Shear hydrophobic flocculation and flotation of ultrafine Anshan hematite using sodium oleate

Effects of stirring speed and time, pH and sodium oleate concentration on the shear hydrophobic flocculation of ultrafine Anshan hematite with sodium oleate as the surfactant were discussed. The results show that these parameters significantly affect the shear hydrophobic flocculation of ultrafine hematite. The optimum conditions for the flocculation are： stirring speed 1 400 r/min, flocculation time 20 min, pH 9 and sodium oleate concentration 3.94×10-4 mol/L; the flotation recovery of hematite flocs is remarkably high compared with non flocculated ultrafine hematite. According to the extended DLVO theory, the total interaction potential of Anshan ultrafine hematite was determined. The calculation results indicate that the hydrophobic flocculation state of the ultrafine hematite-sodium oleate system is mainly dominated by electric double layer repulsive interaction potential and hydrophobic interaction potential. A mechanical agitation is required to impart particles a kinetic energy to overcome potential barrier between them due to the existence of electric double layer repulsive interaction potential. Those particles further approach to form flocs due to the significant increase of the hydrophobic interaction potential.

Biological preparation and application of poly-ferric sulfate flocculant

A novel inorganic polymer flocculant,poly-ferric sulfate（BPFS） was prepared by oxidation of ferrous sulfate using domestic Thiobacillus ferrooxidans（T·f） under acid condition.The optimal conditions for the preparation were pH value of 1.5,（NH4）2SO4 dosage of 0.5 g/L,initial Fe2＋ concentration of 45g/L,inoculum 10%,rotating speed of 120 r/min,reaction time of 5-6 d and reaction temperature of 30 ℃.Under the optimal conditions,the BPFS product with pH value of 1.5-2.2,basicity of 17.5%-22.7% and total iron content of 43.87-45.24 g/L was obtained.The application of the BPFS to three wastewaters was carried out,and the removal efficiencies of COD,decolorization and Zn2＋ by BPFS can be reached 70%,90% and 99%,respectively.The result suggests that the BPFS is an excellent flocculant for water treatment.

Screening of One Microbial Flocculant for Treatment of Methyl Orange Wastewater and its Decolorization Effect

[Objective] To screen out a microbial flocculant with good decolorization effect on methyl orange wastewater,and study the effect of different cultural conditions on decolorization effect of methyl orange.[Method] Absorbance of methyl orange solution before and after decolorization was determined by spectrophotometer,and the decolorization rate was calculated to compare the effects of different cultural conditions on removal rate of methyl orange.[Result]An optimal actinomycete stain（F-1-2） was screened out,and the best cultural condition was as follows：with sucrose as carbon source and NaNO3 as nitrogen source,cultured in constant temperature oscillator at 150 r/min,30℃ for 72 h.Under the optimal condition,the removal rate against methyl orange could reach 68.4%.[Conclusion]Different culture conditions have great impact on decolorization effect of strain.

Isolation and Identification of Bioflocculant Producing Stain and Analysis on Its Flocculating Characteristics

[Objective] The aim was to indentify a bioflocculatnt producing strain W5 isolated from soil samples and analyze its flocculating characteristics. [Method] The universal primers of bacterial 16S rDNA were used for PCR amplification of its genome; effects of the medium pH,carbon and nitrogen sources on its flocculating activity were analyzed by using single factor method; and infrared spectroscopy was used for functional groups analysis. [Result] The results of homology comparison showed that strain W5 belonging to Gram-negative,long bacilli and had 98.34% of homology with Hymenobacter gelipurpurascens,. In addition,the optimum carbon source,nitrogen source,pH for fermentation condition were glucose,yeast extract and pH 7.04,respectively. Microbe flocculant produced by W5 strain （MBF-W5） was extracted and purified to obtain reddish and flocculent products. Fourier-transform infrared （FTIR） spectroscopy indicated that the major functional groups of MBF-W5 were hydroxyl,carboxyl and amino. [Conclusion] More than 85% of flocculating activity was achieved under the conditions of 150-500 μl bioflocculation dosage,5-65 ℃ temperature and pH 2-10.

Dynamic experiments on flocculation and sedimentation of argillized ultrafine tailings using fly-ash-based magnetic coagulant

In order to accelerate the sedimentation of super-large-scale argillized ultrafine tailings with bad features such as low settling velocity, muddy overflow water, and large flocculant dosage, a fly-ash-based magnetic coagulant （FAMC） was used in a dynamic experimental device. To obtain the best possible combination of the impact factors （magnetic intensity, FAMC dosage, flocculant dosage, and feed speed） for minimum overflow turbidity, a response surface methodology test coupled with a four-factor five-level central composite design was conducted. The synergy mechanism of FAMC and flocculant was analyzed based on the potential measurement and scanning electron microscopy. The results show that the flocculant dosage, overflow turbidity, and solid content can be reduced by 50%, 90%, and 80%, while the handling capacity per unit and efficiency of backfill and dry stacking can be promoted by 20%, 17%, and 13%, respectively, with a magnetic intensity of 0.3 T, FAMC dosage of 200 mL/t, flocculant dosage of 30 g/t, and feed speed of 0.6 t/（m^2·h）. Therefore, synergy of FAMC and flocculant has obvious efficiency in saving energy and protecting the environment by allowing 70×10^6 t/a of argillized ultrafine tailings slurry to be disposed safely and efficiently with a cost saving of more than 53×106 Yuan/a, which gives it great promise for use in domestic and foreign mines.

Effects of water hardness on selective flocculation of diasporic bauxite

The effect of electrolyte on settling behavior of kaolinite was studied. Effects of hard water on selective flocculation of diasporic bauxite was tested and the measures were taken to eliminate the effects of Ca2＋ and Mg2＋ in hard water. The results indicated that, not only the concentration of electrolyte ions but also the ionic valence of the electrolyte ions affects the settling behavior of kaolinite; hard water significantly affects its selective flocculation owing to Ca2＋ and Mg2＋; general dispersants could not eliminate the effects of Ca2＋ and Mg2＋. Self-made softening agent in our lab could weaken or eliminate the effects of hard water on flocculation processes. The results of molecular dynamics simulation show that softening agent molecules could restrict Ca2＋ and prevent them from playing their roles, so as to eliminate the effects. The continuous pilot experiment results of bauxite flocculation were even better than those obtained in laboratory.

Screening of a Novel Bioflocculant-producing Strain and Research on Its Flocculation

[Objective] This study aimed to screen a bacterial strain capable of producing bioflocculant. [Method] A bacterial strain T-11 capable of producing bioflocculant was isolated from activated sludge. Detailed tests on the morphological, physiological and biochemical characteristics were carried out and identification was performed to identify the strain. Finally, the bioflocculant was isolated and purified, and the flocculating activity and chemical characteristics were measured. [Result] It was identified as Serratia plumuthica based on its morphological, physiological and biochemical characteristics. This strain secreted flocculant best in a culture medium which included sucrose and NaNO3. The maximal cell growth was achieved within 10 h and the flocculating activity paralleled to it. It was found to be effective for flocculation of kaolin suspension, when added at a final concentration of 0.7 mg/L, over a range of pHs （2-7）, and temperature （approximately 30-80 ℃）. Chemical analysis indicated that the bioflocculant was an acidic polysaccharide consisting of glucose, glucuronic acid and galactose, talose and altrose. Infrared spectrum analysis also revealed typical characteristics of polysaccharides. [Conclusion] The biofloccu- lants produced by strain T-11 can greatly improve the ability of activated sludge to settle.

“不屑”解诂——兼及“洁”的民族文化意涵

本文针对孟子"蹴尔而与之,乞人不屑也"一句中字词理解存在的歧义,在先贤时修研究的基础上,通过稽查文献,分析"不屑"一词词汇化及其词义演变过程,并探讨其语义生成与"洁"的民族文化观念的密切关系。

Isolation and Identification of a Flocculant Producing Strain TS-1

[Objective] The purpose was to select out and identify a flocculant producing strain which could produce high active flocculant.[Method] The strain producing high active flocculant was isolated out and purified through medium culture and the selected strain was identified through observing its culture characters and determining its physiological and biochemical property.[Result] Fourteen strains of bacteria with flocculant producing function were isolated from tested soil samples through isolation,purification and preliminary screening using dilution-spread plate method and plate streaking method.Five strains of flocculant producing bacteria showing higher flocculation activity were selected out after second screening and their flocculation rates were higher than 70%;the flocculation activity of one strain among them was still stable after multiple subculturings,its flocculation rate was always above 90% and it was marked as TS-1.TS-1 was encapsulated Gram-positive bacillus and there was no lipid in it,such as poly-β-hydroxybutyric acid.TS-1 was Bacillus amyloliquefaciens,so it was named Bacillus TS-1.[Conclusion] The strain selected out in this experiment could be used in the flocculation and biochemical treatment of wastewater from starch industry.

Floc flotation of marmatite fines in aqueous suspensions induced by butyl xanthate and ammonium dibutyl dithiophosphate

The hydrophobic flocculation of marmatite fines in aqueous suspensions induced by butyl xanthate （KBX） and ammonium dibutyl dithiophosphate （ADD） was investigated using laser particle size analysis, microscopy analysis, electrophoretic light scattering, contact angle measurement and infrared spectroscopy. The studies were performed on single minerals with size 〈20 μm by varying several parameters, including pH, collector concentration and kerosene addition. The results show that the floc fotation closely correlated with the size of flocs and the particle hydrophobicity, but was not lowered with increasing the particle surface charges due to collector adsorption. Under good operating conditions, the floc flotation of marmatite fines as a function of KBX and ADD can all reach floatability over 90%, in comparison with conventional flotation obtaining floatability of about 60%. It also has been found that a small addition of kerosene greatly improved the floc flotation because of the formation of oil films on marmatite particles. The results of FTIR spectra indicate that adsorption of the two collectors onto marmatite were chemical adsorption.

Characterization of a bioflocculant from a newly isolated Vagococcus sp. W31

Screening of microorganisms producing flocculating substances was carried out. A strain secreting a large amount of bioflocculant was isolated from wastewater samples collected from the Little Moon River in Beijing. Based on the morphological properties and 16S rDNA sequence analysis, the isolate (designated W31) was classified as Vagococcus sp. A bioflocculant (named MBFW31) produced by W31 was extracted from the culture broth by ethanol precipitation and purified by gel chroma-tography. MBFW31 was heat-stable and had strong flocculating activity in a wide range of pH with relatively low dosage re-quirement. MBFW31 was identified as a polysaccharide with molecular weight over 2×106. It contained neutral sugar and uronic acid as its major and minor components, respectively. Infrared spectra showed the presence of hydroxyl, carboxyl and methoxyl group in its molecules. The present results suggested that MBFW31 had potential application in wastewater treatment.

Optimum conditions to treat high-concentration microparticle slime water with bioflocculants

We studied how bioflocculants,produced by white-rot fungi,affect flocculation in slime water.Based on a test in an orthogonal design,flocculation conditions were optimized.The results show that flocculation activity is at its highest when the following conditions are met:slime water concentration 27.42 g/L;coagulant aid(CaCl_2) mass concentration 5.0 g/L;two-segment stirrings:the first at a stirring speed of 60 r/min for 180 s and the second 180 r/min for 60 s;a pH of 11 and a flocculant concentration of 15 mL/L.The flocculation activity can be up to 98.71%of bioflocculants at the time.Further experiments indicate that most of the flocculation active material is found outside the mycelium cells.This is the extracellular secretion produced by mycelium cells during the fermentation process.This flocculant has strong thermal stability.Many kinds of cations have a flocculation function to assist bioflocculants.This aid-flocculation effect of the divalent cation Ca^(2+) is obvious in the bioflocculant produced by the white-rot fungus.Therefore,this is of great value when applied to control engineering in the battle against water pollution.

Ability of Bacillus mucilaginosus GY03 Strain to Adsorb Chromium Ions

A research with Bacillus mucilaginosus cultured in nitrogen-free medium for forming a flocculant material to adsorb Cr+6 was conducted to determine the effects of different pH, volume, treatment time, and chromium (VI) concentrations on chromium (VI) adsorption by microbial flocculant (MBF), which was produced from the B. mucilaginosus GY03 strain. The results showed that MBF had outstanding flocculation on chromium (VI). Based on the results of a oneway experiment and actual wastewater treatment conditions, the optimum conditions, obtained by using orthogonal experiments, for chromium (VI) adsorption by MBF were: Cr6+ solution pH of 9, flocculant material volume of 15 mL, treatment time of 12 h and chromium ion concentration of 30 mg L-1. The results demonstrated that the MBF produced from GY03 could be used in the chromium-containing wastewater treatment. Meanwhile, after extraction and analysis of the MBF polysaccharides, it was found that MBF was mainly composed of glycoprotein. Analysis on constituents of monosaccharide showed that polysaccharides of B. mucilaginosus were composed of rhamnose, glucose etc. Thus, because it was applied over a wide range of pH, in small amounts and had a rapid flocculation speed the flocculant used in this experiment had a vast field of application potential.

Preparation of Cationic Chitosan-Polyacrylamide Flocculant and Its Properties in Wastewater Treatment

Chitosan derived from crab shells, was used to prepare the graft polymer in aqueous solution with acrylamide （AM） and methacrylatoethyl trimethyl ammonium chloride （DMC） as raw materials and ceric ammonium nitrate （CAN） as initiator. The flocculation ability of the resulting polymer （PCAD） was studied in waste water treatment experiments. Its properties were determined on the basis of the transmittance of waste water after flocculation. The effects of ehitosan and DMC content on PCAD＇s flocculation ability were studied. Floeculation experiments were also undertaken under various pH conditions. According to the experimental data, the flocculation ability could be improved when chitosan content decreased in the raw material, but the monomer conversion would decrease obviously. When the ehitosan＇s content was more than 65%, AM and DMC groups were less on each chitosan molecule. So PCAD＇s flocculation ability was poor. Similarly, high content of DMC would result in low monomer conversion and high flocculation ability. PCAD molecules with more DMC group had more positive charges. It was favorable to flocculation. However, monomer conversion would decrease with the increase of DMC content. The suitable conditions were that chitosan and DMC contents were 65% and 15-20%, respectively. The experiment data showed that PCAD had good flocculation ability under weak acidic condition. Its ability would be weakened by strong acidic or alkaline condition. The flocculation efficiency was the best at pH of 5.5 when PCAD＇s dosage was 8mg-Lk Compared with cationic polymer （the copolymer of AM and DMC, PAD）, PCAD showed better flocculation ability under acid and neutral conditions, but worse ability under alkaline condition.

Flocculation of flotation tailings in presence of silicate gel and polymer

Flotation tailings were successfully flocculated in the presence of cationic polyacrylamide and silica gel.The effects of various parameters such as polymer weight,charge density,and pH on the rate of flocculation were also investigated in the current study.The flocculation mechanism of the flocculant on tailings was investigated using zeta potential and Fourier transform infrared(FTIR)measurements.The results obtained reveal that 1)sodium silicate gel,used as a binder for the consolidation of tailings form primary flocs,acts as an anchor and the adsorption of polymer flocculant on these anchors results in the formation of larger flocs and,consequently,enhanced settling rate;2)flocculation in the presence of silica gel and polymer has a faster settling rate than single-polymer flocculation owing to the mechanisms of charge neutralization and bridging as identified using zeta potential and FTIR measurements.A pilot level study was conducted to investigate the influence of processed water on the flotation of scheelite.The results show that the proposed tailing disposal method could improve scheelite recovery by 2%(approximately)and could reduce the daily operation costs of the plant by approximately 108.57 USD.

Numerical study of flocculation settling and thickening of whole-tailings in deep cone thickener using CFD approach

Deep cone thickener (DCT) is the key equipment in cemented paste backfill (CPB), so it is essential to study the flocculation settling and thickening characteristics of the whole-tailings in DCT. Coupled with population balance model (PBM), computational fluid dynamics (CFD) was used to study the characteristics, namely particle size distribution (PSD) and underflow concentration in DCT. Based on actual production, the effects of rake rotational speed, feed rate and tailings slurry concentration were simulated and analyzed in a certain range. The PSD varied with rake rational speed, feed rate and tailings slurry concentration almost in the same trend, but the influence of feed rate was less than that of rake rational speed and tailings slurry concentration. The underflow concentration increased at first and then declined with rake rational speed and feed rate, but it rose and fell with the tailings slurry concentration. Finally, the optimal key parameters on the flocculation settling and thickening of the whole-tailings in DCT were obtained: rake rotational speed of 17 r/min, feed rate of 3.25 m^3/h and tailings slurry concentration of 20%, giving the reference values to the industrial production in Baishitamu Copper Mine.

Hydrophobic flocculation flotation of rutile fines in presence of styryl phosphonic acid

The hydrophobic flocculation flotation of rutile fines in the presence of styryl phosphonic acid（SPA） was investigated by flotation tests, zeta-potential measurement, optical microscope observation, laser-based particle size analysis, adsorption measurements and DLVO theory. The flotation tests indicated that rutile fines could be flocculated by SPA, and pH, shear force（stirring speed） and stirring time played significant roles in flocculation. The isoelectric point（IEP） and zeta-potential in whole range all moved to negative values as SPA was added according to the results from zeta-potential measurement. It was demonstrated that the primary reason for above was chemical adsorption. The laser-based particle size results showed the particle size at a stirring speed of 1800 r/min and 1000 mg/L SPA was the largest in all experiments. Furthermore, using the optical microscope observation and flotation tests, it was important for flotation of rutile fines to produce the flocculant. In the light of above-mentioned facts, floc flotation of rutile fines could be induced in the form of chemical adsorption by SPA to increase particle size. The data calculated from DLVO theory also indicated that chemical adsorption was the main reason for the formation of flocculant.

The Short-term Effects of Temperature and Free Ammonia on Ammonium Oxidization in Granular and Floccular Nitrifying System

The short-term effects of temperature and free ammonia (FA) on ammonium oxidization were investigated in this study by operating several batch tests with two different partial nitrification aggregates, formed as either granules or flocs. The results showed that the rate of ammonium oxidation in both cultures increased significantly as temperature increased from 10 to 30 °C. The specific ammonium oxidation rate with the granules was 2-3 times higher than that with flocs at the same temperature. Nitrification at various FA concentrations and temperatures combination exhibited obvious inhibition in ammonium oxidation rate when FA was 90 mg·L 1 and tempera- ture dropped to 10 °C in the two systems. However, the increase in substrate oxidation rate of ammonia at 30 °C was observed. The results suggested that higher reaction temperature was helpful to reduce the toxicity of FA. Granules appeared to be more tolerant to FA attributed to the much fraction of ammonia oxidizing bacteria (AOB) and higher resistance to the transfer of ammonia into the bacterial aggregates, whereas in the floc system, the bacteria distributed throughout the entire aggregate. These results may contribute to the applicability of the nitrifying granules in wastewater treatment operated at high ammonium concentration.

Recovering limonite from Australia iron ores by flocculation-high intensity magnetic separation

Successful recovery of limonite from iron fines was achieved by using flocculation-high intensity magnetic separation （FIMS） and adding hydrolyzed and causticized flocculants according to the characteristic of iron fines. The separation results of the three iron samples are as follows： iron grade 66.77%- 67.98% and the recovery of iron 69.26%-70.70% by the FIMS process with flocculants. The comparative results show that under the same separation conditions the F1MS process can effectively increase the recovery of iron by 10. 97%- 15.73%. The flowsheet results confirm the reliability of the process in a SHP high intensity magnetic separator. The concentrate product can he used as raw materials for direct reduction iron-smelting. The hydrolyzed and causticized flocculants can selectively flocculate fine feebly-magnetic iron mineral particles to increase their apparent separation sizes. The larger the separation size, the stronger the magnetic force. By comparing the separation results of the three samples it is found that among the three samples the higher the limonite content, the better the separation result. This means that the separation result relates closely to the flocculation process and the adding pattern of the flocculant.

Study on coagulation property of metal-polysilicate coagulants in low turbidity water treatment

In order to remove the low turbidity present in surface water, a novel metal-polysilicate coagulant was used to treat the raw water taken from Tanjiang River in Guangdong Province. This study on the effects of Al/Fe molar ratio on the performance of a complex compound formed by polysilicic acid, aluminium and ferric salt (PAFS) showed that PAFS with Al/Fe ratio of 10:3 seemed to have the best coagulation performance in removing turbidity and color. Experimental results showed that under the conditions of polymerization time of 15 d, sedimentation time of 12 min, and pH of 6?8, PAFS with Al/Fe molar ratio of 10:3 had the best coagulation efficiency and lowest residual Al concentration. The turbid- ity decreased from 23.8 NTU to 3.23 NTU and the residual Al concentration was only 0.165 mg/L in the product water. It could be speculated that colloidal impurities and particulate Al were removed by adsorption bridging and electrical neu- tralization of long chain inorganic polymer coagulants.