Question 4

What are the benefits of using coagulant aids?

Coagulant aids are chemicals which are added to water during coagulation to:
1) Improve coagulation;
2) Build a stronger, more settleable floc;
3) Overcome slow floc formation in cold water;
4) Reduce the amount of coagulant required;
5) Reduce the amount of sludge produced.
Question 5
In what way the dosage of aluminium sulphate in the treatment process can be reduced?
To determine the settings in percent stroke on a chemical feed pump (the chemical could be
chlorine, polymer, potassium permanganate or any other chemical solution fed by a pump) for
various doses of a chemical in milligrams per liter:

Question 6

Instead of Al
2
(SO
4
)
3
, name another three coagulants that can be best used as coagulant aid.

Nearly all coagulant aids are very expensive, so care must be taken to use the proper amount of
these chemicals. In many cases, coagulant aids are not required during the normal operation of
the treatment plant, but are used during emergency treatment of water which has not been
adequately treated in the flocculation and sedimentation basin. A couple of coagulant aids will
be considered below.
Lime is a coagulant aid used to increase the alkalinity of the water. The increase in alkalinity
results in an increase in ions (electrically charged particles) in the water, some of which are
positively charged. These positively charged particles attract the colloidal particles in the water,
forming floc.
Bentonite is a type of clay used as a weighting agent in water high in color and low in turbidity
and mineral content. This type of water usually would not form floc large enough to settle out of
the water. The bentonite joins with the small floc, making the floc heavier and thus making it
settle more quickly.