Application of New Polymer Flocculants in Industrial Wastewater Treatment

Polymer flocculants are used in wastewater treatment processes, and the necessity and universality of their use result from changes in production technologies, also causing variability in the parameters of treated wastewater. Industrial wastewater contains a substrate that is difficult to biodegrade (BOD5/COD < 0.02), and the presence of toxic compounds makes it necessary to treat them in many stages before discharging them to the receiver or reusing. The study aimed to assess the possibility of using a new generation flocculent to support coagulation. The research was conducted on mine water originating from hard coal mines and on treated coke wastewater from the biological sewage treatment plant. The synthesis of copolymers of acrylamide with acrylic acid and acrylamide with acrylonitrile allowed the extraction of effective products – flocculents with specific properties, supporting the coagulation process and reducing the parameters of contaminants in treated industrial wastewater. Compared to commercial polyelectrolyte Praestol, copolymers of acrylamide with acrylic acid removed turbidity more effectively than acrylamide-acrylonitrile copolymers.