Synthesis of antibacterial polyaluminium silicate sulfate /sepiolitenano composite coagulant for oilfield sewage treatment

The utilization of a large amount of anionic polyacrylamide (APAM) and sodium alkyl benzene sulfonate can induce the emulsified oil to acquire a stable emulsified colloid system in polymer flooding oily wastewater. However, for the traditional inorganic coagulants, such as polyaluminum, polyiron, etc., a relatively large number of bacteria will breed after oily sewage is treated for a specific period of time. Along these lines, in work, a new type of antibacterial polymeric aluminum silicate sulfate/sepiolite coagulant (PASS-H) was synthesized by using grafting hydrophobic antibacterial monomers in combination with coagulants composed of sepiolite as the base material for improving oily sewage purification. The structure and the surface morphology of the copolymer were systematically characterized, indicating that PASS-H was successfully synthesized. In addition, the coagulation performance of the polyaluminum silicate sulfate (PASS), modified sepiolite, and PASS-H during the treatment of polymer-containing oily wastewater was compared. In the coagulation experiments, PASS-H exhibited excellent turbidity, oil removal, and antibacterial properties. At 60 mg/L, the turbidity, oil removal rate, Zeta potentialand maximum floc size were 98%, 95%, 1.59 mv, and 26 μm, respectively. The mechanism of coagulation was thoroughly investigated based on the order of dosing, the tested water pH, Zeta potential, floc size, and the impact of the floc morphology on the coagulation. The coagulation behavior of the separate addition of the modified sepiolite and PASS was weaker than that induced by the one-time addition of PASS-H. Moreover, the enhanced charge neutralization, bridging adsorption, sweeping, and adsorption played a synergistic role in reducing the total amount of PASS-H and improving the coagulation ability. The introduction of antimicrobial monomers in PASS-H can also effectively inhibit the regeneration of sulfate-reducing bacteria (SRB) in the water. Finally, the residual turbidity and oil removal rate of the different coagulants were statistically analyzed. The extracted results have practical significance for both cost reduction and efficiency increase in large-scale applications.