The influence of microfloc age on its strength and sorption capacity

In the process of direct filtration, reagents are fed into the system before a filter or just above a filter bed. However, it is not clear which place is best. The results of many investigations prove that a short time of the reaction of water with coagulant before the filter bed should allow only coagulant hydrolysis and the change of electrokinetic potential ζ. Such a time of coagulant dosing just before filtration should unable agglomeration of floes which are less susceptible to an attachment to filter media. The results of the research presented in this paper indicate that in the treatment of soft waters collected from mountainous streams, where dissolved organic matter is a prevailing contaminant, the time of the reaction of water with coagulant before the filer bed does not significantly influence the treatment effectiveness. Microflocs generated just after coagulant dosing are not only stable and effective in contaminant sorption, independently of their age and temperature, but also susceptible to further separation during filtration.