Coagulation And Flocculation Process In Water Treatment

In modern water treatment coagulation and flocculation are still essential components of the overall suite of treatment processes understandably because since 1989 the regulatory limit in the us for treated water turbidity has progressively reduced from 1 0 ntu in 1989 to 0 3 ntu today.

Coagulation and flocculation process in water treatment. Suspended particles cannot be removed completely by plain settling. In water treatment coagulation flocculation involves the addition of compounds that promote the clumping of fines into larger floc so that they can be more easily separated from the water. Water supply system water supply system coagulation and flocculation. Because of this the sedimentation step is usually preceded by a chemical process known as coagulation.

The primary purpose of the coagulation and flocculation is to destabilize the charged colloidal particles in water and make them to settle so as to remove turbidity from the water. In fact it was in use by the egyptians as early as 2 000 b c. In addition to removing turbidity from the water coagulation and flocculation process removes many bacteria which are suspended in the water and can be used to remove color from the water. Later the romans used the coagulation process in water treatment as did the english in the 18th century.

Yet coagulation water treatment is far from being a new process. Key difference coagulation vs flocculation in water treatment water treatment is an important aspect which involves many different steps. Large heavy particles settle out readily but smaller and lighter particles settle very slowly or in some cases do not settle at all.