Daan Curvers

Determination of charge density and adsorption behaviour of DMAEA-Q-based cationic polymers by fluorimetric analysis

In wastewater and sludge treatment, cationic polymers are applied at large scale. A correct determination of the charge density and adsorption efficiency is of high importance for an economic and ecologically sound operation. Although several analytical techniques exist for charge density and polymer concentration determination, they often suffer from laborious sample pretreatment, complex instrumentation or interference from background components present in sludge. In this work, an alternative method has been studied to determine the charge density of an important series of cationic polymers used in water and sludge treatment, viz. copolymers containing quaternised dimethylaminoethylacrylate (DMAEA-Q). The method is based on the basic hydrolysis of the cationic moiety, resulting in choline chloride, which is measured by a fluorimetric technique based on the enzymatic conversion of choline. It was demonstrated that the new technique ensures a highly reliable determination of the charge density of these polymers, based on a comparison with the traditional charge titration technique and the data supplied by the manufacturer. Moreover, the specificity of the enzymatic conversion method also allows the determination of non-adsorbed polymer in conditioned sludge samples, without interference from other components. As a consequence, it enables the determination of the optimal polymer dose in practical conditioning and dewatering operations.

A method for visualising polyelectrolyte distribution after polyelectrolyte conditioning of a biotic sludge.

Charge neutralisation is an important mechanism in (polyelectrolyte) conditioning of biotic sludges and required for efficient sludge dewatering. Based on results from streaming potential and zeta potential measurements, it has been suggested that charge neutralisation is more complete on the outside of the sludge flocs than on the inside. This paper discusses the development of a technique for assessing the spatial distribution of polyelectrolyte (PE) within sludge flocs. After flocculation with a fluorescently labelled PE, fluorescence microscopy can be used to visualise the distribution of the PE in the sludge flocs. Preliminary results indicate that the PE can penetrate relatively deep into the sludge flocs (and flocculi). Inhomogeneity in the PE distribution arises from differences in exposure to PE in different regions, and from differences in the affinity of the PE for different substances.

Implications and remediations of DMAEA-Q type polymer hydrolysis in wastewater treatment plants

The present paper outlines the impact of hydrolysis occurring in DMAEA-Q type polymers in the dewatering facilities of municipal wastewater treatment plants. Laboratory studies of polymer hydrolysis kinetics were combined with full-scale dewatering experiments to investigate the influence of polymer charge loss on polymer consumption and cake dry matter yields. The results indicate that prolonged polymer storage leads to important charge loss effects, resulting in increased dosage requirements for satisfactory dewatering performance. Fortunately, charge loss effects due to hydrolysis upon polymer storage could be minimized by acidifying the polymer batches. Furthermore, cake dry matter contents obtained from dewatering tests with freshly prepared polymer batches suggested that acidification of the polymer batch also had a beneficial effect on the conditioning efficiency of the polymer solution. The results from this study thus stress the influence of pH on the shelf life and efficiency of polymer solutions in wastewater treatment plants. As a consequence, polymer preparation and storage procedures should be adapted to the polymer consumption pattern and pH of the medium used for polymer batch production.