How to jar test

coagulants for water

treatment

This guide will help you determine the product to choose, dosage rate, and
injection rate to use for treating wastewater.
Prepare the wastewater samples
1. Collect 3-4 gallons of untreated wastewater sample from the equalization tank into a clean 5-gallon
bucket.
2. Fill (4) 600mL beakers with 500mLs of the sample and label the beakers A, B, C, D.
3. Place the beakers onto a magnetic stir plate or gang stirrer and stir at medium speed.

Prepare the product samples

Coagulant product: No action needed to test using a 100% solution.
Existing anionic flocculant: Make 0.10% solution.

In 500mLs wastewater 100% solution 0.10% solution

1 mL 2,000 ppm 2 ppm
0.1 mL 200 ppm 0.2 ppm
0.05 mL 100 ppm 0.1 ppm

Test Procedure
Coagulation / Emulsion Breaking
1. Using a clean 1mL syringe for each coagulant, add 0.1 mL to each beaker, recording which product is
in which beaker.
Beaker A B C D
Product

2. Mix for two minutes at medium speed.

3. Add 0.1mL of aluminum sulfate or existing inorganic metal salt coagulant.
4. Mix for one minute at medium speed. After stopping the mixer, look for small particles in the samples
referred to as “microfloc particles”. These particles are a sign of a broken emulsion.
5. If the samples do not exhibit microfloc particles, repeat steps 1-4 until microfloc particles are produced.
a. Do not add more than 0.5 mL of metal salt coagulant. Exceeding 1,000 ppm of the metal salt
coagulant will generate excessive sludge volumes.
b. It is permissible to exceed 0.5 mL of coagulant product.
6. Record the volume in mLs of each product used to produce good quality microfloc particles.

Beaker A B C D
Product
Dose (mL)

Flocculation
1. Set the mixer to low speed.
2. Using a clean 1mL syringe, add 1 mL of existing anionic flocculant solution to each beaker:
3. Mix for one minute at low speed.
4. Continue adding flocculant solution until large “macrofloc particles” are formed.
a. Water should be clear, and the solids should separate rapidly to the bottom or top of the beaker.
b. If not, repeat the coagulation steps with higher or lower amounts of coagulant product and metal
salt coagulant until clear water is achieved.

5. Record the volume in mLs of anionic flocculant solution used to produce good quality macrofloc
particles.

Beaker A B C D
Flocculant
Dose (mL)
Notes
a. pH adjustment may be required to achieve coagulation/emulsion breaking. If no emulsion break is
observed at the current pH, adjust the pH to 4-5, then begin the jar test procedure at the
Coagulation section.

b. pH adjustment may be required to achieve flocculation. If no flocculation is observed at the pH after

the coagulation/emulsion breaking steps, adjust the pH to 7-10 prior to adding flocculant.

Scoring (Optional)
Scoring the observations and results of each beaker will help compare multiple tests and products. Use a
subjective scale of 1-5 (1=low, 5=high) to record the observations of the test, on three primary dynamics:
1. Break – did the formation of microfloc particles occur quickly and obviously?
2. Clarity – is the final product water clear?
3. Floc quality – is the floc cohesive and distinct, with a strong separation from the water?

Example

Beaker A B C D
Product A B C D
Dose (mL) 0.5 0.5 0.4 0.3
Metal salt Alum Alum Alum Alum
Dose (mL) 0.5 0.5 0.4 0.3
Flocculant aPAM aPAM aPAM aPAM
Dose (mL) 2 2 1 1
Scoring (1-5)
Break 2 2 3 4
Clarity 4 3 5 5
Floc Quality 4 3 5 5

Results: Beaker D had best results and lowest dose rates.

Product selection:
D @ 600 ppm
Alum @ 600 ppm
aPAM @ 2 ppm
Sample data worksheet

Beaker A B C D

Product

Dose (mL)

Metal salt

Dose (mL)

Flocculant

Dose (mL)

Scoring (1-5)

Break

Clarity

Floc Quality

Results:

Product Selection:
Want sample coagulants to test?

Try Our Greenfloc natural

coagulants

Contact Us:
https://www.dober.com/greenfloc/product-selection