Are acrylamide-free polymers the future?
Biomontan tests acrylamide-free flocculant for sand and gravel washing
Water from washing sand and gravel is usually treated with the addition of polymer flocculants, cleaned to remove any solids and reused. State of the art are flocculants that contain a small amount of acrylamide. In a laboratory test, acrylamide-free M-FLOC® DAF 800 from Biomontan demonstrates stable flocculation, with low turbidity and rapid sedimentation and, compared with starch-based flocculants, impresses with greatly improved cleaning efficiency.
In sand and gravel processing, the silt and clay particles contained in the raw material are washed out with water. The resulting washing water is treated and then recirculated in order to minimize freshwater consumption. Only the process-related water loss is compensated by supplying freshwater – from wells, quarry ponds or rivers, which is why a water permit is required for most operations.
In process water treatment, the fine particles are removed by sedimentation in large settling tanks, clarifiers or lamella separators with subsequent dewatering. The addition of polymeric flocculants...
