The use of waterworks sludge for the treatment of dye wastes

PubMedID: 11999996Water treatment works using coagulation/flocculation in the process stream will generate a waste sludge. The works in Adana, Turkey uses ferric chloride. The potential for using this sludge for the treatment of reactive, direct, disperse, acidic, and basic dyestuffs by coagulation and sorption has been investigated. The sludge acted as a coagulant and removed colour with excellent removal efficiencies being obtained for basic, disperse and direct dyes. The optimum conditions were a pH value of 5 and a sludge dose of 2000 mgl-1. Mediocre results were obtained for acidic and reactive dyes. The efficiency of the sludge was also compared with alum and ferric chloride for the same group of dyes. The sludge was also used as a coagulant to treat the wastewater from a textile factory. At doses of 2000-4000 mg l-1, the sludge was as effective as ferric chloride and alum at removing COD. Sorption tests showed that the disperse and reactive dyes did not bind to the sludge. Langmuir and Freundlich constants were determined for the other three types of dye. Rate constants for the adsorption were determined using the Lagergren equation. © 2002 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC