Removal of Organic Reagent from Synthetic Wastewater Using Ion Flotation

Organophosphorus compounds such as diethyl dithiophosphate (DEDTP) are extremely toxic and cause significant environmental and water contaminations in nature. To mitigate its hazardous influence on the wastewater treatment processes, the present study was implemented focusing on the operating variable of the ion flotation technique. The effects of different parameters including initial pH (4-10), impeller speed (700-1000 rpm), and conditioning time (2-4 min) were investigated to maximize DEDTP removal from synthetic wastewater with an initial amount of 58 ppm. The N-Cetyl-N,N,N-trimethyl-ammonium bromide (CTAB) was used as the collector and frother in the ion flotation tests. The experimental results were analyzed based on the foamability, foam stability, and turbidity. The ion flotation experimental results showed that the DEDTP could be removed with the percentage removal of 91 under the optimum operating conditions of pH=10, collector dosage 1.09 ´ 10-3 M, impeller speed 850 rpm, and conditioning time with the collector for 3 min. It was observed that the percentage removal of DEDTP was dependent on the foam properties and electrostatic interactions between CTAB and DEDTP. The turbidity studies proved that DEDTP formed 1:2 complexes with CTAB at pH 10.