Optimisation of orthophosphate and turbidity removal using an amphoteric chitosan-based flocculant–ferric chloride coagulant system

Abstract

Environmental contextThe fate and build-up of phosphate nutrients in aquatic environments is an urgent environmental problem affecting global water security. This study, guided by a statistical design method, optimises the flocculation properties of a biopolymer for removing orthophosphate from water. This improved technology has potential widespread applications for removal of orthophosphate from water and wastewater treatment systems. AbstractA coagulation-flocculation process was employed to remove turbidity (Ti) and orthophosphate (Pi) in aqueous media using a ferric chloride (FeCl3) and a grafted carboxymethyl chitosan (CMC) flocculant system. The amphoteric CMC-CTA flocculant was synthesised by grafting 3-chloro-2-hydroxypropyl trimethylammonium chloride (CTA) onto the biopolymer backbone of CMC. Here, CMC-CTA denotes the covalent grafting of CTA onto CMC. Optimisation of the variables for Pi and Ti removal was conducted using a jar test system based on the experimental design obtained from the response surface methodology (RSM). The Box–Behnken design was used to evaluate the individual and interactive effects of four independent variables: CMC-CTA dosage, FeCl3 dosage, pH and settling time. The RSM analysis showed that the experimental data followed a quadratic polynomial model with the following optimal conditions: [CMC-CTA]=3.0mgL−1, [FeCl3]=10.0mgL−1, pH 6.8 and settling time=35min. Optimum conditions led to a Pi removal of 96.4% and turbidity removal of 96.7% based on the RSM optimisation, in good agreement with experimental results with an initial concentration of 30.0mg PiL−1. The coagulation-flocculation process is characterised by a combination of electrostatic charge neutralisation, polymer bridging and a polymer adsorption mechanism.