Comparison of aluminum formate and traditional aluminum coagulants in structure, hydrolysates, coagulation behavior, and its corrosion resistance advantage

[Display omitted] •As the dosage of HCOOH increasing in AF synthesized, hydrolysates of AF became smaller in m/z, higher in positive charge and lesser in undetected aluminum species.•Large molecule weight coagulants were good at bridging large particles, and small particles was likely to be absorbed by hydrolyzed aluminum salts. Aluminum formate (AF) has been considered as a superior coagulant that can decompose under the UV light without causing equipment corrosion during water treatment. The main components of the aluminum formate coagulant are aluminum formate (C3H3AlO6), aluminum formate hydrate (C3H3AlO6·3H2O), and aluminum hydrogen formate (C3H3AlO6·2H2O2). Analysis of the hydrolyzed products revealed that the content of added formic acid during the synthesis of aluminum formate is a crucial factor influencing its coagulation effectiveness. Increasing the HCOOH/Al ratio from 1.5 to 4.0 resulted in smaller mass-to-charge ratio (m/z) and higher positive charge for AF hydrolysates, with fewer undetected aluminum species present. Hydrolysates of AF 1.5 exhibited similar characteristics to those of aluminum polychloride, while AF 3.0 demonstrated optimal glucan removal efficiency (>55 %) through physical absorption rather than chemical bond bridging as the primary coagulation mechanism. The jar test results for bovine serum albumin (BSA) coagulation removal indicated a decrease in removal efficiency as the HCOOH/Al molar ratio increased from 1.5 to 4.0, accompanied by a decrease in pH conditions from 6.35 to 7.27. The highest BSA removal efficiency (58 %) was achieved using AF 1.5 at pH 6.35, suggesting that BSA molecules were captured by aluminum formate through chemical bonds such as NO-Al-, Al2(SO4)3, unlike the physical absorption effect observed in glucan coagulation process. Furthermore, it should be noted that compared to traditional aluminum salt coagulants, aluminum formate exhibits excellent pipeline corrosion resistance properties.