A novel membrane distillation concentration method was used to prepare high concentration polyaluminum chloride (PACl) with high content of Alb or Alc. 2.52 mol/L PACl1 with 88% Alb and 2.38 mol/L PACl2 with 61% Alc were successfully prepared. Three coagulants, AlCl3, PACl1 and PACl2 were investigated on their hydrolysis behavior and speciation under different conditions. The effects of pH and dilution ratio on Al species distribution were investigated by ferron assay. Experimental result showed that pH had a significant effect on Al species distribution for the three coagulants. Dilution ratio had little effects on Alb and Alc distribution in whole dilution process except the beginning for PACl1 and PACl2. The results indicated that transformation of Al depends largely on their original composition. AlCl3 was the most unstable coagulant among these three coagulants during hydrolysis process. PACl1 and PACl2 with significant amounts of highly charged and stable polynuclear aluminum hydrolysis products were less affected by the hydrolysis conditions and could maintain high speciation stability under various conditions.
