Humic Acid, Kaolin, and Floc/Sed Model

Introduction

The AguaClara flocculation model is able to describe flocculator performance based on the simple idea that coagulant nanoparticles are sticky and that clay particles and humic acid macromolecules aren’t sticky. The probability that any collision is successful can be estimated based on the probability that coagulant is present at the collision site. There is some evidence that coagulant-coagulant bonds are weaker than coagulant-clay bonds. Water treatment plants that are treating waters with high concentrations of natural organic matter (NOM) and low turbidity can easily approach a situation where the NOM coats so many coagulant nanoparticles that there isn’t enough space on the clay for all of those nanoparticles to attach in a single layer.

Goals

The Fall 2017 team hopes to find a robust flocculation model that successfully predicts the behavior of humic acid particles during water treatment. We will conduct a set of controlled experiments to find effective coagulant dosage ranges by varying levels of coagulant and humic acid. We will spend this semester to complete these experiments, analyze the resulting data, and troubleshooting our system.

Current & Future Research