High turbidity removal by magnetite particles

The high turbidity raw water during the rainstorm period has made the water treatment plants fail to supply applicative water in recent years. How to improve the treating capacity of water treatment plants is an important issue at present. In this study, high turbidity raw water was effectively treated by magnetite (Fe₃O₄) particles. After magnetization, magnetite particles can reduce turbidity from 9,600 NTU to 20 NTU. Furthermore, magnetite particles are suitable for the pH ranges of drinking water from pH=6.0 to pH=9.0 and an external magnetic field applied during sedimentation increases the removal rate. In addition, the recycle and reuse of magnetite particles were investigated. Magnetite particles were successfully regenerated by cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide (CTAB) and the effective used times of magnetite particles was five times.