A.A. Oyem
Department of Chemical Engineering, Delta State Polytechnic, Ogwashi-uku, Nigeria
Abstract: A practically important class of aluminum salts, the alums, is structural prototype (original examples) and gives their name to a large number of analogous salts formed by other elements. Aluminum alums are mostly recommended for use in drinking water treatment process, example is AlK(SO4)2 . 12H2O. The dose of alum varies from 5mg / litre for relatively clear water to about 80mg / litre for very turbid water, the average dose is about 20mg / litre.
Coagulation is a process of removing finely suspended and colloidal impurities by the addition of requisite amount of chemicals (coagulants) to water, before sedimentation.
Key words: Alums, coagulations, drinking water treatment, fine suspended particles, colloidal impurities