Dewatering of alumino-humic sludge: impacts of hydroxide

The paper draws together information on factors which influence the conditioning and dewatering behaviour of an alum sludge gained from the coagulation of a low-turbidity coloured water. A principal focus is the potential impact of aluminium hydroxide on the sludge character. Background information is provided on the composition of the source floc for the domain pH 6.0–6.5 and Al>2.0 mg/l. From this, there were many pointers to the presence of Al(OH)3(s) within the floc. A series of comparisons were made between an alum sludge and a hydroxide suspension at a concentration equivalent to the coagulant fraction within the sludge. The parameters studied included floc size, floc density, polymer adsorption and dewatering behaviour at different time-scales. In all cases, there were strong similarities in the behaviour of the two suspensions—indicating the potential impact of the hydroxide. There was also evidence of common features being displayed by both the organic fractions and the hydroxide. It was suggested that some of the behavioural features might emanate from a common fractal structure within the source floc, the fractal dimension (~1) being insensitive to composition.