and flocculant?

Flocculants differ from coagulants in that they are often polymers, whereas coagulants are typically salts. Generally speaking, anionic flocculants are used to catch mineral particles while cationic flocculants can capture organic particles.

What is coagulant made of?

Chemically, coagulant chemicals are either metallic salts (such as alum) or polymers. Polymers are man-made organic compounds made up of a long chain of smaller molecules. Polymers can be either cationic (positively charged), anionic (negatively charged), or nonionic (neutrally charged.)

What causes coagulation?

Blood Clot Formation When you cut or injure yourself, your body stops the bleeding by forming a blood clot. Proteins and particles in your blood, called platelets, stick together to form the blood clot. The process of forming a clot is called coagulation.

What is the most common used coagulant?

Aluminum sulfate (alum) is the most common coagulant used for water purification. Other chemicals, such as ferric sulfate or sodium aluminate, may also be used.

What happens during coagulation?

Blood clots and coagulation Blood vessels shrink so that less blood will leak out. Tiny cells in the blood called platelets stick together around the wound to patch the leak. Blood proteins and platelets come together and form what is known as a fibrin clot. The clot acts like a mesh to stop the bleeding.

What are coagulants in chemistry?

Coagulants are a substance which cause particles in a liquid to curdle and clot together. Particles stay suspended in water rather than settling because they carry surface electrical charges that mutually repel each other.

What are examples of coagulants?

Examples of inorganic coagulants are as below: Aluminum Sulfate (Alum) – One of the most commonly used water treatment chemicals in the world. Alum is manufactured as a liquid, from which the crystalline form is dehydrated. Aluminum Chloride – A second choice to Alum as it is more expensive, hazardous and corrosive.

How does a flocculant work?

A flocculant is a chemical that can be added to the water to help colloids and any other suspended solids bind together and form heavier particles. The heavier particles then settle to the bottom of the container/tank and the water on the top is drained off.

Why are coagulants used in sewage treatment?

In water treatment, coagulants are used to remove a wide variety of hazardous materials from water, ranging from organic matter and pathogens, to inorganics and toxic materials, like arsenic, chemical phosphorous and fluoride.

What is a good coagulant?

The best coagulant is therefore a pre-hydrolysed species with a high basicity. PACl has been found to be very suitable for lime softening applications. The advantage of a low basicity coagulant is even more pronounced in full softening applications, and the non-sulphated PACl is the coagulant of choice.

Is coagulation used in wastewater treatment?

Coagulation water treatment is the first step in chemical wastewater treatment. Instead of passing over particles that would otherwise slip through the filter and fall too slowly to be trapped as sediment, coagulation clumps them together so they are more easily removed. Most of us know coagulation from anatomy class.

What are natural coagulants?

They are mainly composed of polymers of natural origin extracted from plants, algae or animals. Among these are polysaccharides and water soluble substances that act as coagulation and / or flocculation agents.

What is coagulation example?

Coagulation is the breakdown of a colloid by changing the pH or charges in the solution. Making yogurt is an example of coagulation wherein particles in the milk colloid fall out of solution as the result of a change in pH, clumping into a large coagulate.

Is coagulation good or bad?

Blood clotting is a natural process; without it, you would be at risk of bleeding to death from a simple cut. Blood clots inside the cardiovascular system are not always so welcome. A clot in the coronary arteries near the heart can cause a heart attack; one in the brain or the arteries serving it, a stroke.

What benefit can we get through sedimentation process?

The sedimentation process is used to reduce particle concentration in the water. The advantage of sedimentation is that it minimizes the need for coagulation and flocculation. Typically, chemicals are needed for coagulation and flocculation, but improved sedimentation controls the need for additional chemicals.

Why is coagulation important?

Blood clotting, or coagulation, is an important process that prevents excessive bleeding when a blood vessel is injured. Platelets (a type of blood cell) and proteins in your plasma (the liquid part of blood) work together to stop the bleeding by forming a clot over the injury.

What are the 3 stages of blood clotting?

Hemostasis includes three steps that occur in a rapid sequence: (1) vascular spasm, or vasoconstriction, a brief and intense contraction of blood vessels; (2) formation of a platelet plug; and (3) blood clotting or coagulation, which reinforces the platelet plug with fibrin mesh that acts as a glue to hold the clot

How turbidity can be removed?

These options mechanically (through filtration) or chemically (through flocculation and settling of suspended material) remove particles and reduce turbidity.

What are the common coagulants used?

The commonly used metal coagulants fall into two general categories: those based on aluminum and those based on iron. The aluminum coagulants include aluminum sulfate, aluminum chloride and sodium aluminate. The iron coagulants include ferric sulfate, ferrous sulfate, ferric chloride and ferric chloride sulfate.

What are common flocculants?

The following natural products are used as flocculants: Chitosan. Isinglass. Moringa oleifera seeds (Horseradish Tree) Gelatin. Strychnos potatorum seeds (Nirmali nut tree) Guar gum. Alginates (brown seaweed extracts).

Is coagulation reversible?

Coagulation is irreversible, the proteins cannot be turned back into their liquid form.

What are the 4 steps of coagulation?

1) Constriction of the blood vessel. 2) Formation of a temporary “platelet plug.” 3) Activation of the coagulation cascade. 4) Formation of “fibrin plug” or the final clot.