Coal gasification crude slag based complex flocculants by two-step acid leaching process: synthesis, flocculation and mechanisms.

Coal gasification crude slag (CGCS) is the side-product of the coal gasification process, and its effective utilization has attracted great attention. A novel flocculant of poly-aluminum-ferric-acetate-chloride (PAFAC) was synthesized based on the recovery of CGCS by a two-step acid leaching process, namely HCl-acid leaching and HAc-acid leaching, which was optimized by an acid leaching liquor volume ratio of HCl to HAc of 3 : 2, polymerization pH of 3.5, and reaction temperature and time of 70 °C and 3.0 h, respectively. The performance of PAFAC was further evaluated by kaolin simulated wastewater, domestic sewage, river water, and aquaculture wastewater. The results revealed that PAFAC was feasible for the removal of turbidity, chemical oxygen demand (COD) and total phosphorus (TP). Moreover, PAFAC was characterized by X-ray Diffraction (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (XRF) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), which proved that PAFAC was a kind of amorphous polyionic composite. Additionally, the acid leaching kinetics and flocculation mechanisms were further investigated. It was found that the acid leaching process was followed by the unreacted shrinkage core model, and the flocculation process was dominated by charge neutralization, adsorption bridging and precipitation net trapping. The work is expected to develop a new method for the safe disposal of CGCS and provide a novel way for the preparation of Fe-Al composite flocculants, especially, offering a potential strategy for the promotion of the additional value of the coal chemical industry.