Improved magnetic separation by adsorbent powders coagulation with Ferric Chloride

An improvement of the already existing magnetic technique to rapidly remove pollutants is investigated. In this paper we study the possibility to use a normal adsorbent powder mixed with magnetite and a coagulant like ferric chloride added after the adsorption to create magnetic flocks that can be magnetically filtered. Both zeolite-magnetite mix and Magnetic Activated Carbons (MAC) behaviours with and without the addition of ferric chloride are tested. The results show that this approach can reduce the adsorbent costs, times and spaces necessary for the treatment exploiting the sedimentation fastened by the coagulation. Moreover it can also improve the adsorption of some pollutants. This technique can be applied to any existing coagulation/flocculation section.