The exploration of potassium ferrate(VI) as a disinfectant/coagulant in water and wastewater treatment

Jia-Qian Jiang*, S. Wang, A. Panagoulopoulos

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

173 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This paper aims to explore potassium ferrate(VI) (K2FeO 4) as an alternative water treatment chemical for both drinking water and wastewater treatment. The performance of potassium ferrate(VI) was evaluated in comparison with that of sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) and that of NaOCl plus ferric sulphate (FS) or alum (AS). The dosages of ferrate(VI), NaOCl and FS/AS and sample pH values were varied in order to investigate the effects of these factors on the treatment performance. The study demonstrates that in drinking water treatment, ferrate(VI) can remove 10-20% more UV 254-abs and DOC than FS for the same dose compared for natural pH range (6 and 8). The THMFP was reduced to less than 100 μg l-1 by ferrate(VI) at a low dose. In addition to this, ferrate(VI) can achieve the disinfection targets (>6 log10 inactivation of Escherichia coliform (E. coli)) at a very low dose (6 mg l-1 as Fe) and over wide working pH in comparison with chlorination (10 mg l-1 as Cl 2) plus coagulation (FS, 4 mg l-1 as Fe). In wastewater treatment, ferrate(VI) can reduce 30% more COD, and kill 3 log10 more bacteria compared to AS and FS at a similar or even smaller dose. Also, potassium ferrate(VI) can produce less sludge volume and remove more pollutants, which could make sludge treatment easier.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)212-219
Number of pages8
JournalChemosphere
Volume63
Issue number2
Early online date6 Oct 2005
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Apr 2006
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Coagulation
  • Disinfection
  • Oxidation
  • Potassium ferrate(VI)
  • Wastewater treatment
  • Water treatment

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Environmental Engineering
  • Environmental Chemistry
  • General Chemistry
  • Pollution
  • Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis

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