FLOCCULANT FOR WATER TREATMENT

Abstract: Polysilicic acid having a limiting viscosity not less than twice that of monosilicic acid and a water-soluble salt of a metal capable of forming a hydroxide in water are added to the water to be treated. The polysilicic acid can be prepared by polymerizing water glass. Where the flocculant is prepared in the form aqueous solution before adding to the water to be treated, the flocculant is preferably maintained at a pH not less than 2 or not lower than 11. The gel time of the polysilicic acid may be prolonged by addition of a substance able to generate ferric ion in the solution. Thus the flocculant can maintain high aggregation ability after being stored for a long time. The silicic acid solution may be polymerized before being added with such a ferric ion generating substance.

Description: Technical Field The invention relates to the treatment of water, including waste water. Backgound Art In water purification and waste-water treatment, various kinds of flocculants are used to remove impurities and other substances dispersed in the water. For example, aluminum sulfate, inorganic low-molecular flocculants such as ferric chloride, inorganic polymer flocculants such as polymerized aluminum chloride (PAC) and organic polymer flocculants such as polyacrylamide are used. Although aluminum sulfate (Al₂(SO₄)₃ .18H₂O) is used most popularly because of relatively low cost, this flocculant is not a highly effective flocculant. Namely, the aggregation velocity is slow, the size of formed flocs is small, and adequate aggregation is not performed especially when the temperature of the treated water is low. Also, aluminum sulfate decreases alkalinity so much that a large amount of basic chemicals or other aggregation aids must be used together. A solution of ferric chloride (FeCl₃.xH₂O) offers several aggregation advantages, such as formation of larger flocs and efficient coprecipitation with various kinds of heavy metals. But a solution of ferric chloride is corrosive and does not have high stability. Besides, it must be used with slaked lime, which, in turn, results in the production of a very large quantity of sludge. Baking such sludge tends to cause the secondary environmental pollution. Polymerized aluminum chloride (PAC) (Al₂(OH) n Cl 6-n ) has come to be used extensively in place of aluminum sulfate because of its ability to achieve adequate aggregation even at low temperatures and form flocs relatively rapidly. But, as the production process of PAC involves many intricate conditions difficult to control, the products of uniform quality having the same level of aggregating properties are difficult to obtain. Moreover, the cost of PAC is much higher than aluminum sulfate. Polyacrylamide (CH(CO)(NH₂)CH₂) n and other organic polymer flocculants form larger flocs at higher speeds. But they involve a serious shortcoming that the treated water is not always safe. Furthermore, in such aggregation and precipitation processes stated above, aggregation aids are often used with main flocculants. Activated silicic acid is one of such aggregation aids widely used. But the activated silicic acid has an important drawback in that it cannot maintain its aggregating ability when stored for a long time. Activated silicic acid, which is usually prepared by adding acid to silicic acid, gels in a short time, and gelled silicic acid cannot be used as a flocculant. It is only for about one day after preparation that activated silicic acid can be used as an aggregation aid. Patent Specification GB 618895 relates to the clarification of coal washery effluent by adding a coagulating agent such as aluminium sulphate or sodium aluminate and also soluble silica. The metal compound to silica weight ratio is 2:1. The silica sol contains between 0.1 and 3% SIO₂, 0.3% in the Examples. If 10% by weight aluminium sulphate solution is used, the mol ratio of silicon to metal is about 0.43. The silica sol is partly neutralized, which indicates a high pH. Patent Specification DE 971180 also relates to water treatment using a silica sol added to a solution of an iron or aluminium salt. The mol ratios can be calculated as silicon to aluminium 0.023 to 0.22 and silicon to iron 0.05 to 0.45, which are very similar to those above. In both cases, the silica is only a flocculation aid. The Invention The invention provides a flocculant for water treatment characterized in that it comprises an aqueous solution having a pH not higher than 2 and containing a polysilicic acid having a limiting viscosity not less than twice that of monosilicic acid and a water-soluble salt of a metal capable of forming a hydroxide in water, the mol ratio of silicon to metal in the aqueous solution being not less than 2. This highly polymerized silicic acid, together with the small quantity of metal ion, exhibits a superior ability to form flocs, that is it can form large flocs at high speed at a wide range of temperatures and pHs, with safety and at low cost. The polymerized silic acid can be prepared by polymerizing commercially available water glass (sodium silicate) until the limiting viscosity thereof becomes about twice greater than the limiting viscosity (0.104 ml/g) of monosilicic acid. The metallic ions that can coexist with polymerized silicic acid are those of aluminium and iron that are now commonly used as flocculants. Also usable are the ions of such metals as copper, zinc, manganese and calcium that can form hydroxides in water. These metals are used by dissolving in such solutions as those of sulfuric and nitric acids. Thus, the flocculant of the invention has a high aggregating effect on the impurities contained in the water to be treated, even at low temperature. It can be prepared from solutions of highly polymerized silicic acid, obtained from low-priced water glass, with considerable saving of water treatment cost. Water treatment is carried out by pouring approximately 20-30 mg of a solution of said polysilicic acid and metal salt to each litre of the water to be treated. The mol ratio of silicon to metal, or Si/M, becomes about 2.5 to 15 when the metal is aluminium. Preferable Si/M mol ratios for other metals than aluminium are as follows: Iron Si/Fe 2.5 to 15 Copper Si/Cu 2 to 18 Magnesium Si/Mg 2 to 10 Lead Si/Pb 6 to 20 Cobalt Si/Co 4 to 10 Tin Si/Sn 2 to 18 When allowed to stand at ordinary temperature, polysilicic acid becomes further polymerized and then sets to gel. The polysilicic acid that has changed into a gel cannot be used as a flocculant. So it is desirable to inhibit the progress of further polymerization once polysilicic acid has been prepared. Polymerization of polysilicic acid progresses faster when the pH value of the solution of polysilicic acid is close to neutrality. For example, silicic acid polymerized in an acid solution at a pH of 4 sets to gel in approximately 8 hours when the pH of the solution is left unchanged. When the pH value of the solution is changed to 2 by the addition of diluted sulfuric acid, on the other hand, the same polysilicic acid remains stable even after 140 hours, exhibiting a satisfactory aggregating property. Commercially available water glass can be used as the silicic acid in the preparation of the flocculant according to the invention. Preferably, the silicon concentration of the solution of silicic acid is between 0.5 percent and 2 percent. Iron salt may be added to the prepared solution of silicic acid either directly or after polymerization. Addition of iron salt after polymerization provides higher aggregating ability for the flocculant. Such ferric salts as ferric chloride are suited for being added to the solution of silicic acid, but other iron salts that can generate ferric ion in solution may be used as well. The flocculants of the invention can be obtained by adding such iron salts dissolved in water or other solvent to the solution of silicic acid. The flocculant thus prepared remains ungelled and maintains adequate aggregating ability even after about 5000 hours if stored in a container of glass or the like at a temperature of 20°C of thereabout. The flocculant of the invention may be used by pouring it singly into the water to be treated. A flocculant made from a combination of polymerized silicic acid and iron salt exhibits a very high aggregating ability. When used as an aggregation aid with an aluminium sulfate, like ordinary activated silica, a good result is obtained when about 0.3 ml/l of the flocculant of the invention is added to 30 mg/l of aluminium sulfate. Still greater effect will be obtained if the salt of iron or other metal exists in the water to be treated with a flocculant of the invention. Example 1 Two kilograms of an acid solution of silicic acid at a pH of 4 having a silicon concentration of 1.5 percent was obtained by mixing 1 kg of 2.3 percent diluted sulfuric acid, with 1 kg of an aqueous solution of water glass with a silicon concentration of 3 percent (or a silicon dioxide concentration of 6.4 percent), which was prepared by diluting commercially available "Class 4 water glass" with water, with stirring. The obtained acidic solution of silicic acid was polymerized into a solution of polysilicic acid by slowly stirring at room temperature (27°C). Sample A1, sample A2 and sample A3 were taken from the container holding the solution of polysilicic acid at given intervals or, more specifically, 2, 4 and 6 hours after the start of the polymerization, respectively. The limiting viscosity of the individual samples determined by the method according to JIS (Japanese Industrial Standard) Z 8803 is shown below: Sample A1 0.21 Sample A2 0.36 Sample A3 0.67 Then, 20% sulfuric acid was added to each sample to control the pH value to 2.0. Aggregation tests were conducted on the water to be treated (at a temperature of 25°C with a turbidity of 219 mg/l) by a jar test (with rapid, medium and slow stirring performed at 120 rpm for 2 minutes, 60 rpm for 3 minutes and 30 rpm for 2 minutes, respectively), using flocculants prepared by adding aluminum sulfate (Al₂(SO₄)₃.18H₂O) to said samples. The flocculants were poured into the water to be treated so that the amount of aluminum sulfate in the water became 60 mg per liter. Then, a test was conducted to vary the mol ratio of silicon and aluminum in each specimen. Table 1 shows the time taken between the start of the test and the appearance of aggregated flocs and the average size of the obtained flocs. The floc sizes were determined on the basis of the photographs taken during the test. A, B and other alphabetic characters in the table represent the following size ranges: A 0.2 mm and under B 0.2 mm to 0.3 mm C 0.3 mm to 0.5 mm D 0.5 mm to 1.0 mm E 1.0 mm to 1.5 mm F 1.5 mm to 2.0 mm G 2.0 mm to 5.0 mm H 5.0 mm and over As is obvious from the above test results, the acid solutions of polysilicic acid has exhibited adequate aggregating effects even when the ratio of the coexisting metal was low, with an increase in the degree of polymerization bringing about more effective aggregation. Example 2 Samples A4, A5 and A6 were prepared by adding solutions of different metal salts given below to an acid solution of polysilicic acid prepared by the method employed in Example 1. (The acid solution was taken 3 hours after the start of polymerization and had a limiting viscosity of 0.27). With the samples poured into the same water (at 25°C) to be treated as that used in Example 1 so that the amount of metal salt in the water became 60 mg per liter, jar tests were conducted under the same conditions as in Example 1. Sample A4 (copper sulfate) Si/Cu mol ratio = 4.4 Sample A5 (zinc chloride) Si/Zn mol ratio = 3.6 Sample A6 (manganese chloride) Si/Mn mol ratio = 7.1 The floc appearance time and average floc size with the individual samples were as shown in Table 2. Sample A4 A5 A6 Floc Appearance Time (sec) 13 12 8 Average Floc Size E E E Obviously, the acid solution of polysilicic acid has exhibited excellent aggregating effects in the presence of the ions of other metals than aluminum, too. Example 3 Samples A7 to A11 were prepared by individually adding and dissolving copper sulfate, ferric nitrate, zinc chloride, manganese chloride and magnesium chloride to an acid solution of polysilicic acid prepared by the method employed in Example 1. (The acid solution was taken 4 hours after the start of polymerization.) The samples A7 to A11 and the sample 2 used in Example 1 were put to aggregation tests of the water to be treated whose temperature was as low as 3°C (with a turbidity of 220 mg/l). The samples were added so that the amount of metal salt in the water became 80 mg per liter. The mol ratios of silicon to other metals in the samples were as follows: Sample A2 Si/Al mol ratio 5.0 Sample A2 Si/Cu mol ratio 4.4 Sample A8 Si/Fe mol ratio 5.2 Sample A9 Si/Zn mol ratio 2.4 Sample A10 Si/Mn mol ratio 7.1 Sample A11 Si/Mg mol ratio 3.4 The floc appearance time and average floc size with the individual samples were as shown in Table 3. Sample A2 (Al) A7 (Cu) A8 (Fe) A9 (Zn) A10 (Mn) A11 (Mg) Floc Appearance Time(sec) 60 25 20 10 10 40 Average Floc Size F E E E F G As can be seen, the acid solution of polysilicic acid produced excellent aggregating effects, in the presence of various kinds of metal ions, on the low-temperature water, too. Example 4 Two liters of a solution of silicic acid with a pH of 2.0 and a silicon concentration of 3.3 percent was obtained by adding, with stirring, 1 liter of an aqueous solution of water glass prepared by dilution of commercially available water glass of class 4 with water, with the silicon concentration adjusted to 6.6 percent, to 1 liter of 1.3N-HCl. Thirty milliliter each of the obtained acidic solution of silicic acid was taken into nine beakers for Samples B1 to B9. Sample B1 was prepared by adding 2N-HCl until pH became 1.0 and adding water until the volume became 50 ml. Samples B2 to B9 were prepared by adding various kinds of metal salts, adjusting pH to 1.0 with 2N-HCl, and adding water until the volume became 50 ml. The gelling time of Samples B1 to B9 was measured by keeping them at a temperature of 60°C. The results are shown in Table 4. Sample No. Added Metal Salt Quantity Added (g) Gel Time (hr.) B1 - 0 23 B2 Sodium chloride (NaCl) 0.52 22 B3 Cupric chloride (CuCl₂·2H₂0) 1.52 16 B4 Magnesium chloride (MgCl₂·6H₂0) 1.82 20 B5 Calcium chloride (CaCl₂) 0.99 20 B6 Alumium chloride (AlCl₃·6H₂O) 2.16 16 B7 Ferric chloride (FeCl₃·6H₂O) 2.41 52 B8 Nickel chloride (NiCl₂·6H₂O) 2.12 21 B9 Manganese chloride (MnCl₂·4H₂O) 1.77 21 As is obvious from the above table, the solution of silicic acid added with ferric chloride did not gel very much longer than the solutions of silicic acid added with the salts of other metals. Example 5 Six hundred milliliters of a solution of silicic acid with a pH of 2.0 and a silicon concentration of 3.3 percent was obtained by adding, with stirring, 300 ml of an aqueous solution of water glass prepared by diluting commercially available water glass of class 4 with water, with the silicon concentration adjusted to 6.6 percent, to 300 ml of 1.3N-HCl. After dissolving 100 g of ferric chloride, water was added to the solution until the volume became 800 ml. Forty milliliters each of the obtained solution of silicic acid containing iron ions was taken into seven beakers for Samples B13 to B20. After dissolving different kinds of metal salts, as in Example 1, Samples B13 to B20 were prepared by adjusting pH to 1.0 with 2N-HCl and adding water until the volume became 50 ml. The gel time of Samples B13 to B20 was measured by keeping them at a temperature of 60°C. The results are shown in Table 5. Sample No. Ferric Chloride (g) Coexisting Metal Salt Quantity Added(g) Gel Time(hr.) B13 5.0 Sodium chloride (NaCl) 0.52 46 B14 5.0 Cupric chloride (CuCl₂·2H₂O) 1.52 36 B15 5.0 Magnesium chloride (MgCl₂·6H₂O) 1.82 38 B16 5.0 Calcium chloride (CaCl₂) 0.99 39 B17 5.0 Aluminum chloride (AlCl₃·6H₂O) 2.16 30 B18 5.0 Ferric chloride (FeCl₃·6H₂O) 2.41 55 B19 5.0 Nickel chloride (NiCl₂·6H₂O) 2.12 38 B20 5.0 Manganese chloride (MnCl₂·4H₂O) 1.77 38 As comparison of Table 5 with Table 4 shows that iron ions used with other metal ions are effective in delaying the gelling of silicic acid as same as when they are used singly. A jar test was performed on Samples B13 to B20. The testing conditions were as follows: The turbidity of raw water = 110 degrees, flocculant pouring rate = 1.0 ml/l, water temperature = 12.5°C, rapid stirring = 120 rpm for 2 minutes, medium-speed stirring = 60 rpm for 3 minutes, and slow stirring = 30 rpm for 2 minutes. The results are shown in Table 6. Sample No. Floc Appearance Time (sec.) Average Floc Size (mm) Turbidity of Supernatant 5 Minutes after Completion of Jar Test(degree) B13 25 D 0.3 B14 20 E 0.2 B15 25 E 0.1 B16 25 E 0.1 B17 150 E 0.1 B18 25 E 0.1 B19 30 E 0.2 B20 25 E 0.1 As is obvious from the above, flocculants made of the solutions of silicic acid containing iron ions exhibit very high aggregating ability in the presence of other metal ions, too. As stated in the foregoings, the flocculants of this invention maintain excellent aggregating ability without gelling for a much longer time than conventionally used activated silicic acid. Even after storage of long hours, their effectiveness is not lost. They can be used as either the main or the aggregation aids for water treatment.

Claims: A flocculant for water treatment characterized in that it comprises an aqueous solution having a pH not higher than 2 and containing a polysilicic acid having a limiting viscosity not less than twice that of monosilicic acid and a water-soluble salt of a metal capable of forming a hydroxide in water, the mol ratio of silicon to metal in the aqueous solution being not less than 2. A flocculant for water treatment according to claim 1 wherein the metal is aluminium, iron, zinc, copper, magnesium, manganese, lead, cobalt, calcium or tin. A flocculant for water treatment according to claim 1 or claim 2 containing a substance able to generate ferric ion in the solution for prolonging the gel time of the silicic acid. A flocculant for water treatment according to claim 3, wherein the substance able to generate ferric ion is ferric chloride. A flocculant for water treatment according to claim 3 or claim 4 wherein the silicic acid solution is mixed with a metal salt other than the substance able to generate ferric ion.

Inventors: EHARA, YASUHIRO, HASEGAWA, TAKAO, HASHIMOTO, KATSUHIRO, ONITSUKA, TAKUYA, SUZUKI, MINORU
Applicants: SUIDO KIKO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
Application year: 1988
Main classification: C02F1
IPC codes: B01D21, C02F1