Performance Evaluation of Coagulation Process in Removal of Low Turbidity and Color from Water Using Different Inorganic Coagulants

This research work was carried out in lab scale using a Jar-test set up. In order to compare the performance of four inorganic coagulants (poly aluminum chloride, ferro sulfate, ferric chloride, aluminum sulfate) in removal of turbidity and color from water, three independent variables (turbidity, color and coagulants dosage) were investigated. The region of exploration for the process was taken as the area enclosed by turbidity (10, 20, 50 NTU), color (5, 10 TCU) and concentration of coagulants (5, 10, 15, 120, 25, 30 mg/l) boundaries. The rapid and slow mixing steps were provided by the rate of 80 rpm for 1 min and 30 rpm for 20 min, respectively. The samples were then remained for 30 min as settling stage. Four parameters including turbidity, electrical conductivity (EC), pH and color were measured from the samples supernatant. Settling characteristics of the flocs formed were descriptively reported as poor, fair, good and excellent. From the results, poly aluminum chloride with concentration of 5 mg/l was found to be the best for the removal of turbidity (99-99.8 %) and color (100 %). However, fine flocs with very good settling velocity was observed at the condition with initial turbidity of 10, 20, 50 NTU. Increase in EC along with decrease in alkalinity was obtained as the coagulants concentrations were increased. The maximum and minimum amount of increase in EC and TDS were resulted from ferric chloride and poly aluminum chloride, respectively.