Sirofloc process

Aids can also be added prior to other separation processes. In sedimentation, for example, slow- or non-settling colloidal materials can be flocculated with sand or other cheap and dense solids, thereby making the agglomerates much more settleable. Probably the most famous process based on a similar principle is the Sirofloc process first developed in Australia by CSIRO (Australia) at around 1980 , and with at least three water treatment plants now operating in UK. CSIRO (Australia) in conjunction with AUSTEP Pty Ltd have gained much experience in the operation of wet drum separators when incorporated in the Sirofloc process for water treatment. ... 

The Sirofloc process removes turbidity (algae, bacteria, colloidal matter) and dissolved coloured material from contaminated underground and surface waters or waste waters by flocculation with reusable magnetite particles (a waste product of some iron processing plants). The magnetite particles from 1 to 10 microns in size have great adsorptive powers and important magnetic... 

Continuous magnetic separators such as the wet drum separators are widely used for beneficiation of ores and for recycling of magnetite or ferrosihcon from the heavy media pulps used for coal washing , or in the Sirofloc process in water treatment, as discussed in section 1.1.2. Wet drum separators are robust and surprisingly cheap to install and operate. The wet drum separator is the major workhorse but little is published on the efficiency of such devices. Suleski, for example, discusses a specific manufacturer s product. ... 

Solid reagents in finely divided form are ideal for accelerating reaction rates, and can be conveniently handled by a composite particle or magnetic filler approach. The need to improve upon the inherently slow reactions in the SIROTHERM process has spawned a series of continuous versions of adsorption and coagulation processes, which radiate from the common magnetic particle axis. Of the ones described, the SIROFLOC clarification process has been the most successful, with the installation of full-scale plants in three countries. 

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