• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.36 no.7
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• pp.514-520
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• 2014

In this study, the production potential of alternative coagulant ($Al_2(SO_4)_3$ solution) having the identical coagulation activity with respect to the commercial coagulant was investigated. The raw material of alternative coagulant was a spent catalyst including aluminium (waste activated alumina) generated in the manufacturing process of the polymer. The alternative coagulant was produced through a series of processes: 1) intense heat and grinding, 2) chemical polymerization and substitution with $H_2SO_4$ solution, 3) dissolution and dilution and 4) settling and separation. To determine the optimal operating conditions in the lab-scale autoclave and dissolver, the content of $Al_2O_3$ in alternative coagulant was analyzed according to changes of the purity of sulfuric acid, reaction temperature, injection ratio of sulfuric acid and water in the dissolver. The results showed that the alternative coagulant having the $Al_2O_3$ content of 7~8% was produced under the optimal conditions such as $H_2SO_4$ purity of 50%, reaction temperature of $120^{\circ}C$, injection ratio of $H_2SO_4$ of 5 times and injection ratio of water of 2.3 times in dissolver. In order to evaluate the coagulation activity of the alternative coagulant, the Jar-test was conducted to the effluent in aerobic reactor. As a result, in both cases of Al/P mole of 1.5 and 2.0, the coagulation activity of the alternative coagulant was higher than that of the existing commercial coagulant. When the production costs were compared between the alternative and commercial coagulant through economic analysis, the production cost reduction of about 50% was available in the case of the alternative coagulant. In addition, it was identified that the alternative coagulant could be applied at field wastewater treatment plant without environmental problem through ecological toxicity testing.