Wastewater Treatment: The Utilization of Earth Materials As Coagulants

Removal of total organic carbon (TOC) and total suspended solids (TSS) are major concerns in municipal wastewater treatment. This study investigated the effects of several earth materials, at varying dosages, as coagulants and compared them to activated carbon and fly ash. For each of eight coagulants tested, TOC concentrations were lower in wastewaters containing coagulants than in the untreated wastewater, and the difference was more pronounced in the primary wastewater samples. Use of earth materials in the coagulation of municipal wastewaters at various degrees of pretreatment also increased the turbidity of wastewater.