Ferric chloride and aluminium sulphate as coagulants and positive charged flocculants PDDMAC ((PDDMAC = poly (diallyldimethylammonium chloride) were used for pre-treatment of water and wastewater for removing humic substance prior to RO membrane filtration. It was found that a combination of flocculant and coagulant enhanced the coagulation-flocculation process and humic acid removal. The optimum conditions of coagulation-flocculation were established in reference to the ratio of humic acid and coagulant. Zeta potential and the ratio of E4/E6 were investigated to explore the possible micro-mechanisms of coagulation-flocculation. The ratios of E4/E6 show the molecular size variations using different coagulants and flocculants, which are expected to benefit membrane-fouling control.
The NMR and spectral study on the structure of molecular size-fractionated lignite humic acid