A review on chemical coagulation/flocculation technologies for removal of colour from textile wastewaters.

Emerging usage of plant-based coagulants for water and wastewater treatment

Extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), a complex high-molecular-weight mixture of polymers excreted by microorganisms and produced from cell lysis, may have a high bioflocculation activity. In this work, the EPS excreted from Bacillus megaterium TF10, which was isolated from a soil sample, were systematically characterized to give insights into the relationship between their specific constituents and structure with their flocculation capacity. The results of microscopic observation, zeta potential, and TF10 EPS structure analysis show that the bridging mechanism was mainly responsible for the flocculation of the TF10. The constituents with a large molecular weight (1037-2521 kDA) and functional groups had contributed to the flocculation. GC-MS and NMR analyses demonstrate that the polysaccharides had long chain composed of rhamnose as well as glucose and galactose with uronic acids, acetyl amino sugars, and proteins as the side chains. The proteins in TF10 had no flocculation ability because of their special secondary structure and molecular weight diffusion characters. The EPS from Bacillus megaterium TF10 were found to exhibit a high flocculation activity, and the polysaccharides in EPS, which have the structure of the long backbone with active side chains, were identified as the active constituents for the high flocculation activity.

Identification of Key Constituents and Structure of the Extracellular Polymeric Substances Excreted by Bacillus megaterium TF10 for Their Flocculation Capacity

Optimization of the coagulation-flocculation process for pulp mill wastewater treatment using a combination of uniform design and response surface methodology

Characteristics of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) fractions from excess sludges and their effects on bioflocculability.

Historically, there is evidence to suggest that communities in the developing world have used plant-based materials as one strategy for purifying drinking water. In this study, the coagulant properties of Opuntia spp., a species of cactus, are quantitatively evaluated for the first time. Opuntia spp. was evaluated for turbidity removal from synthetic water samples, and steps were made toward elucidating the underlying coagulation mechanism. In model turbid water using kaolin clay particles at pH 10, Opuntia spp. reduced turbidity by 98% for a range of initial turbidities. This is similar to the observed coagulation activities previously described for Moringa oleifera, a widely studied natural coagulant. Although it has been reported that Moringa oleifera predominantly operates through charge neutralization, comparison of zeta potential measurements and transmission electron microscopy images of flocs formed by Opuntia spp. suggest that these natural coagulants operate through different mechanisms. It is suggested that Opuntia spp. operates predominantly through a bridging coagulation mechanism. Once optimized, application of these readily available plants as a part of point-of-use water treatment technology may offer a practical, inexpensive, and appropriate solution for producing potable water in some developing communities.

Ezekiel J Fugate

Papers

Toward Understanding the Efficacy and Mechanism of Opuntia spp. as a Natural Coagulant for Potential Application in Water Treatment