Water Technologies & Solutions

case study

raw water treatment with SUEZ’s KlarAid* coagulant

reduces RO fouling
challenge results
A large industrial plant in Northern Alberta, Canada Immediately after the transition, the plant experi-
was withdrawing water from an adjacent river and enced an improvement in UF permeate aluminum
treating with a poly-aluminum chloride (PACl) coagu- with average aluminum decreasing from 0.13 to 0.03
lant, prior to filtering with SUEZ’s ZeeWeed* immersed ppb.
ultrafiltration (UF) membranes. Raw water turbidity
and color varied prior to the coagulant injection from
2100 NTU and 30–60 PtCo. The plant was experiencing Impact of Coagulant on UF Permeate Aluminum
frequent excursions of Aluminum (>0.1 ppm) in their UF
permeate, which was increasing the fouling rate and
cleaning frequency of the downstream RO membranes.
The established absolute limit for aluminum in the RO
feedwater was 0.15 ppm, which was being exceeded on
a regular basis, despite jar testing and coagulant dos-
age adjustments. pH and conductivity of the UF feedwa-
ter were approximately 7 and 300 umhos, respectively.

solution
SUEZ worked with the plant to transition their treat-
ment from PACl to KlarAid IC1172, a SUEZ aluminum-
based coagulant, which showed excellent performance
in treating northern Alberta surface waters. KlarAid
The change in products also allowed the plant to
IC1172 is a pre-hydrolyzed, high-basicity aluminum
move from a 90 ppm dosage with PACl to 30 ppm with
product that minimizes the release of aluminum, work-
KlarAid IC1172, decreasing the frequency of chemical
ing over a wide pH range. This is in comparison to
deliveries and handling, representing improvements
standard PACl products, which have a narrower pH
in operator time and safety.
range and tend to release more aluminum on hydroly-
sis in the treated water. The higher cationic charge of
the KlarAid allowed for a reduction in applied product
dosage, as well as a reduction in UF permeate alumi-
num.

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CS1754EN.docx Jan-20