2- LABORATORY EVALUATION 2.

1- HOW TO DISSOLVE POLYACRYLAMIDE FLOCCULANTS Flocculant solutions are highly viscous and it is difficult to prepare highly concentrated solutions. Flocculant solutions tend to degrade after a while. In the laboratory, 0.5 % is the recommended concentration of stock solution which is then stable for two weeks. A 0.1 % solution is stable for six days. Polyacrylamides can be dispersed and dissolved in cold water. The water should be gently stirred using a magnetic or propeller stirrer. The powder is added at a rate which gives a good dispersion of the flocculant particles in the water. Each flocculant particle should be wetted separately to prevent agglomeration increasing the normal dissolution time of under two hours. High shear can deteriorate the polymer chains so avoid the use of high speed mixers, disintegrators or centrifugal pumps. 2.2 - SETTLING TESTS: HIGH SOLID SUSPENSION In the case of such suspensions the boundary line between solid phase and liquid phase is clear cut. The settling speed can be measured in a cylinder by observing the rate of change of solid phase height with time. METHOD

fill a one liter measuring cylinder with the suspension add the requisite amount of flocculant by pipetting a one gram per liter solution of flocculant close the cylinder and slowly invert it four times or stir the contents by slowly plunging a perforated disc on a rod four times to the bottom of the cylinder measure the height of the solid phase at regular intervals plot the settling curve of height against time.

Repeat the procedure with all the flocculants under tests and select the best one. Repeat the procedure with different dosages of this flocculant and thus determine the optimum dose rate. The flocculation of concentrated suspensions is very sensitive to stirring and it is therefore vital to employ uniform stirring throughout. 2.3- SETTLING TESTS: LOW SOLID SUSPENSION In the case of low solid suspensions, we observe low settling speeds. The flocs are dispersed and it is necessary to induce a velocity to the suspended solids in order to obtain bigger flocs. The obtained results are compared in terms of floc size and clarity of the supernatant. The most practical device for such evaluations is a jar test. One proceeds as follows:

fill the 5 beakers with one liter suspension add the flocculant at a high revolving speed of the propellers (100 rpm) during 10 seconds in order to obtain a good dispersion of the polymer stir three minutes at 40 rpm.

Then compare the different flocculants and the various dosages in terms of floc size supernatant clarification and settling speeds. 2.4- FLOCCULATION TESTS AFTER COAGULATION All suspensions which contain a high proportion of colloidal organic substances cannot be directly flocculated. They first have to be destabilized through addition of a di or trivalent metallic salt: lime, ferrous sulphate, ferric chloride, aluminum sulphate or sodium aluminate. The use of synthetic flocculants makes coagulation less pH sensitive and makes possible the use of:

calcium salts at pH between 4 and 14 iron salts at pH between 4 and 13 aluminum salts at pH between 4.5 and 10

With each suspension, there is an optimum pH which has to be found in order to reach the optimum results. Evaluations are made with a jar test. Firstly, the amount of coagulant necessary to destabilize the suspension has to be determined:

add 10, 30, 50, 100, 200 ppm (or mg/l) of coagulant in 1 per cent solution, adjust the pH when very acidic back to pH 6 by addition of caustic, stir 1 minute at 200 rpm, add 2 ppm of synthetic flocculant usually of an anionic grade over 2 minutes at 50 rpm.

The beaker which gives first a clear supernatant contains the optimum amount of coagulant sufficient to destabilize the colloidal suspension. More than 200 ppm of coagulant may be required for optimum destabilization. Secondly, the amount of flocculant necessary in order to obtain the desired settling speed is determined:

fill the 5 beakers with the suspension. Add the amount of coagulant determined during the first step and stir for two minutes at 100 rpm, compare the available flocculants in terms of floc size, supernatant clarity and settling speed.

In many cases, the best result is obtained with a combination of lime and iron salts, especially in effluent treatment, when the optimum pH lies between 7 and 9.5. 2.5- FILTRATION TESTS

2.5.1- Buchner test

Mix with a glass rod a suspension with the flocculant Then pour the flocculated mixture on a Buchner filter at a given pressure Measure the amount of filtrate after a time interval (30 seconds or 1 minute) A washing test can be made with a measure of the amount of clear water passing through the filter cake during a given time period (30 or 60 seconds).

2.5.2- Tests with test filter leaf A leaf is mounted on a funnel which is connected to a vacuum pump with a pipe. The funnel is immersed in the suspension for a known time after which the thickness of the filter cake, the moisture content of the cake, the quality of the filtrate and the washing speed can be measured. POLYMER TESTING PROCEDURES FOR CLARIFICATION APPLICATIONS 1. It is advantageous to perform bench scale evaluations in order to reduce the number of potentially successful Flocculants as far as possible. Charge four drops of each Tramfloc emulsion polymer to be evaluated to 100 ml of warm tap water. Return the excess polymer to the sample bottle. You would do well to use 7 or 8 oz. clear plastic cups to contain the dilution water which will be mixed with the Tramfloc polymer. Draw water repeatedly into the syringe from the 100 ml of dilutant after discharging the four drops, about 20 times, until the polymer has been well dispersed into the solution and it has become homogenized. That ratio will produce a 0.1 % polymer solution. Mark each of the solution containers with the polymer product designation. We suggest that the samples stand quiescently for 60 minutes in order to allow the tightly wound polymer chains in Tramfloc polymers to uncoil before they reach their full effectiveness. 2. If you are evaluating dry polymers, weigh 100 mg of polymer and charge very slowly with 3 ml. of isopropanol, acetone or ethanol to initially wet the granules. Then slowly charge 100 ml of tepid tap water. Add the granules almost singly so that they fall into the vortex of the water which is being stirred rapidly, if none of the aforementioned solvents are available. That ratio will produce a 0.1 % polymer solution. Place the beaker on a heated magnetic stirrer for optimum results. Mix until all the granules have disappeared into a homogeneous solution without lumps or fish eyes. Reduce the speed to 50 rpm and after as much as 60 minutes of stirring, a viscous and homogeneous solution should have been formed. The water and granules may be mixed vigorously in a stoppered flask for several minutes before quiescence. Each particle of dry polymer must be wetted with water to insure that a reliable testing solution has been prepared. Allow the solution to uncoil fully by causing the solution to stand quiescently for 120 minutes. Each solution container should be marked with the Tramfloc polymer product number. 3. Charge 1000 ml of untreated sample into a beaker and place in a jar tester. Be sure that the sample you have selected is representative of the plant process, especially with respect to pH, temperature, TSS, homogeneity, biological activity etc. A standard gang stirrer works effectively. Stir samples at high speed while charging the polymer solutions to be tested. Set the stirrer speed at 100-150 rpm and after 3-8

minutes, rapidly charge the desired amount of polymer solution. Then reduce the stirrer speed to 40-50 rpm for 1-2 minutes. Stop the stirrer and observe results for up to 10 minutes. One ml of polymer solution charged to 1.0 L of sample yields a 1.0 ppm polymer feed rate. 4. Initially apply dosages of 1-10 ppm. If no performance is observed, increase the dosage by 5 ppm until you have tested dosages up to 100 ppm. Thereafter, increase dosages by 100 ppm up to 1000 ppm. It is sometimes necessary to adjust pH, as in the case of MeOH precipitation. Tramfloc coagulants may also be required when the flocculant dosages do not reveal desired settling. 5. Continue testing samples until you have applied all Tramfloc polymer solutions in all the appropriate dosage ranges. 6. Observe which sample(s) had the fastest solids' settling rate, largest floc, densest floc mass, clearest supernatant. Congratulations! You have just selected the Tramfloc polymer which should be used to clarify your waste stream. You may now schedule a trial application of the new polymer. Call us with any questions which may arise and please advise us of your final testing results. POLYMER TESTING PROCEDURES FOR DEWATERING APPLICATIONS 1. Follow steps one and two as per the above section to produce polymer solutions for testing purposes. 2. Charge about 100 ml of sludge to be dewatered into a new 7 or 8 oz. clear plastic cup, marked with the Tramfloc polymer to be tested. Add one full syringe of the Tramfloc polymer solution to the sludge and then pour the treated sludge into another clean plastic cup. Transfer the treated sludge sample and back and forth to the original container, four or five times to completely mix the Tramfloc polymer solution and the sludge sample. Experiment with various dosages as the results indicate. 3. Set the conditioned sludge container aside and repeat the entire procedure until you have a 100 ml container of sludge, each treated with a different Tramfloc dewatering polymer. 4. Observe which sample has the largest and densest floc particles, with the clearest supernatant and the largest water cavities around the floc chunks. You have just selected the Tramfloc polymer which should be further tested in a trial application.