Investigation of fluoride and silica removal from semiconductor wastewaters with a clean coagulation-ultrafiltration process

Fluoride and silica contamination in water is a worldwide issue due to the wastewater discharge from semiconductor industry. Coagulation-ultrafiltration (UF) process is commonly used to treat semiconductor wastewaters, but it requires excessive amounts of coagulant/flocculant. In this study, a clean coagulation-UF process using chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) wastewater as a coagulant to treat fluoride-containing wastewater was firstly proposed. The fluoride-containing wastewater, CMP wastewater, mixed fluoride-containing wastewater and CMP wastewater, and mixed fluoride-containing wastewater and polyaluminium chloride/polyacrylamide were compared to investigate turbidity removal efficiency, fluoride removal efficiency and membrane fouling resistance. The negatively charged SiO2 particles in CMP wastewater were found to be adsorbed on the positively charged CaF2 particles surface through electrostatic interaction. Results indicated that CMP wastewater provided a superior turbidity removal efficiency and a minimal membrane fouling resistance compared to conventional coagulant. After UF filtration, the fluoride concentration and turbidity were 2.09 mg L−1 and 0 NTU, respectively, which met the median fluoride effluent standard. The extended Derjaguin-Landau-Verwey-Overbeek theory showed that increasing molar ratio of SiO2 to CaF2 improved the interfacial free energy between membrane and suspended particles, thus mitigating membrane fouling. This clean design principle and strategy will broaden the sustainability of coagulation-UF process for wastewater treatment.