Influence of manufacturing variables on the characteristics and effectiveness of chitosan products. II. Coagulation of activated sludge suspensions

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Abstract
Chitosan samples manufactured under different conditions were compared for effectiveness of coagulating an activated sludge suspension grown on vegetable canning wastes. Computer analysis of data from Buchner funnel filterability tests resulted in quadratic polynomial equations describing the response curves for volume of filtrate versus dosage, expressed as g/liter chitosan/100 g sludge suspended solids (SSS). The quotient of the filtrate volume and dosage at the inflection points of the equations obtained for 10 test samples and 1 commercial chitosan sample were compared to evaluate the response (effectiveness) per unit amount for each chitosan product. The product made by a standard procedure (deproteinated with 3% NaOH at 100°C for 1 hr, demineralized with 1N HCL at ambient temperature for 30 min, and deacetylated with 50% NaOH at 145–150°C under N2 for 5 or 15 min) gave the best performance as a coagulating agent for this activated sludge system. Other products, including the commercial preparation, required higher dosages to achieve the same effectiveness. Products deacetylated in the presence of sir rather than nitrogen decreased waste treatment effectiveness, which approximated the trends of reduced viscosity and molecular‐weight distribution. The products containing minerals were less effective than products from which minerals had been removed prior to deacetylation, but they were more effective than the enzyme treated sample and the commercial product. In general, although chitosan products obtained after 15 min deacetylation were more effective than those receiving 5 min deacetylation, effectiveness did not correlate linearly with viscosity and molecular‐weight distribution trends. However, chitosan products deacetylated for 15 min did show that the higher‐molecular‐weight products (0.65–1.1 × 106) were more effective coagulating agents for activated sludge than the manufactured product having the lowest molecular weight (0.47 × 106) and the commercial reference sample (0.56 × 106). Thus, higher values for molecular weight were predictive of greater effectiveness for coagulation of activated sludge suspensions.