Effect of Mg-sericite flocculant for treatment of brewery wastewater

• Treatment of brewery wastewater using Mg-sericite flocculant
• Successfully removing (> 98%) the organic/inorganic substances in brewery wastewater
• Mg-sericite can be a promising flocculant due to its high efficiency and low dose requirements.
• Mg-sericite flocculant can reduce brewery wastewater treatment cost.

The aim of this study was to investigate organic/inorganic matter removal using Mg-sericite flocculant in brewery wastewater. Mg-sericite flocculant successfully removed 98–100% of organic/inorganic substances in brewery wastewater at the following optimal Mg-sericite dosage: 30 mg/L for turbidity and SS, 100 mg/L for COD, 50 mg/L for BOD, 30 mg/L for TN and NH4-N and 20 mg/L for TP and PO4-P. These results indicated that approximately 12.3 mg/L, 11.0 mg/L, 1.0 mg/L, 0.5 mg/L, 0.3 mg/L and 0.4 mg/L of COD, BOD, TN, NH4-N, TP and PO4-P were removed by 1 mg/L Mg-sericite, respectively. The biopolymer, Mg-sericite, can be a promising flocculant due to its high efficiency and low dose requirements. In addition, Mg-sericite does not contaminate treated wastewater, which can be recycled to reduce not only the cost and the demand for water but also the extra operational costs for reusing brewery wastewater. This flocculation method can be used to reduce brewery wastewater treatment costs.