Application of Biocoagulant on Drinking Water Treatment

A biocoagulant developed by the writers and called Bio-CoA was used to treat the turbid water in a bench-scale reactor as well as in a large pilot plant. The water quality after Bio-CoA treatment was compared to that treated by the traditional chemical coagulant, PACl. Although both Bio-CoA and PACl perform well in turbidity removal, Bio-CoA prevails over PACl since it removes suspended solids from turbid water with no changes in aluminum, pH, and conductivity of the effluent. In other words, Bio-CoA can be applied to drinking water treatment without any health concerns even under a high dosing condition. Meanwhile, with Bio-CoA application no alkali is required to neutralize the resulting low-pH water as is required for PACl, and the water after Bio-CoA treatment has a higher potential for extra pure water preparation and irrigation usage based on the lower conductivity of the effluent. Bio-CoA and the related treatment process can be used as a pretreament unit to reduce the turbidity of the superturbid water to a tolerable concentration for present drinking water treatment plants, which may overcome the water-offering deficiency during typhoon periods.