~ Pergamon Wal. Sci. Tech. Vol. 31, No. 3-4. pp. 299-313,1995.

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DISSOLVED AIR FLOTATION IN THE

TREATMENT OF INDUSTRIAL
WASTEWATERS WITH A SPECIAL
EMPHASIS ON FOREST AND FOODSTUFF
INDUSTRIES

M. Viitasaari, P. Jokela and J. Heinanen

Institute of Water and Environmental Engineering. Tampere University of
Technology, P.O. Box 600, FlN-33101 Tampere, Finland

ABSTRACT

The suspended solids separation is an essential element in almost any wastewater treatment system. If
sedimentation, dissolved air flotation and filtration are compared, flotation has both the largest operational
ranges concerning influent suspended solids concentration and particle size, and load bearing capacities.
When considering the suitability of flotation as a wastewater treatment process, important factors are the
effluent and sludge qualities, operation and costs. To get a comprehensive conception of flotation, those
factors are presented and discussed. Flotation is widely used in forest industry wastewater treatment, as well
as in process water recirculation. It is also proven technology in foodstuff industry wastewater treatment.
Several cases from both industries are presented.

KEYWORDS

Dissolved air flotation: Industrial wastewater treatment, Forest industry wastewater treatment; White water
treatment; Foodstuff industry wastewater treatment

INTRODUCTION

The treatment of industrial wastewaters can differ remarkably from the treatment of municipal wastewaters
and potable water purification although the same unit operations and processes may be used. The
constituents of industrial wastewaters include organic material, suspended solids, nutrient, toxic substances
and inorganic salts, all of which may require special attention. A high or low pH is typical for some
industrial wastewaters. Often there are rapid changes both in the wastewater flow and quality.

Industrial wastewaters can either be treated in a separate treatment process and then discharged to a
receiving water body or the wastewater may be pretreated on site and then discharged to a municipal
sewerage. When discharging to a municipal sewerage, the pretreatment should be considered from the
viewpoint of the municipal treatment plant. Pretreatment methods for industrial wastewaters have lately
been reviewed by Goroszy et al. (1992). In Finland, the forest industry typically relies on wastewater
treatment plants of its own (Viitasaari, 1993), whereas the foodstuff industry usually discharges the effluent

299
300 M. VIITASAARI et at.

to municipal sewerage. Finally, in practice , the wastewater treatment process depends on effluent standards.
Targets are set according to local conditions, which effect the choice of the treatment process.

SELECTING A SOLIDS SEPARATION PROCESS

An essential part of almost any wastewater treatment system is the suspended solids separation. In fact,
conventional processes can be divided into two main phases:

I) the generation of suspended solids (SS) from colloidal and dissolved solids by physical, chemical and
biological means in addition to the already existing suspended solids;

2) the separation of suspended solids by mechanical methods.

Mechanical separation include s sedimentation, flotation and filtration. According to Kiuru (1990), the
amenability of solids separati on processes can be judged by:

I) he operational range concerning influent concentration and particle size (Fig. I - based on technical
and economic considerations);

2) the load bearing capacity (Fig. 2 - based on theoretical considerations).

2000 r---------------
I
---~ --- - --
I
1000 I
I
I
I
I
I
I
200
r----- --!--l
I L J _
100
I I
I I
E
'"
I I
~ I I
I I
~

1;1 10 ·-·_·r ·-·- '----t---------'

~ I ! __ ___ SEDIMENTATION
- - OISSOLVEO AIR FLOTATION
I I I - - - RAPIO FILTRATION

L---t---- J - . - GAC·FILTRATION

I
i
O,' .... -~-l--_+__±-_±-+_----±--_±:__::::\

0,1 '0 20 50 100 1000 4000 1‫סס‬oo

CONCENTRATION mo I

Fig. 1. Operational range s of suspended solids remo val unit ope rations (Kiuru, 1990).

It can be seen from Figs I and 2 (with all the axes having logarithmi c scales) that flotation has the largest
operation range in removing suspended solids as well as the highest load bearing capacity. Filtration is best
applicable, when both particle size and concentration are low.

Figures I and 2 are not to be taken as the sole or absolute criteria for a process selection, but more as a guide
for different possibility. When treating industrial wastewaters many special separation methods also exist .
For instance , in paper mills, disk and belt filters with added sweetner stock are used for the separation of
fibres (UNEP, 1981). Boller (1993) concluded , when discussing sewage treatment, that the prediction of
 Dissolved air flotation 301

solid separation is still based on purely empirical experience. However, attempts are made to model the
separation processes (e.g. Halttunen, 1993).
10 100 1000 10000
30 +-----1-----1-----+------+ 30
20

•
~:e
C3E

5<f~
a::
10

"'z
ZO

~~
m!:;
~~
00
..... <
29
.....w
~u
~~
o a::
>~
:I:(/)

0,5 +-----1---1---1--1.---+------1- 0,5

1 10 100 1000 10000

CONCENTRATION OF SUSPENOED SOLIOS mg/l .......

LOAD-BEARING CAPACITY FOR SUSPENDED SOLIDS .,..

Fig. 2. Load bearing capacities of suspended solids removal unit operations (Kiuru, 1990).

SUITABILITY OF DISSOLVED AIR FLOTATION FOR INDUSTRIAL

WASTEW ATER TREATMENT

When considering the suitability of a wastewater treatment process, important factors are the effluent and
sludge quality, operation and costs. Particularly in industrial wastewater treatment, the ability to cope with
fluctuations of load is important.

In Finnish wastewater treatment certain patterns exist: sedimentation is often used without a serious thought
of other possibilities, and flotation is used in specific cases only. To get a comprehensive conception, one
should be aware of the different features of flotation.

Effluent and sludlje Quality

Flotation is an efficient separation method for solids which have a density near that of water, like wood
fibres and oil- and fat-containing solids: Vrabik (1959) enumerated the following industrial waste treatment
applications for dissolved air flotation: canneries; chemicals; coal; iron and steel; laundry waste; meat
products; mining; metal finishing; oil industry; pulp; paper and allied products; soap manufacturing and
sugar refineries. Flotation is not a practical separation method for solids clearly denser than water, like grit.

As derived from a particle-bubble collision theory (Edzwald et al., 1992), it is possible to remove particles
down to the size of 10 urn using flotation (see Fig 1). Theoretically then, flotation is more suitable than
sedimentation, if even the smallest particles are to be removed. Normal separation efficiency for flotation
exceeds 90%.

The effluent from flotation is aerobic. Kiefhaber et at. (1982) found in a field study, that the average
dissolved oxygen concentrations in the flotation pilot-plant effluents were 5 mg/l, when treating municipal
wastewaters. Compared with effluents from the secondary sedimentation tanks averaging 2.3 gil, the
increase in dissolved oxygen concentration was more than two-fold Ackel (1988) analogously reported, that
after the discharge of flotation polished pulp and paper mill wastewaters, the dissolved oxygen concentration
JWST 3/4-U
302 M. YIlTASAARI et at.

downstream of the mill in the recipient river was higher than upstream. So flotation may have a beneficial
effect on the oxygen balance of a recipient at least compared with sedimentation.

An aerobic state in the treated water is emphasized, if water is recycled in a fully or partially closed system.
Anaerobic conditions favour anaerobic bacteria, which can cause operational and quality problems in a
production process. In paper mills, according to Geller and Gottshing (1982), the maintaining of a minimum
of 1.5-2 mg/l dissolved oxygen concentration in the process water, may improve the condition of the water
considerably. Guss (1978) claimed, that when flotation clarification is used, process water stays aerobic in a
paper mill, provided the volume of process water is not greater than the water evaporated in 5 days.

Flotation also reduces bacteriological counts. When treating drinking water, Schofield et at. (1991) found in
pilot-trials, that in the flotation treated water, coliforms were absent in 87% of the filtered water samples.
Kiuru (1982) reported, that total counts of aerobic mesophilic bacteria were reduced by over 99% in
flotation. While the bacteriological quality of wastewater may generally be of minor importance in industrial
wastewater treatment, it may be essential when considering reuse of the water.

The other product from a flotation process is sludge. Generally the floated sludge is thick, the SS-content
can often be around 3-5%. Thus no further thickening of the sludge is needed.

The sludge is aerobic like the effluent If flotation is used for phosphorus precipitation, phosphorous does
not redissolve from the sludge. Also the odour emitted from aerobic sludge is generally not as disagreeable
as that from anaerobic conditions. Koe and Tan (1988) studied odours from a flotation process in a sewage
treatment plant and found H 2S gas to be relatively absent, however, in that particular case they also detected
malodorous sulphide and benzene derivatives that were attributed to the industry discharging to the sewer.
When separating and returning activated sludge, the aerobic sludge does not suffer from anaerobic shock,
which may kill micro-organism (Krofta and Wang 1987).

Operation

Flotation is often more suitable for industrial wastewater treatment than sedimentation, because of its
flexibility. Flotation can be controlled by adjusting the amount to recycle water according to the influent
suspended solids concentration. Flotation is also less sensitive for hydraulic variations than sedimentation is.
A special feature of flotation is that, even with too high a solids loading, its performance will not collapse.

In chemical treatment the floc formation has a more important role in sedimentation than in flotation. In
sedimentation the settling velocities of floes are raised by flocculation. In flotation the driving force is
created by air bubbles, this in changing condition the defects of flocculation may not be critical for the
performance. Density currents are practically eliminated in flotation due to the short detention time.

The operation of flotation can be intermittent. Flotation can be controlled by an on-off principle. In practice,
for instance in effluent polishing, flotation can automatically be started up and shut down by measuring
turbidity before flotation.

The short detention time and accordingly small tank volume may cause some drawbacks. Rapid pH-changes
etc. can cause deterioration in the effluent quality, because the buffering capacity is small. Also the storage
capacity of flotation is small.

Pumping of the floated sludge may be problematic, since the sludge contains a lot of air (Barby and Marais
1976; Krogerus and Hynninen, 1992). That matter has not been broadly discussed in the literature.

Costs consist of capital and operational costs. When compared to sedimentation, both the area and volume of
flotation basins are essentially smaller resulting in low construction costs. Often prefabricated structures are
 Dissolved air flotation 303

used, which makes the construction easier. Because even small floes are floated, the construction costs of a
flocculation basin may also be reduced. On the contrary, there are additional equipment requirements
associated with flotation, thus raising the costs.

One of the most important factors is often the possibility of using existing premises due to the small size of a
flotation plant. There are cases, where no additional land is available outside the existing premises or the
additional land is not suitable (Clark, 1977). Because the water volume of a flotation tank is relatively small,
the need for a heavy foundation is rare. Especially in cold regions housing is often needed for wastewater
treatment units. The housing costs for flotation are considerably smaller than for sedimentation. When using
flotation, no thickener is usually needed.

Design of flotation may need special expertise. However, the trend in industry is towards minimizing all
activities outside the main field of a company. Thus, wastewater treatment design would be ordered from a
consultant having the adequate skill.

Operational costs vary a lot case by case. They consist of pumping, use of chemicals, air dissolving and
saturated water distribution, heating, lighting and ventilation, sludge treatment and disposal, and operation
and maintenance.

In chemical treatment, precipitation chemicals may form the largest individual share of operational costs.
Because large floes are not absolutely needed in flotation, there may be savings in reducing the dosing of
precipitation chemicals. Rosen (1985) stated, that the chemical consumption is 15-30% lower compared to
settling.

The electric energy consumption for dissolving or air and recycle water distribution is around 0.03 kWh.m 3
of treated water (Kiuru, 1982). This consumption is valid for potable water treatment, when the pressure is
600 kPa and the recycling rate 10%. In wastewater applications the electricity consumption may be higher
due to possibly higher circulation ratio, warmer water and greater solids content of the recycle water.
Because thickening is not needed, thickening energy costs are eliminated.

The heating, lighting and ventilation costs are proportional to the volume of the plant housing, which is
essentially lower in the case of flotation than in the case of sedimentation. In addition, the thick sludge on
the surface of flotation tanks hinders heat exchange between water and the air above. When treating cold
waters, water does not absorb heat energy from air, and when circulating the water back to the process,
water does not lose its heat energy (certainly, in some cases it would be beneficial to lower the recycled
process water temperature).

The heating and ventilation costs may be negligible, if the wastewater treatment unit is situated in an
existing premises of a factory, where there is excess heat energy (as in a paper mill). But if new facilities are
built, savings in those costs may more than offset the increased electricity costs of air dissolving and
dispersion water distribution. Kiuru (1982) has concluded, that in cold climate countries - Northern Europe,
North America and Northern Asia -, the operational costs of a potable drinking water flotation plant will not
be generally higher than in a corresponding sedimentation plant.

The situation is somewhat different with wastewater having essentially higher suspended solids
concentrations. Bratby and Marais (1976) calculated costs for the clarification of activated sludge (Fig. 3).
They found that total costs of flotation will be higher than the costs of sedimentation, if the influent
suspended solids concentration is greater then 1000 mg/I. Above this concentration the growing operational
costs of flotation favour the use of sedimentation. In these calculations, related costs (like the cost of land or
sludge processing) were not considered.
304 M. YIlT ASAARI et al.

2
Z-
OZ
-0
1--
<l:1-
I-<l:
01-
.JZ
lLUJ
I-~
eno
8~1
.JI-
t:: 0en
0
!:::~
o
I-
<l:
a::

Fig. 3. Cost comparison of flotation and sedimentation, when clarifying activated sludge (Bratby and Marais,
1976).

The economic maximum concentration of influent suspended solids depends on the nature of the solids:
1000 mg/I may be valid for activated sludge, but for oil- and fat-containing solids, flotation may be the only
feasible treatment alternative.

Costs of flotation application vary case by case, and general cost estimates are hard to give. In one case
(Krofta and Wang, 1987) a flotation unit was added in an activated sludge process for secondary
sedimentation of paper mill wastewaters, parallel with existing sedimentation clarifiers. The installation
costs were reported to be only 12% of those of the original conventional plant expansion estimate. In another
case (Hukka, 1985) flotation and sedimentation were compared in the chemical treatment of combined
wastewaters of a sulphite mill and a paper mill. The capital costs for flotation and clarification were equal,
whereas the operational costs were considerably higher for sedimentation due to greater precipitation
chemical consumption. In the cases of both primary and secondary clarification of municipal wastewaters,
both capital and operational costs were calculated to be clearly higher for flotation than for sedimentation
(Henry and Gehr, 1981).

DISSOLVED AIR FLOTAnON IN FOREST INDUSTRY WASTEW ATER

TREATMENT

Flotation is widely used by the forest industry in raw water purification and white water and wastewater
treatment. Actually, dissolved air flotation was already introduced as a means for paper mill fibre recovery
in the 1920s.

White water treatment

Although white water (recirculated process water) treatment is primarily internal treatment, it also affects the
wastewater load. It has been found, that the removal efficiency of flotation is about equal for fibres and filler
in chemical treatment (Hukki and Rinne, 1854; Jokela, 1991). Flotation is especially suitable for white water
treatment, when the white water contains both fiber and fines (filler) and when the paper mill makes quick
changes in production. Thus the high removal efficiency and short retention time are fully utilized.

In Finland there are several flotation plants in white water treatment. The newest one was taken into use in
spring 1993, in a mill producing sack paper. The production capacity of the sack paper machine is 100 000
 Dissolved air flotation 305

tJa. Raw material is kraft of semi alkaline pulp, which is pumped from a neighbouring pulp mill. Flotation
was installed to treat fibre-containing filtrate, which makes up to 95% of the total water use in the mill.
Clarified water and the floated sludge are both recycled in the paper manufacturing process. The excess
water from flotation is led to the wastewater treatment system.

Flotation was chosen on the basis of the positive experience of flotation in the company, the small size, and
lower capital costs compared to a disk filter. Pilot-trials preceded the installation. Flotation was designed to
treat 360m 3!h, corresponding to an effective hydraulic surface load of ca. 7 m 3!(m2h) with a circular
flotation tank of a diameter of ca. 8 m. With flotation SS reductions of 75-90% and effluent concentrations
of 30-50 mg/l are achieved. In practice, the actual flow is lower than the design flow.

Because of the alkaline quality of the incoming pulp, the influent pH is around 8. The pH is lowered to pH 7
with aluminium sulphate to enable the reuse of the water in the process. A cationic polymer of 3-4 mg/I is
used for flocculation. The polymer is fed directly to the influent pipe. It is noteworthy, that aluminium
sulphate cannot be used for precipitation, because of the pH of the recycled process water must be neutral.

The possibility of recycling water after the addition of the flotation unit has resulted in a 50% decrease in the
wastewater flow, which also lowered the specific water consumption of the paper machine to 10 m 3!t.
However, as a result, the temperature of the water was raised, being now around 55°C - the maximum
temperature has been 70°C. Possibly the changed in the influent quality are also a reason for poor sludge
consistency of 0.5%. According to the manufacturer of the flotation plant, the sludge consistency should be
2-3%. In the mill, the low sludge consistency is considered a drawback. However, because the sludge is
reused on the site, the drawback is not of major importance. The use of a high recycle ratio of over 30% and
high pressure of over 700 kPa are probably due to the changes in water quality, too.

The settled sludge from the bottom of the flotation tank is discharged automatically once an hour to the
wastewater treatment. For the recycling of the flotated sludge, a centrifugal pump is used. There are no
major problems in the pumping, and the minor disturbances (observed as strong sounds from the pump) can
be handled by readjusting the valves.

Wastewater treatment

It may be possible to use flotation merely as a mechanical treatment depending on the quality of wastewater.
For instance, in the treatment of certain sulphite pulp mill wastewater, the resin content of the wastewaters
enables successful flotation without chemicals (Myreen et al., 1970). In a Finnish paper mill flotation is used
for fibre recovery without chemical addition. In addition to the recover, the SS content of the clarified water
is lowered to 40 mg!1 from the original 600 mg/l, resulting in a SS reduction of 93% (Syvapuro, 1992).
However, chemical treatment is often needed. There are several reports on mill scale chemical wastewater
treatment using flotation in paper and board mills (Anon, 1975; Albert and Taylor, 1976; Clark, 1977;
Coertze, 1978). In Finland, chemical treatment using flotation is applied in a fine paper mill (Krogerus and
Hynninen, 1992) and in a board mill.

The board mill produces coated box board from bleached kraft pulp and groundwood, the annual capacity is
170 000 1. The board mill is situated in the city centre of Tampere and the wastewaters are discharged to the
neighbouring rapids. The coating kitchen wastewaters are treated in a sedimentation clarifier and, before the
implementation of flotation, the fibre-containing wastewaters are treated in a sedimentation clarifier and,
before the implementation of flotation, the fibre-containing wastewaters were treated by a drim filter with
flocculant. In their effort to reduce the wastewater load, the mill studied several options for the treatment and
discharge of the fibre-containing wastewater. Plans included, e.g., discharging the wastewater to the
municipal wastewater treatment plant and the construction of an activated sludge plant (on the roof of the
mill due to scarcity of space, Fig. 4). Also sedimentation and flotation pilot-trials were conducted.
306 M. VIITASAARI et al.

Fig . 4 . TAKO board mill, situated in the city centre of Tampere.

One of the main reasons for flotation pilot-trials (Jokela 1991), was the possibility of placing a full-scale
plant inside the mill. In the pilot-trials SS reductions of more than 90 % and SS content of 10-40 mg/I were
achieved , when ca. 100 mg/I of aluminium sulphate or polyaluminium chloride was used for precipitation.
BOD was associated mainly with dissolved material and the reducti on for BOD 7 were only 25%
corresponding to a BODTvalue of 130 mgll in the treated water. The effective hydrauli c surface load varied
between 5-7 m 3/m2h ).

The quality of the wastewaters changed a lot, because the three board machines produce short runs of
diverse boards . The wastewater contained various concentrations of aluminium, making determin ation of the
right precipitation chemical dosage difficult. During the alkaline washing, the pH was raised to a value of
more than l l, which had to be compensat ed by dosing acid. Suspended solids peaks up to 10000-2000mg/1
were caused by coating chemical spills. During those high suspended soli ds peaks , the flotation process
usually continued to remove over 909% of the suspended solids with out changes in the precipitati on
chemical dosage and recycle ratio (i.e. 20-30%).

It was calculated, that with some internal piping modifications (which reduced both the BOD and SS load )
and flotation, the mill could fulfil the conditions of the new water discharge permit . The full scale flotati on
plant was designed and constructed by a Finnish engineering company. The influent flow varies between
450-600 m3/h and the recycle water flow is around 100 m 3fh resulting in total hydraulic surface load of 5-6
m 3/(m2h ). The pressure in the saturator is 550 kPa. Aluminium sulphate of 150 mgll and cationic polymer of
I mg/l are used to precipitation. pH is adjusted, in normal operation, to pH 5.9 by sodium aluminate and,
during alkaline washing, by sulphuric acid . The effluent SS co ncentration is 10 mg/I or less. However, the
BOD reduction is only 10% and, although the conditions of the water perm it are always fulfilled, the mill
continues studies to reduce the organic pollution load .

Flotation is also used for the treatment of de-inking wastew aters (and circulated process waters ) (e.g.
Sannedk og and Reeves, 1991; Guss and Brown, 1991). There are four de-inking mills in Finland and all of
them use dissolved air flotati on in effluent treatment.

In one of the de-inking mills , flotation is used in the treatment of washing wastewater, of which a major part
is circulated back to process. In 1987, the inflow to the flotation tank was 1500 m 3/h consisting of 1100
m 3/h of wastewater plus 40% recycle. The circular flotati on unit has a diameter of 15 m and the total
hydraulic surface load is 8.5 m 3/(m2h ). When starting up the flotati on process, problem s occurred in
coagulati on and flocculation. After intensive testing, it was found that the dosing polyalumin ium chloride
 Dissolved air flotation 307

and successively two liquid polymers gave the best performance. SS removal of 90%, effluent SS
concentration of 200 mg/l and sludge consistency of 4-6% are achieved. Probably due to the high
temperature and high solids content of the recycle water, an air dissolving pressure of 1000 kPa is used.

When biological wastewater treatment is considered, flotation can be added in primary or secondary
clarification, tertiary treatment or sludge thickening. There are only few references to flotation used for
primary clarification in forest industry wastewater treatment (e.g. Stevenson, 1991). For secondary
clarification, flotation is used both as a sole clarification method an in combination with sedimentation.

The use of flotation as a sole secondary clarification method in activated sludge treatment of a sulphite pulp
mill is well reported (Severeid, 1979; Jackson, 1981; Gregory, 1982; Rogers, 1983). The mill uses an
ammonia-based process, and the high ammonia concentrations and high temperatures caused settling
problems in wastewater treatment trials. Also the space available was restricted. The problems were solved
by constructing a deep tank aeration/flotation treatment (Fig. 5). Flotation is run without the use of
flocculation chemicals with' a hydraulic surface load of 9 m 3/(m2h). BOD removal of 85% and solids
removal of over 90% are achieved resulting in effluent SS concentrations of 160-180 mg/l, which have
generally been in compliance with discharge limits.
Wasle Actovaled Sludg e
ro Drsposat
Air

Aeralion
Return Aclival ed
Deep Siudga
Tank
Aeration
( OTA)
Expansion Trealed
Untreat ed
~~ ~fi ~ Valves ElIluent
; : : I : I I - - - - M - t-
1nlluent

Dissolved Air
Flotation (OAF)

Fig. 5. Deep tank aeration/dissolved air flotation activated sludge process. The precipitation of air from the Aerated
mixed liquor is enhanced by customary recycling of the treated effluent (Roger, 1983).

Flotation combined with sedimentation may have a broader applicability in secondary clarification. Flotation
has been used to enhance existing activated sludge treatment of paper mill wastewater. When flotation was
installed to clarify a side stream from the aeration basin, it increased both the hydraulic retention time in
aeration by 10% (because of thicker return sludge) and the ability of the mill's waste treatment facilities to
handle shock waste loadings and recover rapidly from upsets (Krofta and Wang, 1987; Krofta et al., 1988).

In Finland, there are 27 activated sludge plants, and one under construction, in forest wastewater treatment.
None of them uses flotation in secondary clarification, but in one paper mill (Latyakko, 1990) flotation has
been is use for thickening of waste activated sludge since 1987. To flow to the circular flotation unit is 54
m 3/H, the hydraulic surface load 0.4 m 3/(m 2h) and the solids load 4.4 kg/(m 2h). The sludge is thickened
from a consistency of 1% to 3%. Nonionic polymer is added with a dosage of 1 mg/l. Air is dissolved in tap
(mill) water at a pressure of 400-500 kPa.

Full scale flotation plants for the clarification of anaerobically treated forest industry wastewaters probably
do not exist. In pilot-scale trials it has been found, that flotation of effluent from anaerobic paper mill
wastewater treatment is possible (Vehmas, 1986). In those tests, the wastewater was conditioned with
308 M. VIITASAARI et al.

ferrous sulphate and cationic polyelectrolyte, and carbon dioxide was used as a flotation gas. The best SS
reduction was 90%, but in most of the trials reductions were modest. The reason was attributed to a too short
flocculation time (static pipe mixer was used and the actual flocculation took place in the flotation chamber).
The quality of the influent was not representative either, because there was no methane production in the
anaerobic reactor during the tests.

The latest application of flotation in Finland is tertiary treatment (effluent polishing). Flotation after
secondary sedimentation of activated sludge treatment is practiced in a paper mill and a pulp mill. However,
the flotation units are seldom taken into operation, because the water quality is satisfactory most of the time
even without flotation. Tertiary treatment in Finland is emphasized mainly in phosphorus removal. The
removal of phosphorus by flotation and flotation-filtration has been studied in a pilot scale (Inkinen, 1989;
Kiuru et al., 1990). The results showed, that phosphorus is mainly removed by flotation only, provided the
precipitation is not disturbed. Precipitation and flotation in tertiary treatment of paper mill wastewaters is
also used for organics removal, as reported by Mobius and Cordes-Tolle (1994) (Table 1) and Osterberg et
al., 1992. To reduce precipitation chemical costs, the use of cheaper chemicals are studied. One combination
may be the addition of ferrous sulphate and hydrogen peroxide followed by clarification, preferentially, with
flotation (Savolainen, 1993).

The implementation of zero liquid effluent technology is an interesting topic in the forest industry. In those
applications flotation can be added as an integrated process step. Some full scale applications exist (e.g.
Chandra, 1993; Knorr and Fromson, 1993).

Table 1. Efficiency of Precipitation and Flotation Following Secondary Treatment of a Speciality Paper Mill
(Mobius and Cordes-Tolle, 1993)

following following following efficiency

prim.treatm. sec.treatm. precipitation precipitation
(IN) (OUT) n% D
BODmWl 531 86 9 89,5 144
CODmWl 1594 646 83 87,2 144
SSmgI 6S 2S 11 56,0 30130/144
AOXIlWl 2470 1540 910 40,9 14nt48

DISSOLVED AIR FLOTATION IN FOODSTUFF INDUSTRY

W ASTEWATER TREATMENT

Dissolved air flotation is a proven technology in the treatment of wastewaters from different kinds of
foodstuff industries. Full scale application include the treatment of wastewaters from, e.g., slaughterhouses
(Jokela et al., 1988), poultry processing (Anon., 1982; Woodard et al., 1972, 1977), a ready food factory
(Keskitalo and Sundholm, 1990), industry generating wastewaters containing mixtures of sugar, starch,
peanut and soyabean oils (Stover, 1980), margarine factories (Hopwood and Rosen, 1972), a plant treating
mixed liquid wastes from a dairy, an ice cream factory, a poultry processing plant and a meatpacking and
slaughterhouse plant (Rusten et aI., 1990), shrimp processing (Szabo, 1980) and a feed raw material factory.

Typical foodstuff industry wastewaters contain high concentrations of oxygen consuming matter (including
oils, fats, proteins and carbohydrates) and suspended solids. Often a considerable share of the oxygen
consuming matter is connected with the suspended solids, which makes the use of suspended solids
separation further incentive. However, due to the high strength of foodstuff industry wastewaters, biological
treatment is also usually needed. Thus, the role of flotation is primarily pretreatment, often enhanced with
chemicals. In the following, examples of the use of dissolved air flotation in foodstuff industry wastewater
treatment are presented.
 Dissolved air flotation 309

Slaughterhouse wastewaters. Flotation pretreatment of process wastewaters from a Finnish slaughterhouse

was described by Jokela et al. (1988). The slaughterhouse has a capacity to handle 320 pigs/h and the total
consumption of water is about 700 m3/d. Before flotation, the process wastewaters are screened and
equalized, and then flocculated with acidification of pH-value of 3 and by precipitation with sodium
lignosulphonate. The formed sludge is coagulated by hot steam and dewatered by a belt filter press. The
filtered cake is used as a raw material for animal food. The effluent from flotation is neutralized with slaked
lime and discharged to a municipal sewer (Fig. 6). Data from the flotation plant and treatment results are
given in Table 2. In practice, the profit from the protein recovery (sludge) covers both the capital and
operational costs of the pretreatment plant.

I chemicals
'------==J
- q-~-Wl g~~. ~:~.
"~'
from
process
PRETREATMENT SLUDGE HANDLI NG
effluent stream
L-municipal
I.
neutrallzatlon
I
sewer -
01 SPOSAL OF WASTEWATER

Fig. 6. The pretreatment-recovery process for slaughterhouse wastewaters.

Table 2. Data of the Flotation Plant of the Slaughterhouse and Pretreatment Results

flow 50
basin type circular
hydraulic surface load 1
saturation pressure 600
recycle rate 20
floated solids collection method suction
sulphuric acid consumption mgll 400
lignosulphonate consumption mg/l 200 - 300
lime consumption mgll 400
suspended solids removal % 90
concentration in the effluent mgll 100 - 250
BOD 7 removal % 75
effluent value mg02!l 700 - 900
grease and fat removal % 94
concentration in the effluent mgll 20 - 40
floated solids concentration % 8 - 12

The use of acidification is based on de-emulsification of fats. It also helps the precipitation of proteins
(Hopwood and Rosen, 1972; Anon., 1982). According to Hopwood and Rosen (1972) lignosulphonate does
not harm animals, when being a part of feed. Cooper and Denmead (1979) mentioned, that is metal salts are
used for precipitation, the metal content of the formed sludge may preclude the use of such recovered
material as an animal feed supplement. If the sludge is not intended to be used as such a supplement, metal
salts can be successfully used for precipitation - as demonstrated by Rusten et at. (1990).
310 M. VIIT ASAARI et at.

Edible f at refinery wastewaters. In a Finnish refmery , which is a part of multiproduct factory, wastewaters
are first treated with flotation. Flotation is used primarily for fat removal. The combined wastewaters of the
factory are treated biologic ally in anaerobic and aerobic processes. The possible fat from refining would
seriously inhib it the performance of the wastewater treatment process, because it causes carry over of solids
from the settling tank to the anaerobic unit. After the biologic al treatment (pretreatment), wastewaters are
discharged to a municipal sewer. The other advantage of the flotation process is, that the floated sludge can
be sold as raw material for another factory.

The wastewater flow to the tlotation units is 200 m3/d. No chemicals are added. The hydraulic surface load
is I m3/(m2h) including recycle water of an order of 25%. For recycling , the effluent from flotation is used.
The flotation tank is rectangul ar and the sludge is removed by a rotating brush, that is installed at the end of
the tank. Because the sludge is stable, no travelling skimmer is needed. The fat content of the treated water
is less than 200 mg/l,

Feed raw material factory wastewaters. In Finland there are only a few factories, that produce anim al feed
raw material from slaughterhouse and meat processing industry wastes, such as bones. In a factory, the
process wastewaters are pretreated with flotation and sedimentation before discharging to a municipal sewer.
The wastewaters are gluelike and hot, maximum temperatures may reach 80'C.

In the factory, wastewaters are generated intermittently and the flotation process is operated only a few days
a week. Wastew aters flow is small, less than 4 m3/h, but the wastew ater is extremely concentrated . COD
values and total solids (TS) concentrations are typicall y 100 000 mg/I and 50 000- 100 000 mg/1.
respectively.

Before flotation, a mixture of ferric chloride and ferric sulphate of 4 000 mg/l and anionic polymer are
added. The iron coagulant is fed directly to the influent pipe, but the polymer is fed to the saturator. The pH
is adjusted to around pH 6 by sulphuric acid. Tap water is saturated at a pressure of 500-700 kPa. The flow
of saturated water is 20% of the influent flow. The hydraulic surface load in flotation is only 0.2 m 3/(m 2h),
but the solids load is around 10-20 kgTS/(m2h). The sludge is skimmed by chain scrapers from the top of the
rectangular flotation tank and disposed to a damping site.

According to the material balances (Enstrom, 1993), the average TS reductions in flotation are 40%. In
separate analyses, reductions up to 80% have been detected. COD reductions vary between 40-80%. The
personnel of the factory are not entirely satisfied with the performa nce of the flotation process. Possible the
amount of air available for flotati on is inadequate.

Ready food factory wastewaters. Wastewaters from a multiproduct ready food factory , located near
Tarnpere, are treated in a multi-stage chemical and biological wastew ater treatment plant. A small amount of
municipal wastewater, representing one percent of the total influ ent organic load is also taken to the plant.
The wastewaters from the ready food factory are mainly generated in poultry and vegetable processing. The
treatment train consists of screen ing, Two-stage dissolved air flotation, equalization, secondary treatment by
trickling filter and tertiary treatment by extended aeration coupled with simultaneous precipitation of
phosphorus. The process has been described by Keskitalo and Sundh olm ( 1990).

The industrial wastewaters are first screened to remove particles bigger than three millimetre s and are then
led to the influent pumping well. The daily flow is in the regi on of 1000 m 3/d, and most is it is distributed
over only a few hours in a day. From the well the wastewaters are pumped to flotati on. The two rectangular
flotation tanks are operated in series and have equal surface area . However. the detention time in the latter is
only about half of the first one. The detention times for the first and seco nd flotation are around 30 min. and
15 min., respectivel y (Fig. 7). A cationic polymer is fed to both units near the point of recycle water
introduction. The dosage is ca. 1.5 mg/l to each unit. Recycle water for both units is taken from the effluent
of the second tlotation and is saturated at pressure of 550 kPa. The design hydraulic surface load was 8
m3/(m2h). The actual efficient hydraulic load for average flow is around 5 m 3/(m 2h). Because the recycle
flow is not measured, the total hydraulic load cannot be exactly determ ined.
 Dissolved air flotation 311

The quality of the influent varies a lot: typically SS concentrations can vary between 1000-2000 mg/I and
BOD7 values between 2000-3000 mgOtl. SS reductions vary between 60-90% and, because most of the
organic matter is associated with the suspended solids, BOD 7 reductions between 50-70%.

I~
I
• A\ 1"1
II11)JI
• ~_
• I
1
r, ~
I','
1

I', '"
I I
I~I~_---~\I
I ~-- ~ . ~
_-- \ I

" _ - - -../ ~ tl
2,
3 1 L -- ®. ~ - \:j)1
-

1. INFLUENT 4. FLOATED SLUDGE

2. DISPERSION WATER 5. CLARIFIED WATER
3. CHEMICAL FEED 6. SETTLED SLUDGE
Fig. 7. Operation principle of the two-stage dissolved air flotation unit in the treatment of wastewaters from a ready
food factory (Keskitalo and Sundholm, 1990)

The operation of the flotation units is intermittent during night time, when the influent flow is reduced. The
start-ups and shut-downs are automatically controlled by a level indicator in the influent pumping well.
Sludge is scraped to a trough between the tanks. The floated sludge is dewatered by a belt filter press. There
is no settled sludge removal system in the tanks, which according to the plant operator, requires that the
tanks are often washed.

CONCLUSIONS

Dissolved air flotation is proven technology in the treatment of certain wastewaters, such as forest industry
wastewaters and foodstuff industry wastewaters. However, it is evident that flotation will still have plenty of
further possibilities both in these and other industries. Because of its flexibility, compared to other
clarification methods, and relatively small size, it will be attractive to the industry.

When designing a wastewater treatment facility, one should strive to obtain a comprehensive conception of
unconventional solutions, such as flotation. Thus, the decision between conventional technology (i.e. often
sedimentation) and other possibilities, could be solved rationally.

As it can be seen from the cases reported, the design parameters and equipment of flotation vary
substantially. One reason for the variations still is, without a doubt, the lack of the theoretical knowledge of
the flotation process. For a researcher flotation is a rewarding subject.

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