What do flocculants do?

What do flocculants do?

Flocculants improve filtration, leading to an improved cleaning and disinfection of the water. This treatment method is recommended when the filtration system struggles to remove all the floating particles (murky/troubled water). The chemical process which follows is called flocculation.

what is the flocculating agent？
Flocculating agents are chemical additives that cause suspended solids to form aggregates called flocs. These agents are used in water treatment, municipal and industrial waste treatment, mineral processing, and papermaking. Flocculating agents are either inorganic salts or water-soluble organic polymers. They act by shrinking the ionic double layer, or neutralizing the surface charge of suspended particles, or bridging between particles. The type of flocculant used depends on the type of solid–liquid separation being performed. The physical properties and size of the flocs as well as the rate of floc formation are the critical parameters in this process. Flocculants are usually selected by the results of laboratory-scale experiments. The manner in which the flocculating agent is mixed with the substrate can affect the results. Special analytical methods are used for some flocculating agents. Some agents or impurities in them may present toxicological or environmental problems. The general economic trend is the replacement of inorganic salts with organic polymers, which give improved performance.

The function of flocculant is to promote the flocculation of the treated liquid.

Flocculating Agents
alum
aluminium chlorohydrate
aluminium sulphate
calcium oxide
calcium hydroxide
iron(II) sulphate (ferrous sulphate)
iron(III) chloride (ferric chloride)
polyacrylamide
polyDADMAC
sodium aluminate
sodium silicate

The following natural products are used as flocculants:

Chitosan
Isinglass
Moringa oleifera seeds (Horseradish Tree)
Gelatin
Strychnos potatorum seeds (Nirmali nut tree)
Guar gum
Alginates (brown seaweed extracts)

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