Floating Floc Meeting Minutes

Fall 2008 Minutes

Professor Gosset had originally thought that the issue could be coming from the transport line but now that I have fully explained the system to him he feels that the water should have enough contact time with the air as it goes through the flocculator to get the majority of the air bubbles out.
We discussed the other possible causes of floating floc.
He suggested that a change in pH or water temperature between the influent and the effluent may be the source of the problem.

I learned about how alum can turn the water acidic and this can then cause bubbles to form. The solution to this type of problem would be to add in a basic chemical with the alum to keep the pH of the water from changing. There are several powders that should be easy and cheap to attain if this ends up being the problem.
Temperature changes can also cause issues with air bubbles forming due to the different properties of water at different temperatures.
I need to further research these phenomenons.

We now other leads onto the cause of floating flocs in our water treatment plants.

I have to wait until Tamar or John have a chance to get these measurements to make any conclusions.