Removal of Turbidity from Raw water by Novel Coagulant Based on PVC Pipe Waste and Sodium Alginate

Abstract

In the current study, waste polyvinyl chloride pipes were used as a primary material in the reactions, which are widely used for water supply and drainage systems where the waste pipes were prepared by cleaning them from suspended materials and grinding them into small particles, then reacting natural polymers from a plant; Alginic acid. We have obtained modified polymer (PVC/Alginate)  or AL-PVC which have been grinded to obtain a powder. Four methods were used to characterize the properties of natural and prepared polymers: Fourier infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) X-ray diffraction (XRD), and thermogravimetry (TGA-TG). The effectiveness of AL-PVC polymer as a coagulant flocculant in the treatment of surface water has been studied. Tests were carried out in the laboratory on two kinds of water (50 NTU and 100 NTU). The first one is the synthesis of water mixed with high and low concentrations of bentonite, simulating thus turbid water. The second one is raw water from the treatment station of the Shatt Al-Arab River. The performance of the coagulation-flocculation process has been assessed by measuring the supernatant turbidity for different pH, doses, and flocculation times of the AL-PVC polymer. The obtained results show that AL-PVC polymer effectiveness was strongly dependent on pH and the doses of AL-PVC polymer, the initial turbidity, and the water quality. The physical and chemical methods used in the present study of water treatments are mainly due to their simplicity, ease of use, low cost as well as excellent removal efficiency.