Recovery of ultrafine particles from Chemical-Mechanical Polishing wastewater discharged by the semiconductor industry

This study uses traditional alum coagulation and sedimentation process to treat CMP wastewater from cleaning after polishing. The primary goal is to successfully recycle both solid fines and water for semiconductor manufacturing. Results indicated that CMP wastewater may be successfully treated to recover clean water and fine particles by alum coagulation. The optimum operating conditions for coagulation are as fellowing: alum dosage of 10 ppm, pH at 5, rapid mixing speed at 800 rpm, 5 min rapid mixing time, and long slow mixing time. The treated water with low turbidity and an average residual aluminum ion concentration of 0.23 ppm may be considered for reuse. The settled sludge after alum coagulation contains mainly SiO$_2$particle with a minor content of aluminum (1.7 wt%) may be considered as raw materials for glass and ceramic industry.