Characterisation of titanium tetrachloride and titanium sulfate flocculation in wastewater treatment.

Flocculation with titanium tetrachloride (TiCl(4)) and titanium sulfate (Ti(SO(4))(2)) was investigated in terms of different coagulant doses, pH, turbidity, dissolved organic carbon (DOC), UV-254, colour, zeta potential, particle size and molecular weight distribution. The two coagulants were compared with the commonly used coagulants such as ferric chloride (FeCl(3)) and aluminium sulfate (Al(2)(SO(4))(3)). Titanium tetrachloride showed the highest turbidity removal, while titanium sulfate showed the highest reduction of UV-254 and colour at all pH values. The four coagulants were found to have similar organic removal up to 60-67% and resulted in similar organic removal in terms of various MW ranges. The decantability of the settled flocs was very high for titanium tetrachloride, titanium sulfate and ferric chloride compared with aluminium sulfate. The dominating coagulation mechanisms for titanium tetrachloride and titanium sulfate are still to be studied, since different precipitation reactions might take place at different pH even without flocculant addition. Titanium tetrachloride and titanium sulfate were found as effective new coagulants in wastewater treatment not only in terms of organic matter removal, but also in sludge reduction through the production of titanium dioxide.

Preparation and characterisation of titanium dioxide (TiO2) and thiourea-doped titanate nanotubes prepared from wastewater flocculated sludge.

In this study, titanium (Ti), ferric (Fe) and aluminum (Al) salt flocculants were compared for their efficiency in treating wastewater collected from Sydney Olympic Park wastewater treatment plant by following the jar test procedure. Produced sludge from Ti-salt flocculation was dried and titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles were generated after the incineration of sludge produced from the Ti-salt flocculation of wastewater. Later on, titanate nanotubes were synthesized after TiO2 nanoparticles were hydrothermally treated with 10 N NaOH solution at 130 degrees C for 24 h. Titanate nanotubes were either acid or deionised water-washed, while thiourea-doping was employed to produce visible light-responsive nanotubes. Wastewater flocculation using Ti-salt was found to be as efficient as Fe and Al flocculation in terms of turbidity and DOC removal. XRD results showed that the anatase structure was predominant for TiO2 nanoparticles, while thiourea-doped titanate nanotubes only indicated anatase structure with an increased crystallinity after being crystallized at 600 degrees C. The photocatalytic activity of all photocatalysts was evaluated using the photooxidation of acetaldehyde. Thiourea-doped nanotubes showed a greater photocatalytic activity than as-prepared TiO2 nanoparticles, deionised water-washed, acid-washed titanate nanotubes and P25 under UV and visible light irradiation.