Dual Wavelength Photometric Dispersion Analysis of Coagulation and Flocculation

A technique to evaluate the coagulat ion/flocculation process on fluctuating light intensity transmitted through a flowing suspension has been developed recently for online monitoring in a flocculation system. In this paper, the authors tried to expand this technique to perform direct evaluation of floc size, settling velocity, and residual color after aluminum coagulation from the fluctuating light absorption using dual wavelengths. A theoretical study was carried out to establish the data handling algorithms for the evaluation of the above mentioned values from the fluctuating light absorbance. Two specific wavelengths were selected at near infrared and ultraviolet regions in order to characterize suspended matters and soluble colored organics. The usefulness of the proposed theory was verified in a series of batch coagulation tests with a newly developed dual wavelength photometric dispersion analyzer (DPDA). With an improved high precision photometer and data processing ci rcuits, the extent of color colloid removal can be estimated at the beginning stage of coagulation/flocculation. The algorithms for the evaluation of floc size were calibrated and verified in flocculation experiments with micro photography. Flocculation and sedimentation experiments showed that settling velocity was successfully estimated by the proposed algorithms.