Fundamental Understanding of the Interactions between Elemental Selenium and Hydrophilic/Hydrophobic Particles in Wastewater

• Author / Creator

  Li, Junmeng

• In this study, interactions between elemental selenium particles and different surfaces (i.e. Fe(OH)3, silica, octadecyltrichlorosilane (OTS) modified silica and selenium film coated gold) are investigated to understand the behavior of elemental selenium particles in wastewater treatment process. It is found that the Derjaguin-Landau-Verwey-Overbeek (DLVO) forces govern the attachment of elemental selenium particle to Fe(OH)3 and silica surfaces, while additional attractive hydrophobic forces are found when elemental selenium particles interact with OTS modified surface and selenium film. However, elemental selenium is less hydrophobic in nature than OTS modified surface. When Fe(OH)3 is used as a coagulant, the salt concentration greatly impacts the Fe(OH)3 morphology and the interacting forces that the polymer behavior of Fe(OH)3 is promoted at low salt concentration. And the electric double layer (EDL) force decreased and the Van der Waals force dominates at high salt concentration. The fundamental understanding of the interactions between selenium and hydrophobic/ hydrophilic particles in wastewater accelerates the development of new technology for the removal of selenium from industry wastewater.

• Subjects / Keywords

  • Surface forces
  • Coagulant
  • Elemental selenium
  • Wastewater treatment

• Graduation date

  Fall 2015

• Type of Item

  Thesis

• Degree

  Master of Science

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/R3KS6J94X

• License

  This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Libraries with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.