Characteristics of change in water quality along reclaimed water intake area of the Chaobai River in Beijing, China

To reveal the basic characteristics and controlling factors of water quality change in the project Wenyu to Chaobai reclaimed water diversion, the water quality in the study area was monitored for one year at seven monitoring sites. Inverse geochemical models of the statistical groups were developed using PHREEQC to elucidate the hydrochemistry characteristics of reclaimed water and the factors. The monitoring results indicated that nitrogen and phosphorus contents were significantly reduced along the river mainly caused by seasonal and location variation. The pH ranged from 7.44 to 9.81. Photosynthesis of algae and denitrification in anaerobic microenvironment ultimately led to a sudden p H increase after the Jian River and the Chaobai River confluence. Mg~(2+)and SO_4~(2-) levels dropped obviously in the summer and increased in winter seasons after intersection. Na+and Cl-are relatively stable, and marked drop in the concentration only after the two rivers meet. And there is a decrease of Ca~(2+) and HCO~(3-) and increase in CO_3~(2-) during monitoring period. As a whole, the primary ions and nutrient components, including nitrogen and phosphorus, had high levels in winter. Algae's photosynthesis and respiration were observed to have an impact on the river water quality; there was precipitation–dissolution of minerals and denitrification from upstream to downstream. Inverse geochemical PHREEQC modeling confirmed that there was precipitation of aragonite or calcite, and gypsum or anhydrite in summer, and dissolution in winter; as well as precipitation of dolomite in winter, and cationic exchange and denitrification along the river.     

Modeling of acute cadmium toxicity in solution to barley root elongation using biotic ligand model theory

Protons（H⁺）as well as different major and trace elements may inhibit cadmium（Cd）uptake in aquatic organisms and thus alleviate Cd toxicity.However,little is known about such interactions in soil organisms.In this study,the independent effects of the cations calcium(Ca²⁺),magnesium(Mg²⁺),potassium（K⁺）,H+and zinc(Zn²⁺)on Cd toxicity were investigated with 5-day long barley root elongation tests in nutrient solutions.The tested concentrations of selected cations and trace metal ions were based on the ranges that occur naturally in soil pore water.The toxicity of Cd decreased with increasing activity of Ca²⁺,Mg²⁺,H⁺and Zn²⁺,but not K⁺.Accordingly,conditional binding constants were obtained for the binding of Cd²⁺,Ca²⁺,Mg²⁺,H⁺,and Zn²⁺ with the binding ligand:log K_CdBL5.19,logK_CaBL2.87,logK_MgBL2.98,logK_HBL5.13 and logK_ZnBL5.42,respectively.Furthermore,it was calculated that on average 29% of the biotic ligand sites needed to be occupied by Cd to induce a 50% decrease in root elongation.Using the estimated constants,a biotic ligand model was successfully developed to predict the Cd toxicity to barley root elongation as a function of solution characteristics.The feasibility and accuracy of its application for predicting Cd toxicity in soils were discussed.     

Stainless steel corrosion scale formed in reclaimed water: Characteristics, model for scale growth and metal element release

Stainless steels generally have extremely good corrosion resistance, but are still susceptible to pitting corrosion. As a result, corrosion scales can form on the surface of stainless steel after extended exposure to aggressive aqueous environments. Corrosion scales play an important role in affecting water quality. These research results showed that interior regions of stainless steel corrosion scales have a high percentage of chromium phases. We reveal the morphology, micro-structure and physicochemical characteristics of stainless steel corrosion scales. Stainless steel corrosion scale is identified as a podiform chromite deposit according to these characteristics, which is unlike deposit formed during iron corrosion. A conceptual model to explain the formation and growth of stainless steel corrosion scale is proposed based on its composition and structure. The scale growth process involves pitting corrosion on the stainless steel surface and the consecutive generation and homogeneous deposition of corrosion products, which is governed by a series of chemical and electrochemical reactions. This model shows the role of corrosion scales in the mechanism of iron and chromium release from pitting corroded stainless steel materials. The formation of corrosion scale is strongly related to water quality parameters. The presence of HClO results in higher ferric content inside the scales. Cl⁻ and SO₄^2 − ions in reclaimed water play an important role in corrosion pitting of stainless steel and promote the formation of scales.     

Phosphate adsorption performance of a novel filter substrate made from drinking water treatment residuals

Phosphate is one of the most predominant pollutants in natural waters. Laboratory experiments were conducted to investigate the phosphate adsorption performance of a(NFS) made from drinking water treatment residuals. The adsorption of phosphate on the NFS fitted well with the Freundlich isotherm and pseudo second-order kinetic models. At p H 7.0, the maximum adsorption capacity of 1.03 mg/g was achieved at 15°C corresponding to the wastewater temperature in cold months, and increased notably to 1.31 mg/g at 35°C.Under both acidic conditions(part of the adsorption sites was consumed) and basic conditions(negative charges formed on the surface of NFS, which led to a static repulsion of PO43-and HPO42-), the adsorption of phosphate was slightly inhibited. Further study showed that part of the adsorption sites could be recovered by 0.25 mol/L Na OH. The activation energy was calculated to be above 8.0 k J/mol, indicating that the adsorption of phosphate on NFS was probably a chemical process. Considering the strong phosphate adsorption capacity and recoverability, NFS showed great promise on enhancing phosphate removal from the secondary treated wastewater in the filtration process.     

The biological effect of metal ions on the granulation of aerobic granular activated sludge

As a special biofilm structure, microbial attachment is believed to play an important role in the granulation of aerobic granular activated sludge (AGAS). This experiment was to investigate the biological effect of Ca^2 +, Mg^2 +, Cu^2 +, Fe^2 +, Zn^2 +, and K⁺ which are the most common ions present in biological wastewater treatment systems, on the microbial attachment of AGAS and flocculent activated sludge (FAS), from which AGAS is always derived, in order to provide a new strategy for the rapid cultivation and stability control of AGAS. The result showed that attachment biomass of AGAS was about 300% higher than that of FAS without the addition of metal ions. Different metal ions had different effects on the process of microbial attachment. FAS and AGAS reacted differently to the metal ions as well, and in fact, AGAS was more sensitive to the metal ions. Specifically, Ca^2 +, Mg^2 +, and K⁺ could increase the microbial attachment ability of both AGAS and FAS under appropriate concentrations, Cu^2 +, Fe^2 +, and Zn^2 + were also beneficial to the microbial attachment of FAS at low concentrations, but Cu^2 +, Fe^2 +, and Zn^2 + greatly inhibited the attachment process of AGAS even at extremely low concentrations. In addition, the acylated homoserine lactone (AHL)-based quorum sensing system, the content of extracellular polymeric substances and the relative hydrophobicity of the sludges were greatly influenced by metal ions. As all these parameters had close relationships with the microbial attachment process, the microbial attachment may be affected by changes of these parameters.     

Towards a better hydraulic cleaning strategy for ultrafiltration membrane fouling by humic acid: Effect of backwash water composition

As a routine measurement to alleviate membrane fouling, hydraulic cleaning is of great significance for the steady operation of ultrafiltration (UF) systems in water treatment processes. In this work, a comparative study was performed to investigate the effects of the composition of backwash water on the hydraulic cleaning performance of UF membranes fouled by humic acid (HA). Various types of backwash water, including UF permeate, Milli-Q water, NaCl solution, CaCl₂ solution and HA solution, were compared in terms of hydraulically irreversible fouling index, total surface tension and residual HA. The results indicated that Milli-Q water backwash was superior to UF permeate backwash in cleaning HA-fouled membranes, and the backwash water containing Na⁺ or HA outperformed Milli-Q water in alleviating HA fouling. On the contrary, the presence of Ca^2 + in backwash water significantly decreased the backwash efficiency. Moreover, Ca^2 + played an important role in foulant removal, and the residual HA content closely related to the residual Ca^2 + content. Mechanism analysis suggested that the backwash process may involve fouling layer swelling, ion exchange, electric double layer release and competitive complexation. Ion exchange and competitive complexation played significant roles in the efficient hydraulic cleaning associated with Na⁺ and HA, respectively.     

Zeolite A synthesized from alkaline assisted pre-activated halloysite for efficient heavy metal removal in polluted river water and industrial wastewater

High quality zeolite A was synthesized through a hydrothermal process using alkaline-assisted pre-activated halloysite mineral as the alumina and silica source. The synthesis conditions employed in this study were finely tuned by varying the activating temperature, sodium hydroxide content, water content and Si/Al ratio. The obtained zeolite A showed excellent adsorption properties for both single metal cation solutions and mixed cation solutions when the concentrations of the mixed cations were comparable with those in polluted natural river water and industrial wastewater. High adsorptive capacities for Ag⁺ (123.05 mg/g) and Pb^2 + (227.70 mg/g) were achieved using the synthesized zeolite A. This observation indicates that the zeolite A synthesized from alkaline-assisted pre-activated halloysite can be used as a low-cost and relatively effective adsorbent to purify heavy metal cation polluted natural river water and industrial wastewater.     

Removal of Cs from water and soil by ammonium-pillared montmorillonite/Fe3O4 composite

To remove cesium ions from water and soil, a novel adsorbent was synthesized by following a one-step co-precipitation method and using non-toxic raw materials. By combining ammonium-pillared montmorillonite (MMT) and magnetic nanoparticles (Fe₃O₄), an MMT/Fe₃O₄ composite was prepared and characterized. The adsorbent exhibited high selectivity of Cs⁺ and could be rapidly separated from the mixed solution under an external magnetic field. Above all, the adsorbent had high removal efficiency in cesium-contaminated samples (water and soil) and also showed good recycling performance, indicating that the MMT/Fe₃O₄ composite could be widely applied to the remediation of cesium-contaminated environments. It was observed that the pH, solid/liquid ratio and initial concentration affected adsorption capacity. In the presence of coexisting ions, the adsorption capacity decreased in the order of Ca^2 + > Mg^2 + > K⁺ > Na⁺, which is consistent with our theoretical prediction. The adsorption behavior of this new adsorbent could be expressed by the pseudo-second-order model and Freundlich isotherm. In addition, the adsorption mechanism of Cs⁺ was NH₄⁺ ion exchange and surface hydroxyl group coordination, with the former being more predominant.     

UV light tolerance and reactivation potential of tetracycline-resistant bacteria from secondary effluents of a wastewater treatment plant

Tetracycline-resistant bacteria (TRB) are of concern as emerging microbial contaminants in reclaimed water. To understand the effects of UV disinfection on TRB, both inactivation and reactivation profiles of TRB, as well as 16 tetracycline-resistant isolates from secondary effluent, were characterized in this study. The inactivation ratio of TRB was significantly lower (3.0-log) than that of heterotrophic bacteria (> 4.0-log) in the secondary effluent. Additionally, the proportion of TRB significantly increased from 1.65% to 15.51% under 20 mJ/cm² ultraviolet (UV) exposure. The inactivation rates of tetracycline-resistant isolates ranged from 0.57/s to 1.04/s, of which tetracycline-resistant Enterobacter-1 was the most tolerant to UV light. The reactivation of TRB, tetracycline-resistant isolated strains, as well as heterotrophic bacteria commonly occurred in the secondary effluent even after 20 mJ/cm² UV exposure. The colony forming ability of TRB and heterotrophic bacteria reached 3.2-log and 3.0-log under 20 mJ/cm² UV exposure after 22 hr incubation. The final inactivation ratio of tetracycline-resistant Enterobacter-1 was 1.18-log under 20 mJ/cm² UV exposure after 22 hr incubation, which is similar to those of TRB (1.18-log) and heterotrophic bacteria (1.19-log). The increased proportion of TRB and the reactivation of tetracycline-resistant enterobacteria in reclaimed water could induce a microbial health risk during wastewater reuse.     

New insight into adsorption characteristics and mechanisms of the biosorbent from waste activated sludge for heavy metals

The adsorption characteristics and mechanisms of the biosorbent from waste activated sludge were investigated by adsorbing Pb2+and Zn2+in aqueous single-metal solutions. A p H value of the metal solutions at 6.0 was beneficial to the high adsorption quantity of the biosorbent. The optimal mass ratio of the biosorbent to metal ions was found to be 2. A higher adsorption quantity of the biosorbent was achieved by keeping the reaction temperature below 55°C. Response surface methodology was applied to optimize the biosorption processes, and the developed mathematical equations showed high determination coefficients(above 0.99 for both metal ions) and insignificant lack of fit(p = 0.0838 and 0.0782 for Pb2+and Zn2+, respectively). Atomic force microscopy analyses suggested that the metal elements were adsorbed onto the biosorbent surface via electrostatic interaction. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy analyses indicated the presence of complexation(between –NH2,-CN and metal ions) and ion-exchange(between –COOH and metal ions). The adsorption mechanisms could be the combined action of electrostatic interaction, complexation and ion-exchange between functional groups and metal ions.     

A biological safety evaluation on reclaimed water reused as scenic water using a bioassay battery

An assessment method based on three toxicity tests (algae growth inhibition, daphnia immobilization and larval fish toxicity) was used to screen the biological safety of reclaimed water which was reused as sole replenishment for scenic water system in a park (SOF Park) in northern China. A total of 24 water samples were collected from six sites of water system in the SOF Park in four different seasons. The results indicated that: (1) the reclaimed water directly discharged from a reclamation treatment plant near the SOF Park as influent of park had relatively low biological safety (all samples were ranked as C or D); (2) the biological safety of reclaimed water was improved greatly with the ecological reclamation treatment processes composing of artificial wetland system and followed oxidation pond system; (3) the biological safety of reclaimed water in the main lake of SOF Park kept at a health status during different seasons (all samples were ranked as A); (4) there was some certain correlation (R² = 0.5737) between the sum of toxicity scores and dissolved organic carbon for the studied water samples. It was concluded that the assessment method was reliable to screen the safety of reclaimed water reused as scenic water, and the reclaimed water with further ecological purification processes such as artificial wetland and oxidation pond system can be safely reused as scenic water in park.     

Phosphate recovery from anaerobic digester effluents using CaMg(OH)4

Dolomite lime(DL)(CaMg(OH)_4) was used as an economical source of Mg~(2+)for the removal and recovery of phosphate from an anaerobic digester effluent of a municipal wastewater treatment plant(MWWTP) wastewater. Batch precipitation results determined that phosphate was effectively reduced from 87 to less than 4 mg-P/L when the effluent water was mixed with 0.3 g/L of DL. The competitive precipitation mechanisms of different solids in the treatment system consisting of Ca~(2+)–Mg~(2+)–NH_4~+–PO_4~(3-)CO_3~(2-)were determined by comparing model predictions with experimental results. Thermodynamic model calculations indicated that hydroxyapatite(Ca_(10)(PO_4)_6(OH)_2), Ca_4H(PO_4)_3?3H_2O, Ca_3(PO_4)_2(beta), and Ca_3(PO_4)_2(am2)were more stable than struvite(MgNH_4PO_3?6H_2O) and calcite(CaCO_3). However, X-ray diffraction(XRD) analysis determined the formation of struvite and calcite minerals in the treated effluent. Kinetic experimental results showed that most of the phosphate was removed from synthetic effluent containing NH_4~+within 2 hr, while only 20% of the PO_4~(3-)was removed in the absence of NH_4~+after 24 hr of treatment. The formation of struvite in the DL-treated effluent was due to the rapid precipitation rate of the mineral. The final pH of the DL-treated effluent significantly influenced the mass ratio of struvite to calcite in the precipitates. Because more calcite was formed when the p H increased from 8.4 to 9.6, a p H range of 8.0–8.5 should be used to produce solid with high PO_4~(3-)content. This study demonstrated that DL could be used for effective removal of phosphate from the effluent and that resultant precipitates contained high content of phosphate and ammonium.     

Application of internal standard method in recombinant luminescent bacteria test

Mercury and its organic compounds have been of severe concern worldwide due to their damage to the ecosystem and human health. The development of effective and affordable technology to monitor and signal the presence of bioavailable mercury is an urgent need. The Mer gene is a mercury-responsive resistant gene, and a mercury-sensing recombinant luminescent bacterium using the Mer gene was constructed in this study. The mer operon from marine Pseudomonas putida strain SP1 was amplified and fused with prompterless luxCDABE in the pUCD615 plasmid within Escherichia coli cells, resulting in pTHE30–E. coli. The recombinant strain showed high sensitivity and specificity. The detection limit of Hg^2 + was 5 nmol/L, and distinct luminescence could be detected in 30 min. Cd^2 +, Cu^2 +, Zn^2 +, Ca^2 +, Pb^2 +, Mg^2 +, Mn^2 +, and Al^3 + did not interfere with the detection over a range of 10^− 5–1 mM. Application of recombinant luminescent bacteria testing in environmental samples has been a controversial issue: especially for metal-sensing recombinant strains, false negatives caused by high cytotoxicity are one of the most important issues when applying recombinant luminescent bacteria in biomonitoring of heavy metals. In this study, by establishing an internal standard approach, the false negative problem was overcome; furthermore, the method can also help to estimate the suspected mercury concentration, which ensures high detection sensitivity of bioavailable Hg^2 +.     

Biodegradation of pendimethalin by Bacillus subtilis Y3

A bacterium strain Y3,capable of efficiently degrading pendimethalin,was isolated from activated sludge and identified as Bacillus subtilis according to its phenotypic features and 16 S rRNA phylogenetic analysis.This strain could grow on pendimethalin as a sole carbon source and degrade 99.5%of 100 mg/L pendimethalin within 2.5 days in batch liquid culture,demonstrating a greater efficiency than any other reported strains.Three metabolic products,6-aminopendimethalin,5-amino-2-methyl-3-nitroso-4-(pentan-3-ylamino) benzoic acid,and 8-amino-2-ethyl-5-(hydroxymethyl)-1,2-dihydroquinoxaline-6-carboxylic acid,were identified by HPLC-MS/MS,and a new microbial degradation pathway was proposed.A nitroreductase catalyzing nitroreduction of pendimethalin to 6-aminopendimethalin was detected in the cell lysate of strain Y3.The cofactor was nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate(NADPH) or more preferably nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide(NADH).The optimal temperature and pH for the nitroreductase were 30℃ and 7.5,respectively.Hg~(2+),Ni~(2+),Pb~(2+),Co~(2+),Mn~(2+) Cu~(2+),Ag~+,and EDTA severely inhibited the nitroreductase activity,whereas Fe~(2+),Mg~(2+),and Ca~(2+) enhanced it.This study provides an efficient pendimethalin-degrading microorganism and broadens the knowledge of the microbial degradation pathway of pendimethalin.     

Removal of fluorescence and ultraviolet absorbance of dissolved organic matter in reclaimed water by solar light

Storing reclaimed water in lakes is a widely used method of accommodating changes in the consumption of reclaimed water during wastewater reclamation and reuse. Solar light serves as an important function in degrading pollutants during storage, and its effect on dissolved organic matter(DOM) was investigated in this study. Solar light significantly decreased the UV_(254) absorbance and fluorescence(FLU) intensity of reclaimed water.However, its effect on the dissolved organic carbon(DOC) value of reclaimed water was very limited. The decrease in the UV_(254) absorbance intensity and FLU excitation–emission matrix regional integration volume(FLU volume) of reclaimed water during solar light irradiation was fit with pseudo-first order reaction kinetics. The decrease of UV_(254) absorbance was much slower than that of the FLU volume. Ultraviolet light in solar light had a key role in decreasing the UV_(254) absorbance and FLU intensity during solar light irradiation. The light fluence-based removal kinetic constants of the UV_(254) and FLU intensity were independent of light intensity. The peaks of the UV_(254) absorbance and FLU intensity with an apparent molecular weight(AMW) of 100 Da to 2000 Da decreased after solar irradiation, whereas the DOC value of the major peaks did not significantly change.     

Effect of AlCl3 concentration on nanoparticle removal by coagulation

In recent years, engineered nanoparticles, as a new group of contaminants emerging in natural water, have been given more attention. In order to understand the behavior of nanoparticles in the conventional water treatment process, three kinds of nanoparticle suspensions, namely multi-walled carbon nanotube-humic acid (MWCNT-HA), multi-walled carbon nanotube-N,N-dimethylformamide (MWCNT-DMF) and nanoTiO₂-humic acid (TiO₂-HA) were employed to investigate their coagulation removal efficiencies with varying aluminum chloride (AlCl₃) concentrations. Results showed that nanoparticle removal rate curves had a reverse “U” shape with increasing concentration of aluminum ion (Al^3 +). More than 90% of nanoparticles could be effectively removed by an appropriate Al^3 + concentration. At higher Al^3 + concentration, nanoparticles would be restabilized. The hydrodynamic particle size of nanoparticles was found to be the crucial factor influencing the effective concentration range (ECR) of Al^3 + for nanoparticle removal. The ECR of Al^3 + followed the order MWCNT-DMF > MWCNT-HA > TiO₂-HA, which is the reverse of the nanoparticle size trend. At a given concentration, smaller nanoparticles carry more surface charges, and thus consume more coagulants for neutralization. Therefore, over-saturation occurred at relatively higher Al^3 + concentration and a wider ECR was obtained. The ECR became broader with increasing pH because of the smaller hydrodynamic particle size of nanoparticles at higher pH values. A high ionic strength of NaCl can also widen the ECR due to its strong potential to compress the electric double layer. It was concluded that it is important to adjust the dose of Al^3 + in the ECR for nanoparticle removal in water treatment.     

Evaluation of drinking water treatment combined filter backwash water recycling technology based on comet and micronucleus assay

Based on the fact that recycling of combined filter backwash water（CFBW）directly to drinking water treatment plants（WTP）is considered to be a feasible method to enhance pollutant removal efficiency,we were motivated to evaluate the genotoxicity of water samples from two pilot-scale drinking water treatment systems,one with recycling of combined backwash water,the other one with a conventional process.An integrated approach of the comet and micronucleus（MN）assays was used with zebrafish（Danio rerio）to investigate the water genotoxicity in this study.The total organic carbon（TOC）,dissolved organic carbon（DOC）,and trihalomethane formation potential（THMFP）,of the recycling process were lower than that of the conventional process.All the results showed that there was no statistically significant difference（P>0.05）between the conventional and recycling processes,and indicated that the genotoxicity of water samples from the recycling process did not accumulate in 15 day continuous recycling trial.It was worth noting that there was correlation between the concentrations of TOC,DOC,UV₂₅₄,and THMFPs in water and the DNA damage score,with corresponding R² values of 0.68,0.63,0.28,and 0.64.Nevertheless,both DNA strand breaks and MN frequency of all water samples after disinfection were higher than that of water samples from the two treatment units,which meant that the disinfection by-products（DBPs）formed by disinfection could increase the DNA damage.Both the comet and MN tests suggest that the recycling process did not increase the genotoxicity risk,compared to the traditional process.     

Greenhouse gas emissions from oilfield-produced water in Shengli Oilfield, Eastern China

Greenhouse gas(GHG) emissions from oil and gas systems are an important component of the GHG emission inventory. To assess the carbon emissions from oilfield-produced water under atmospheric conditions correctly, in situ detection and simulation experiments were developed to study the natural release of GHG into the atmosphere in the Shengli Oilfield,the second largest oilfield in China. The results showed that methane(CH4) and carbon dioxide(CO2) were the primary gases released naturally from the oilfield-produced water.The atmospheric temperature and release time played important roles in determining the CH4 and CO2emissions under atmospheric conditions. Higher temperatures enhanced the carbon emissions. The emissions of both CH4 and CO2from oilfield-produced water were highest at 27°C and lowest at 3°C. The bulk of CH4 and CO2was released from the oilfield-produced water during the first release period, 0–2 hr, for each temperature, with a maximum average emission rate of 0.415 g CH4/(m3·hr) and 3.934 g CO2/(m3·hr), respectively. Then the carbon emissions at other time periods gradually decreased with the extension of time. The higher solubility of CO2 in water than CH4 results in a higher emission rate of CH4 than CO2over the same release duration. The simulation proved that oilfield-produced water is one of the potential emission sources that should be given great attention in oil and gas systems.     

Effects of fluoride on the removal of cadmium and phosphate by aluminum coagulation

This study focuses on the effects of pH and fluoride at different molar ratios of fluoride to Al (R_F:Al) on the removal of cadmium (Cd²⁺) and phosphate by Al coagulation. Fluoride at R_F:Al ≥ 3:1 inhibits the removal of Cd over wide Al dose ranges from 5 to 10 mg/L as Al. The removal of phosphate decreases significantly at high R_F:Al of 10:1 whereas at lowered R_F:Al (i.e., ≤ 6:1), an adverse effect is observed only at insufficient Al doses below 2 mg/L. Fluoride shows inhibitive effects towards the removal of Cd at pH 7 and 8 and that of phosphate at pH 6. Fluoride decreases the ζ-potential in both systems, and the decreasing extent is positively correlated to the elevated R_F:Al. The Al fluoride interactions include the formation of Al–F complexes and the adsorption of fluoride onto Al(OH)₃ precipitates, i.e., the formation of Al(OH)_nF_m. Al–F complex formation inhibits Al hydrolysis and increases residual Al levels, and a more significant increase was observed at lower pH. Al–F complexes at high R_F:Al complicate the coagulation behavior of Al towards both negative and positive ionic species. Moreover, fluoride at low R_F:Al shows little effect on Al coagulation behavior towards Cd^2 + and phosphate, and the spent defluoridation adsorbent, i.e., aluminum (Al) hydro(oxide) with adsorbed fluoride at R_F:Al of below 0.1:1, may be reclaimed as a coagulant after being dissolved.