Industries may use flocculants to purify water. Liquid waste streams form as a result of a manufacturing process. Industries treat this waste water before returning it to its source or before recycling it back into its own system. Aluminum sulfate, calcium oxide and sodium silicate commonly function as flocculants.

Flocculants work by causing suspended particles in liquid to group together. This allows easy removal of contaminates. Adding flocculants allows the applicator to remove impurities that filtration devices alone cannot capture. Once particles cluster, filtration and sedimentation systems can remove the larger particles from the solution.

Not all flocculants work the same nor do they work well on the same type of waste. You will have to test several types before settling on the product that works best for your situation.

To use flocculants in your business:

1. Determine what benefits flocculants will provide.

2. Identify suppliers of flocculants.

3. Measure the success of proper flocculant application.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Find out how use of flocculants can benefit your operation

Cities, public utilities and other government agencies use flocculants in the interest of public safety. Industries also use flocculants to purify their liquid waste products to prevent contamination of ground and surface water supplies. Not only do flocculents remove toxic inorganic material, but they can also remove potentially harmful bacterial and viral particles.

I recommend: Clearwater Industries provides flocculants information to explain why you should use flocculants. Clearwater explains how flocculants make large numbers of settling ponds obsolete and lower costs of cleaning the ponds you use. H20 Tech explains how flocculants work and how they benefit your operation.

Find flocculants and their suppliers

Flocculants manufacturers make their products from a variety of chemicals and organic materials. Some have varying degrees of electrical charge, which aids in the coagulation process. Some flocculants have very specific uses.

I recommend: Hubbard-Hall manufactures its AquaPure line, made for waste water treatment. Their flocculants list contains formulas of Aquapure with different electrical charges and different molecular weights, depending on the treatment need. Water & Oil Technologies, a flocculants provider, sells natural flocculants primarily for use at poultry, hog, cattle, cheese, dairy, food, grain and oil processing businesses. These flocculants allow the business to recycle the recovered oils, grease, minerals and proteins to reuse as animal feed, fertilizer or fuel. Ashland produces several types of flocculants tailored for the mining industry, pulp and paper mills, paint industry and numerous other specialty products and services.

Determine how successfully flocculants have removed impurities from your system

Once you start using flocculants to remove impurities from your waste streams, you must monitor your progress. You should establish a monitoring and sampling program to ensure your waste treatment process is successful. Environmental consultants can help in this area to ensure you operate at maximum efficiency while still meeting environmental regulations.

I recommend: Cox-Colvin & Associates provides groundwater monitoring services. Various laws require monitoring and Cox-Colvin provides expertise in installation of monitoring and sampling devices and sample analysis. Environmental Services & Consulting specializes in providing services to small businesses. This organization serves clients with many chemical analytical services including discharge monitoring, groundwater, and storm water monitoring. You can also purchase specialized software to assist you with monitoring your waste streams. Schlumberger Water Services recommends several software programs for groundwater monitoring. Global Water Instrumentation sells a state-of-the-art water quality monitoring package with integrated software and instruments.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Businesses should try to use natural flocculents, which do not harm the environment. This eliminates another waste disposal problem that you would have if you used synthetic flocculents.