Comparing the effectiveness of chitosan and conventional coagulants for coal wastewater treatment
Ana María, Elisabet Dwi Mayasari, Utami Irawati, Zulfikurrahman
Abstract
Abstract In this research, the potential of chitosan to be used as a coagulant to treat coal wastewater was investigated, in comparison to a conventional coagulant, i.e: Al 2 (SO 4 ) 3 or aluminum sulfate, and Poly Aluminium Chloride (PAC). The parameters being studied were turbidity, pH, TDS, and TSS. The result of this research showed that chitosan worked as a more efficient coagulant to treat coal wastewater compared to alum and PAC, in terms of the needed dose of application. The optimum dose of chitosan was 20 mg/L that gave a 100% decrease in turbidity and TSS. On the other hand, a dose of 120 mg/L of alum was needed to have an optimum result, where the turbidity and TSS were decreased up to 100%. When PAC was used as a coagulant, the optimum dose was 120 ppm that reduced turbidity and TSS to 99.50% and 99.58%, respectively. Coagulation by chitosan, alum, and PAC were all influenced by pH, where the optimum pH for all three coagulants was within a range of neutral pH.