University of Anbar

College of Engineering
Chemical & Petrochemical
Engineering Dep.

"Coagulation and Flocculation to Remove Turbidity by Using Jar Test"

A project report submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Bachelor's Degree
in Chemical and Petro-Chemical Engineering

By,
Sufyan Hamad Hassan
Younis Khamees Muhammad
Hashim Muhammad Humady
Tiba Aziz Yas

Supervisor :
Assist.Lec. Suha Mahdi Saleh
 DECLARTION STATEMENT

We, the undersigned students, hereby declare that the project work entitled "Coagulation and
flocculation to remove turbidity by using jar test" submitted to university of Anbar, is entirely
our own work and has not been copied from any other source. Any material that has been
used from other sources has been properly cited and acknowledged in the report.

We are fully aware that any copying or improper citation of references / sources used in this
report will be considered plagiarism, which is a clear violation of the ethics code of university
of Anbar.

Signature: Signature:
Student Name: Sufyan Hamad Hassan Student Name: Younis Khames Muhammad

Signature: Signature:
Student Name: Hashim Muhammad Humady Student Name: Tiba Aziz Yas

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 CERTIFICATION

Approved by:

Signature: Signature:
Supervisor Co-supervisor
Name: Suha Mahdi Name:

Department: Chemical & Petrochemical Department: Chemical & Petrochemical

Engineering Dep. Engineering Dep.

Data: Data:

Signature:
Project Committee:
Department: Chemical & Petrochemical
Engineering:

Data:

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

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 TABLE OF CONTENT

DECLARTION STATEMENT ……………………………………………………………………………….i

CERTIFICATION …………………………………………………………………………………………....ii

ACKNOWLEDGEEMENT …………………………………………………………………………………iii

TABLE OF CONTENT …………………………………..………………………………………………….iv

LIST OF ABBREVIATION ………………………………………………………………………………….v

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................1

1.1 Treatment of Water ………………………………………………………………………………...…...1

1.2 Objectives …………………………………………………………………………………………….....1
1.3 Coagulation and Flocculation Processes …………………………………………………………..……1
1.4 Jar Test ………………………………………………………………………………………………...11
1.5 Chemical Coagulants ……………………………………………………………………………….…12

CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW ……………………………………………………..……14

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 LIST OF ABBREVIATION

Abbreviation Definition
NOM Natural Organic Matter
COD Chemical Oxygen demand
TDS Total Dissolve Solid
TSS Total Suspended Solid
TP Total Phosphorus
EC Electric Conductivity
NTU Nephelometric Turbidity Unit

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CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Treatment of Water

Water may require treatment for a number of reasons. Most important is the necessity of
removing the germs of disease. For palatability it must be free from unpleasant tastes and
odors and have an inviting appearance, necessitating the elimination of gases, murkiness, and
color. It should be suitable for such domestic uses as cooking and washing and also for a wide
variety of industrial purposes, as steam generation, dyeing, etc.

A number of treatment methods have been developed to meet these necessities. Aeration,
certain chemical treatment, or activated carbon will reduce or prevent tastes and odors.
Softening of water, removal of iron, and correction of excessive corrosiveness are all practical
treatment methods. The character and degree treatment required will depend upon the nature
of the water, and this in turn will depend largely upon its source [ 1 ].

1.2 Objectives

1. To removed turbidity of water and other contaminated substances to improve water quality
by using different coagulants such as alum and ferric chloride.

2. To compare between these coagulants.

1.3 Coagulation and Flocculation Processes

Coagulation and flocculation are essential processes in a number of diverse disciplines,
including biochemistry, cheese manufacturing, rubber manufacturing, and in water and
wastewater treatment. In water and wastewater treatment, coagulation and flocculation
phenomena are extremely important, in the area of potable water treatment, clarification of
water with coagulation agents has been practiced from ancient.

The whole treatment process of coagulation-flocculation can be divided into two distinct
procedures, which should be applied consecutively. The first one termed coagulation, is the
process whereby destabilization of a given colloidal suspension or solution is taken place. The
function of coagulation is to overcome the factors that promote the stability of a given system.

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It is achieved with the use of appropriate chemicals, usually aluminum or iron salt, the so
called coagulant agents. The second sub-process, termed flocculation, refers to the induction
of destabilized particles in order to come together, to make contact and thereby, to form large
agglomerates, which can be separated easier usually through gravity settling [ 2 ].

Coagulation/flocculation is a commonly used process in water and wastewater treatment in

which compounds such as ferric chloride and/or polymer are added to wastewater in order to
destabilize the colloidal materials and cause the small particles to agglomerate into larger
settleable flocs. Several studies have reported the examination of this process for the
treatment of industrial wastewater, especially with respect to performance optimization of
coagulant/ flocculant as shown in fig (1) [ 3 ].

Figure 1.1

The optimization of water treatment should be done in order to remove both hydrophobic and
hydrophilic organic compounds. Due to water quality problems and stricter regulations for
drinking water treatment, there is needed for more efficient and still economical method for
removal suspended material, the most common and economically feasible process for the
removal these material are considered to be coagulation and flocculation followed by
sedimentation and filtration [4].

Ambient waters contain a wide variety of particles in the general categories: mineral
(e.g., clays), biological (viruses, bacteria, algae, protozoan cysts, etc. ), and organic matter
(e.g., natural organic matter (NOM)). These particles range in size from nanometers to
perhaps 200-300 mm. The many aspects of coagulation practice include:
1- Selection of type of coagulant (generally alum or ferric salt).
2- Selection of a coagulant aid, that is polymer (which may or may not be used ).
3- Determination of dosage of each chemical.
4- Design of rapid - mix.

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5- Evaluation of coagulation effectiveness.
Coagulation effectiveness has been measured traditionally by removal of turbidity. Color
removal is another traditional objective in drinking water treatment [ 5 ].
The objective of the coagulation process depends on the water source and the nature of the
suspended, colloidal, and dissolved organic constituents. Coagulation by the addition of
chemicals such as alum and iron salts and/or organic polymers can involve:
1- Distabilization of small suspended and colloidal particulate matter.
2- Adsorption and /or reaction of portions of the colloidal and dissolved NOM to particles.
3- Creation of flocculants precipitates that sweep through the water enmeshing small
suspended, colloidal, and dissolved material as they settle.
Coagulants such as aluminum sulfate (alum), ferric chloride, and ferric sulfate
hydrolyzes rapidly when mixed with the water to be treated. As these chemicals hydrolyze,
they form insoluble precipitates that destabilize particles by adsorbing to the surface of the
particles and neutralizing the charge (thus reducing the repulsive forces). Natural or synthetic
organic polyelectrolytes (polymers with multiple charged functional groups) are also used for
particle destabilization. Because of many competing reactions, the theory of chemical
coagulation is complex [ 6 ].

The operation of a coagulant-based water treatment sequence relies on two fundamental sets
of processes irrespective of whether the treatment sequence applies conventional gravity
based settling, newer high rate clarification concepts, or a direct filtration sequence in which
no clarification step is applied. The first set of processes consists of the mixing and
flocculation steps, which include the addition of a coagulant chemical and application of
mixing to disperse the chemical, followed by conditions under which the chemically
conditioned particles will come into contact to build floc of appropriate size for removal in
downstream particle removal processes. The second set of processes consists of the
downstream clarification and filtration steps in which the flocculated particles are separated
from the water [ 7 ].

Coagulants are also used to enhance the performance of membrane microfiltration and
ultrafiltration system and in Pretreatment to prolong the bed life of granular activated carbon
contactors.

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The development of new coagulant chemicals, advance in floc removal processes and filter
design, particularly membrane processes, and challenging particle removal performance
standards and goals stimulated substantial diversity in the design and operation of the
coagulation process. Change can be expected to continue into the future [ 8 ].

Flocculation is the unit process in which larger particles are formed from smaller particles due
to collisions between them. The collisions occur by the ''transport'' mechanisms of velocity
gradients (induced by laminar flow or turbulence), Brownian motion, or a sequence of the
two.

The term flocculation is the process of causing collisions between:

1- Primary particles.
2- Primary particles and floc.
3- Floc particles and other floc.

In water treatment, the starting point is the rapid mix where ''microflocs'' form from
coagulation chemicals and which may incorporate ''primary'' particles, e.g., mineral turbidity,
microorganisms, and other ''microscopic particulates''. The next step is flocculation; the
objective is to cause collisions such that the microflocs grow in size to become ''floc''
particles. If the treatment train is conventional filtration, the flocculation objective is to
produce large settleable flocs In flotation, on the other hand, the objective is to form a floc of
small size, e.g., 50 mm, that rises readily when small gas bubbles attach. The common
flocculation technology is the paddle wheel. Other technologies include impeller basins,
baffles, and proprietary innovations. These various technologies provide the ''transport''
mechanisms that include floc collisions [ 5 ].

Two general types of flocculation can be identified: (1) micro flocculation (also known as
perikinetic flocculation) in which particle aggregation is brought about by the random thermal
motion of fluid molecules (known as Brownian motion) and (2) macro flocculation (also
known as orthokinetic flocculation) in which particle aggregation is brought about by
inducing velocity gradients and mixing in the fluid containing the particles to be flocculated.
Another form of macro flocculation is brought about by differential settling in which large
particles overtake small particles to form larger particles [ 6 ].

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The purpose of the flocculation process is to promote the interaction of particles and form
aggregates that can be efficiently removed in subsequent separation processes such as
sedimentation, flotation, and granular media bed filtration. For efficient flocculation to occur
the suspension must be destabilized. This is usually accomplished by the addition of
coagulant. The water treatment literature sometimes makes distinction between the terms
coagulant and flocculent. When this distinction is made, a coagulant is a chemical used to
initially destabilize the suspension and is typically added in the rapid –mix process. In most
cases a flocculent the strength of the floc structure. It has awkwardly been called a coagulant
aid. Flocculants are often used to increase filter performance (they may be called filter aids in
this context) and to increase the efficiency of the sludge dewatering process [ 8 ].

Flocculation is the agglomeration of small particles and colloids to form settle able or
filterable particles (flocs). Flocculation begins to form immediately after destabilization in the
zone of decaying mixing energy following rapid mixing, or as a result of the turbulence of
transporting flow. In some instances, this identical flocculation may be an adequate
flocculation process. A separation flocculation process is most often included in the treatment
train to enhance contact of destabilized particles and to build floc particles of optimize size,
density, and strength. Floc begins to form within 2 second of coagulant addition and mixing.
If high turbulence or shear is subsequently applied to the water, the formed flocs may be
fragmented, and broken floc may not readily settle or re-form. Optimum floc that is efficiently
settled or filtered is usually formed under conditions of gradually reducing energy. In large
plants, it may be difficult to distribute water to flocculation basins or filters without quiescent
stages and high energy stages [ 9 ].

The precipitated material or ''floc'' is not a simple, hydroxide and organic material is often
adsorbed onto the floc. As a result the best chemical conditions for coagulation vary widely
from one water to another. Coagulant and pH adjustment chemicals are usually added, by
means of a metering pump, at the same point in the system and must be mixed thoroughly and
quickly. This is usually achieved by a flash mixer or by an in-line static mixer. [ 10 ]

1.4 Jar Test

Is an important piece of apparatus in any treatment plant laboratory, as shown in fig (2) .
This consists of motor –driven horizontal spindle driving about 4,5,6 paddles. Each paddles
rotates in glass beaker 1 L of water . The coagulants are added in graded doses to each of the
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beakers. Stirring is initially brisk , then more gentle .The time to form , heaviness, and other
characteristics of the floc in each beaker is noted, and after stirring ceases the settling time is
observed .
The solution of the coagulants under test are added by pipette, the water should be tested
before and after the experiment for turbidity and pH [ 11 ].

Figure 1.2

JAR TESTS are used to determine the optimum coagulant concentrations and pH conditions
for coagulation-flocculation.

1.5 Chemical Coagulants

 Alum (Aluminum Sulfate), Al2(SO4)3 .14 H2O. The most coagulant in the United States, it
is often in conjunction with cationic polymers.
 Poly aluminum chloride, Al (OH)X (Cl)y. This is efficient in some waters, requiring less pH
adjustment and producing less sludge.
 Ferric chlorine, FeCl3 . This may be more effective than alum in some applications .
 Ferric sulfate, Fe2 (SO4)3 .It is effective in some waters and more economical in some
locations.
 Cationic polymers can be used alone as the primary coagulants are in conjunction with
Aluminum or Iron coagulant.
Although, alum is by far the most widely used coagulant chemical, ferric chloride are ferric
sulfate forms a better – settling floc in some waters and may be more consistently effective in
removing natural organic matter as compared to aluminum based coagulants. Additionally,
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poly aluminum chloride often produces a better settling floc in colder water and often results
in lower dosages, thereby, producing less sludge than alum and ferric coagulants [ 9 ].

For coagulation – flocculation process advantages and disadvantages may be taken into
consideration.

Advantages
1-Simplicity and cost-effectiveness.
2-Separates many kind of particles from water.
3-Inhances Filtration process.
4-Uses abundant and low cost chemicals
Disadvantages
1-Input of chemicals required.
2-Qualified personnel required for design (e.g. construction of chambers and dosage of
chemicals) and system maintenance.
3-Transfer of toxic compound into solid phase and formation of sludge that has to be treated
subsequently.
4-Relativly time consuming process [ 12 ].

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CHAPTER TWO

Literature Review

Nikos and Anastasios found that The development of simple pre - polymerized coagulant
(e.g. poly aluminum chloride ), seems no longer to be sufficient enough The need for more
effective coagulant has lead to the development of new coagulant, via the introduction of
various additives in the structure of pre-polymerized coagulants. Nowadays, the range of
additives has expanded, including organic compounds, such as anionic, cationic or non ionic
polyelectrolytes, leading to new composite coagulants. The application of the new generation
of coagulation reagents exhibits several advantages, compared to the conventional and simple
pre-polymerized coagulants. The incorporation of various additives, inorganic or organic,
results in an increment of molecular weight and components size, which compensates
efficiently the decrease of charge neutralization capability in the new coagulants. Overall they
present better treatment performance, lower residual metal concentration and wider effective
of pH range, which are the main advantages of the composite coagulants [13].

Arkan explained that effect of using types of coagulants aid on the percentage removal of
turbidity and to find the optimum dosage of coagulant (alum) and coagulant aid. The
coagulants used in this study were alum, Porcelanite and Silica Gel The initial turbidity at 450
NTU was used with floc growth and floc formation was studied for Kaolinite 10 micrometer
particle size. In this study used coagulant aid with alum in different percents (0, 50%, 60%,
75%). The results indicated that the efficient coagulant type with dose of 30 mg/l is 4.56 NTU
residual turbidity and removal percentage of 98.98% by using alum with silica, with the
percentage of alum is 60% and 40% of Silica and pH value 7.66

The increasing dosages of coagulants with different percentages have effective influence on
reducing of the final water turbidity, also the increasing in dosages values of the Silica
coagulants increased the value of pH especially if the Silica used alone with 100% percentage,
and there are no more changes in the values of TDS, Ec and Salt after the coagulants (Silica
Jel and Porcelanite) have been added [ 14 ].

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Basma and Hussein studied that removal of turbidity from produced water by chemical
coagulation/flocculation method using locally available coagulants was investigated.
Aluminum sulfate (alum) is selected as a primary coagulant, while calcium hydroxide (lime)
is used as a coagulant aid. The performance of these coagulants was studied through jar test
by comparing turbidity removal at different coagulant / coagulants aid ratio, coagulant dose,
water pH, and sedimentation time. The best conditions for turbidity removal using jar test
process can be o obtained at 75% alum+25% lime coagulant at coagulant dose of 80 mg/l at
pH 6 and 120 min for sedimentation time. The aluminum sulfate (alum) combination with
coagulant aid (lime) provided higher removal efficiencies of turbidity compared to
coagulation with alum alone [ 15 ].

Abdul Fattah Abu Bakar , Azhar Abdul Halim and Marlia Moh Hanafiah studied that
Based on the coagulation-flocculation process, an automotive wastewater was treated using
poly aluminum chloride (PAC) as the coagulant and an anionic polyacrylamide (PAM) as the
flocculant. Response surface methodology was applied to optimize the operating variables:
coagulant dosage, flocculant dosage and pH. In this experiment, 10% concentration PAC
solution was used and 5% anionic PAM/feedstock solution was prepared using distilled water.

The results show that the optimal conditions for chemical oxygen demand (COD)
removal were a coagulant dosage of 73.3 mg/L, a flocculant dosage of 3.46 mg/L and pH
7.45, while the optimal conditions for heavy metal (Fe, Cr, Cu) removal were in the coagulant
dosage range of 65.26-170.9 mg/L, a flocculant dosage of 5.36 mg/L and pH 6.13. The
experimental data and predict model proved that response surface methodology (RSM) is a
suitable approach for optimizing the coagulation-flocculation process in treating automotive
wastewater [ 16 ].

O.S. Amuda and I.A. Amoo examine the effectiveness of coagulation and flocculation
process using ferric chloride and polyelectrolyte (non-ionic polyacrylamide) for the treatment
of beverage industrial wastewater. The optimum conditions for coagulation/flocculation
process, such as coagulant dosage, polyelectrolyte dosage and pH of solution were
investigated using jar test experiment.

Coagulation/flocculation process was conducted for the treatment of beverage industrial

wastewater to achieve maximum removal of COD (chemical oxygen demand), TP (total
phosphorus) and TSS (total suspended solid). Coagulant dose, polyelectrolyte dose, pH of

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solution and addition of polyelectrolyte as coagulant aid were investigated and found to be
important parameters for effective treatment of beverage industrial wastewater.

The results of the present work indicated that the addition of 25 mg/L polyelectrolyte
reduced the dose of ferric chloride from 300 to 100 mg/L during which 99.97 and 91% of TP,
TSS and COD removal were, respectively, achieved.[ 17 ]

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References

[1] Ernest W. Steel, Water supply and Sewerge, 4th edition.

[2] John Bratby, Coagulation and flocculation in water and wastewater treatment, 3rd edition-2016 .
[3] A.A Tatsi, AI, Zouboulis, K.A Matis, P. Samara, Coagulation & Flocculation Pre-treatment of
sanitary Iandfill leachates, (2003)
[4] Jacangelo, Demarco J, Owen DM, Randtke SJ. J Am Water Works Assoc 1995 .
[5] David Hendricks, Fundamentals of water treatment Unit Process.
[6] John C. Crittenden & R. Rhodes Trussell & David W. Hand & Kerry J. Howe & George
Techobanoglous,Water treatment principles and design, 3rd edition.
[7] Operational Control of Coagulation and filtration processes, third edition.
[8] James K.Edzwald, Water Quality & Treatment, a handbook on drinking water, Sixth Edition.
[9] Edward E. Baruth, Water Treatment Plant Design, fourth edition.
[10] Richard Stuetz, Principles of Water and Wastewater Treatment Processes, 2009.
[11] George Smethurst, Basic water treatment for application world – wide, 2nd edition.
[12]
[13] Nikos Tzoupanos & Anastasios Zouboulis , „„ Coagulation – Flocculation processes in water /
wastewater treatment :the application of new generation of chemical reagents ‟‟, 6th IASME / WSEAS
International Conference on HEAT TRANSFER, THERMAL ENGINEERING and ENVIRONMENT
,Greece, August 20-22, 2008 .
[14] Arkan Dhari Jalal , „„ The effect of using coagulants and coagulants aid (Porcelanite and Silica
Jel) in improving water efficiency treatment ‟‟ , Anbar Journal for Engineering Sciences ,College of
Engineering –University of Anbar.
[15] Basma Abbas Abdul-Majeed & Hussein Basim Oleiwi, „„Evaluation of Alum/Lime Coagulant for
the Removal of Turbidity from Al- Ahdab Iraqi Oilfields ‟‟, Journal of Engineering ,College of
Engineering- University of Baghdad ,Vol.21 , No.7 , July- 2015.
[16] Abdul Fattah Abu Bakar & Azhar Abdul Halim & Marlia Moh Hanafiah, “ Optimization of
Coagulation and Flocculation for Automotive Wastewater Treatment using Response Surface
Methodology , Nature Environment and Pollution Technology - An International Quarterly Scientific
Journal, Vol.14 , No.3, pp.1-8 , Selangor -Malaysia , 2015.
[17] O.S. Amuda & I.A. Amoo, “Coagulation / Flocculation process and sludge conditioning in
beverage industrial wastewater treatment”department of chemistry, federal university of technology,
Akure, Nigeria , 24 July 2006

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