Removal of suspended substances by coagulation and foam separation from municipal wastewater

A new method for solid-liquid separation for wastewater incorporating simple operation and shortened treatment time is necessary for improvement of sewage systems. In this study, removal of suspended solids from municipal wastewater by coagulation and foam separation using coagulant and milk casein was examined. By adding casein before the foam separation process, the removal of suspended substances was dramatically improved. The optimum condition for treating sewage was 20 mg-Fe/L of FeCl₃, 3 mg/L of casein, and pH 5.5, which resulted in a removal rates of over 98% for turbidity and SS. A removal of 96-98% was also possible for phosphate and anionic surfactant. When PAC was used, the floc was also efficiently recovered in foam by the addition of casein. It became clear that coagulation and foam separation using casein as the collector is an effective method for removing suspended solids in municipal wastewater in a short time (within 10 min).