An application of chitosan as a coagulant/flocculant in a microfiltration process of natural water

Performance of a coagulation–ultrafiltration hybrid process for water supply treatment

“…This result is consistent with the work of Bergamasco et al [15] who used the combined process of coagulation-microfiltration for the treatment of river water, using chitosan as coagulant. The authors concluded that the combined process improved the treated water quality, but there was an increase in membrane fouling when compared with the microfiltration process alone.…”

“…Application of the CF-UF hybrid process using the natural polymer chitosan as coagulant has been poorly investigated. Bergamasco et al [15] evaluated the combined coagulation/flocculation/microfiltration process using chitosan and achieved a significant increase in the quality of treated water. Thus, the present study aimed to evaluate the hybrid process CF-UF in ceramic membrane using chitosan as a natural coagulant and aluminum sulfate as a commercial coagulant to obtain drinking water.…”

Application of Hybrid Process of Coagulation/Flocculation and Membrane Filtration to Water Treatment

“…Comparing the results with two membranes of different materials and same porosity, ceramic membranes led to a reduction of 91.8% in UV-254nm absorbance (Bergamasco et al, 2011), while the reduction obtained with polysulfone membranes was 70% (Bergamasco et al, 2009). Chitosan improves the sedimentation step, as the flocs are more compact, which is favorable when hybrid coagulation/flocculation/filtration systems are operated.…”

“…Adding chitosan as coagulant, 70% of UV-254nm absorbing compounds and 47% of TOC (averaged values) were removed (Bergamasco et al, 2009). In this study the authors evaluated water from the Saint-Charles River in Quebec, Canada, with an initial UV-254nm absorbance value of 0.083-0.091.…”

“…Application of the coagulation and ultrafiltration unit operations contributes to the improvement of treated water quality and the enhancement of the membrane performance. In comparison with conventional processes such as coagulation, flocculation, sedimentation and/or flotation, and rapid or slow sand filtration, MF/UF technology has many advantages such as superior quality of treated water, much greater compactness, easier control of operation and maintenance, use of fewer chemicals, and lower production of sludge (Bergamasco et al, 2009). The combined processes of coagulation/flocculation followed by micro or ultrafiltration usually result in better water quality, since the membrane processes often function as a polishing step in water treatment, being able to remove the impurities which are not removed by coagulation/flocculation processes.…”