Using magnetic seeds to improve the aggregation and precipitation of nanoparticles from backside grinding wastewater

Backside grinding (BG) wastewater treatment typically requires large quantities of chemicals, i.e. polyaluminum chloride (PAC) coagulant and produces considerable amounts of sludge, increasing the loading and cost of subsequent sludge treatment and disposal processes. This study investigated the effects of the addition of magnetic seeds (FeO*Fe2O3) of selected particle sizes and of optimized combinations of magnetic seeds and PAC on the aggregation of silica nanoparticles from BG wastewater and on the sedimentation time at various pH values (5–9). The results show that the turbidity of BG wastewater was significantly reduced by the magnetic aggregation treatment. The dosage of PAC combined with 2.49 g L−1 or 1.24 g L−1 of magnetic seeds was reduced by 83% (from 60 to 10 mg L−1) compared to the conventional process of using only PAC as a coagulant. The turbidity of the BG wastewater, initially 1900–2500 NTU, could also be successfully decreased about to 23 NTU by the addition of 3.74 g L−1 magnetite (FeO*Fe2O3) only at pH 5 with an applied magnetic field of 1000 G. Different coagulation conditions using magnetic seeds combined with coagulant resulted in different aggregation performances. The treatment performance was more effective by using two-stage dosing, in which magnetic seeds and PAC were added separately, than that with one-stage dosing, where the magnetic seeds and PAC were added simultaneously during rapid mixing. The two-stage dosing allowed for a reduction in the optimum dosage of magnetic seeds from 3.74 g L−1 to 2.49 g L−1 or 1.24 g L−1 without affecting performance when coupled with 0.01 g L−1 of PAC coagulant. The developed method effectively reduced the production of waste sludge.

► Aggregation of silica nanoparticles can be improved by magnetic seeds with coagulant.
► Nanoparticles and magnetic seeds attracted each other for oppositely charged at pH 5.
► The dosage of coagulant could be reduced by 83% while combined with magnetic seeds.
► If settling with a magnetic field, the sedimentation time could be reduced.
► There was higher turbidity removal when magnetic seed and coagulant added separately.