Coagulation performance and mechanism analysis of humic acid by using covalently bonded coagulants: effect of pH and matching mechanism of humic acid functional groups

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Abstract
Conventional inorganic coagulants (Al, Fe) and Al/Fe-based covalently bonded flocculants (CAFMs) had different hydrolysis species at different pHs, which subsequently led to differences in their binding sites and complexation ability with humic acid (HA). Studying the binding sites and interactions between CAFMs, AlCl3 (Al), and FeCl3 (Fe) hydrolysates and HA molecules is critical to understanding the coagulation mechanism. The results found that CAFM 0.6, Al, and AlCl3 combined FeCl3 (Al/Fe) removed more than 90% of HA at pH 6, and CAFMs showed higher HA removal rate than that of Al, Fe, and Al/Fe under the same reaction conditions. The flocs of CAFMs contained abundant -NH2/OH as well as the large particle size, compact structure, and excellent settling performance. The hydrolyzed species of Al and Fe were predominantly Alb and Feb at pH 6, but the hydrolyzed species of CAFMs were primarily (Al + Fe)c. Moreover, the hydrolyzed species of Al and Al/Fe were found to complex with HA functional groups such as -COOH, C = O, C-H/C–C, C = C, and C–OH to form ligand bonds, while the hydrolyzed species (Al + Fe)c of CAFMs could deeply interact with HA functional groups including C-O, -COOH, C = O, C-H/C–C, C = C, and C–OH by the adsorption and sweeping.
Funding Information
  • Natural Science Foundation of China (51878001)
  • Anhui Provincial Natural Science Foundation (2208085Y18, No.2008085QE242)
  • Open Project of Engineering Research Center of Biofilm Water Purification and Utilization Technology of Ministry of Education (BWPU2020KF08, BWPU2021ZY03)

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