Rejection of salt mixtures from high saline by nanofiltration membranes

Nanofiltration (NF) membranes have recently been employed as pretreatment unit operations in seawater desalination processes and as partial demineralization to seawater. The present paper investigates the performance of selected commercial NF membranes to reject salts of high concentrations at salinity levels representative of brackish and sea water. Two commercial nanofiltration membranes (NF90 and NF270) have been investigated in detail to study their performance in filtering aqueous solutions containing different salt mixtures in a cross-flow NF membrane process within the pressure range from 4 to 9 bar. Spiegler-Kedem model (SKM) was used to fit the experimental data of rejection with the permeate flux. The results showed that NF90 membrane was shown to have a distinct ability to reject both monovalent and divalent ions of all investigated mixtures with very reasonable values but with relatively low flux. This will make NF90 more suitable for the application in the pretreatment of desalination processes. On the other hand, NF270 can reject monovalent ions at relatively low values and divalent ions at reasonable values, but at very high permeate flux. The SKM model only fitted well the experimental data of divalent ions in salt mixture. Based on the evaluation of the overall performance of NF90 and NF270 membranes, their distinct ability to reject salts at high salinity from seawater is considered an advantage in the field of pretreatment of seawater feed to desalination units.     

Fouling and cleaning of polymer-entwined graphene oxide nanocomposite membrane for forward osmosis process

In this study, we have characterized membrane fouling of polymer-entwined graphene oxide membranes with a simulated feed solution containing organic foulants for wastewater treatment applications, as well as with a simulated inorganic wastewater with high iron and silicon concentrations relevant to steel industry wastewater reclamation. Membrane cleaning processes by cross-flow surface flushing with water were then applied to demonstrate water flux recovery for long-term application. Salt rejection property was retained constant during fouling process, whereas water flux was found to be reduced continuously due to fouling but was readily recoverable following surface flushing.     

Recent advances in polymer and polymer composite membranes for reverse and forward osmosis processes

Semipermeable membranes are the core elements for membrane water desalination technologies such as commercial reverse osmosis (RO) process and emerging forward osmosis (FO) process. Structural and chemical properties of the semipermeable membranes determine water flux, salt rejection, fouling resistance, and chemical stability, which greatly impact energy consumption and costs in osmosis separation processes. In recent years, significant progress has been made in the development of high-performance polymer and polymer composite membranes for desalination applications. This paper reviews recent advances in different polymer-based RO and FO desalination membranes in terms of materials and strategies developed for improving properties and performances.     

Nanofiltration of Magnesium Chloride,Sodium Carbonate,and Calcium Sulphate in Salt Solutions

Abstract

Nanofiltration (NF) membranes have been employed in pre‐treatment unit operations in both thermal and membrane seawater desalination processes. This has resulted in reduction of chemicals used in pretreatment processes as well as lowering the energy consumption and water production cost and, therefore, has led to a more environmentally friendly processes. In order to predict NF membrane performance, a systematic study on the filtration performance of selected commercial NF membranes against brackish water and seawater is required. In this study, three commercial nanofiltration membranes (NF90, NF270, N30F) have been used to treat highly concentrated different salts solutions (MgCl₂, Na₂CO₃, and CaSO₄) at salinity level similar to that of brackish water and seawater. The main parameters studied in this paper are salt concentration and feed pressure. The experimental data were correlated and analysed using the Spiegler‐Kedem model. In particular, the reflection coefficient (σ) of all studied membranes and the solute permeability (P_s) have been determined for all membranes and at different salinity levels of studied salts. All the studied membranes fitted the model well for all investigated salts except the experimental data of MgCl₂ using N30F membrane, which did not fit well at low rejection. The results showed that NF90 produced a high rejection around 97% for all salts with medium permeate flux while NF270 gave a high flux with medium rejection and N30F gave low rejection and flux.     

An advanced treatment of high-strength opium alkaloid processing industry wastewaters with membrane technology: pretreatment, fouling and retention characteristics of membranes

This paper presents the results of the laboratory and pilot-scale membrane experiments of opium alkaloid processing industry effluents. Different types of ultrafiltration (UF), nanofiltration (NF) and reverse osmosis (RO) membranes were evaluated for membrane fouling, permeate flux and their suitability in separating COD, color and conductivity. Experiments demonstrated that membrane treatment is a very promising advanced treatment option for pollution control for opium alkaloid processing industry effluents. Almost complete color removal was achieved with NF and RO membranes. COD and conductivity removals were also greater than 95% and met the current local standards. Nevertheless, pretreatment was an important factor for the NF and RO membrane applications. Membrane fouling occurred with direct NF membrane applications without UF pretreatment. The total estimated cost of the UF and NF treatment system was calculated as $0.96/m³, excluding the concentrate disposal cost.     

膜分离技术在垃圾渗滤液处理中的应用

垃圾渗滤液是一种重污染的有毒有机废水,对生态环境造成了严重的威胁。本文综述了垃圾渗滤液现有的膜处理技术,与传统处理工艺相比,膜技术具有低能高效等优点,是未来渗滤液处理技术的重要发展方向。由于垃圾渗滤液组成的复杂性,根据不同处理目的,微滤膜(MF)、超滤膜(UF)、纳滤膜(NF)和反渗透膜(RO)4种膜在垃圾渗滤液处理中都得到了一定的应用。总结发现,其中MF和UF对渗滤液的处理效果较差,一般作为渗滤液的预处理技术;NF和RO对渗滤液的处理效果较好,主要作为其深度处理技术。然而,膜污染阻碍了膜技术在渗滤液处理方面的发展与应用,为此可通过研究开发新型膜材料、有效的预处理技术和膜分离工艺优化等方面来防止膜污染的发生,以便膜技术在渗滤液及其他水处理方面得到更加广泛的应用。     

微细通道内CO2沸腾换热与干涸特性

CO₂作为一种天然制冷剂在微通道内应用具有很大的换热优势,然而由于微尺度效应及其物性,在低干度区容易发生干涸,严重影响换热效果。为研究微细通道内CO₂流动沸腾换热与干涸特性,搭建了相应实验装置,对内径分别为1mm、2mm、3mm以及内表面粗糙度为16μm的不锈钢管,在CO₂制冷剂热流密度2~34kW/m²、质量流率50~1350kg/(m²·s)、饱和温度-10~15℃下进行换热性能与干涸实验对比研究。结果表明:常规管径换热特性在微细通道内不再适用;热流密度的增加对于强化核态沸腾换热具有显著影响,高于临界热流密度(critical heat flux,CHF)则发生干涸;质量流率对于核态沸腾区换热系数的影响则较小;不同饱和温度时换热特性有所不同,高饱和温度下换热系数随其升高而提高,低饱和温度下则相反;干涸过程对总换热系数的影响占34%。研究结论为CO₂微通道换热器的研究开发提供理论依据。     

Advances in Polymeric Nanofiltration Membrane: A Review

The nanofiltration membrane was first introduced during late 1980s possessing properties between reverse osmosis and ultrafiltration membrane. Nanofiltration membranes have been used for applications including food industry, pharmaceutical, wastewater treatment, and desalination. This review presents an inclusive outlook of recent research and advances in polymeric nanofiltration membrane technology. Various methods were reported for nanofiltration membrane preparation particularly through electron beam irradiation, UV/photografting, layer by layer, plasma treatment, interfacial polymerization, and nanoparticle incorporation. Nanofiltration membranes were reported to remove microorganisms, turbidity, dissolved salts, and hardness. Major problem in application is nanofiltration membrane fouling, thus efforts regarding fouling mitigation are discussed.     

Purification and Concentration of Caustic Mercerization Wastewater by Membrane Processes and Evaporation for Reuse

A membrane-based treatment strategy was developed for purifying the highly alkaline textile mercerization wastewater. 0.2-μm MF and 100 kDa UF membranes were evaluated as pretreatment alternatives before 10 kDa UF and 200 Da NF membranes. Turbidity was almost totally removed by both pretreatment options, while UF (100 kDa) showed higher COD retention than MF. In total recycle mode of filtration, fouling of both UF and MF membranes were 80% reversible by physical and almost totally reversible (≥ 97%) by chemical cleaning. In the second stage filtrations applied to the pretreated wastewater samples, NF could yield high (97-98%) COD retentions and low permeate COD concentrations (≤ 22 mg/L), while 10 kDa UF could only reduce the COD concentration to 150 mg/L. While no NaOH was lost in the MF+UF process, the use of NF as second stage resulted in 12-17% NaOH retention. The permeate flux in all second stage processes were stable, implying that the majority of the feed components that would cause fouling had been removed in the pretreatment stages. Permeate of the MF+NF sequence was concentrated by evaporation with no foaming problems, showing that the hybrid process can be applied to recycle a purified and concentrated caustic stream to the mercerization process.     

Sub-20 nm Bilayer Hydrophilic Poly(Vinyl Pyrrolidone) Coatings for Antifouling Nanofiltration Membranes

Fouling is a major concern in membrane technology. Neutral hydrophilic coatings alleviate fouling on membrane surfaces by passively resisting the adsorption of foulants without altering the properties of membranes. Coatings, however, often result in a trade-off of reduced water flux. Ultrathin hydrophilic coatings could minimize the influence on water flux, but its fabrication is challenging via traditional methods. Here, fabrication of sub-20 nm bilayer hydrophilic coating is reported that is grafted onto nanofiltration (NF) membranes via a one-step initiated chemical vapor deposition (iCVD) method. The iCVD coating is conducted by conformally depositing a crosslinked poly(vinyl pyrrolidone-co-ethylene glycol dimethacrylate) bottom layer on pretreated NF membrane, followed by in situ grafting of poly(vinyl pyrrolidone) homopolymer to further improve surface hydrophilicity. Both thickness and crosslinking degree of the bottom coating are systematically tailored to reduce its side effects on permeation rate and salt rejection. The modified NF membranes exhibit 99% lower microbial adhesion compared to the pristine membrane, with minor impact on permeation and salt rejection performance. The coating is also stable against continuous ultrasonication. The reported method is thus expected to shed light on facile novel ways of reducing membrane fouling in desalination and industrial wastewater treatment.     

Critical flux analyses on differently pretreated olive vegetation waste water streams: Some case studies

One of the main disadvantages of batch membrane processes is the increase of the pollutant concentration in the feedstock throughout the operation. Operating the plant at constant process conditions leads in many cases to weaker performances and, moreover, to heavy fouling on the membranes. Critical flux-based methods are one of the most used approaches to overcome fouling problems. Within critical flux conditions, only reversible fouling can occur, which can be periodically soft-cleaned.This work studies the relationship between particle size distributions in the feed stream and critical flux values when different pretreatment processes are applied to an olive vegetation waste water stream. The considered pretreatment processes were: coagulation (with aluminum hydroxide and aluminum sulphate), aerobic biodigestion (by means of fungi) and photocatalytic organic matter reduction (by means of nanometric titanium dioxide anatase powders irradiated by UV light). The study was carried out at pilot plant scale (100 L batch capacity).These results were compared with performances and effects on the critical flux value for MF, UF and NF membranes. The different pretreatment on the same waste water stream shifts differently the particle size distribution mainly by organic matter degradation, and this influences heavily the critical flux value and thus the filtration outcome.Finally, the purification of the olive vegetation waste water stream can be performed with a MF, UF, NF and RO membrane system in series, being very careful in choosing the correct operating conditions to avoid the quick formation of an unsustainable fouling.     

A review of nanoparticle-enhanced membrane distillation membranes: membrane synthesis and applications in water treatment

Membrane distillation (MD) is a thermally driven process that uses low-grade energy to operate and has been extensively explored as an alternative cost-effective and efficient water treatment process compared to conventional membrane processes. MD membranes are synthesized from hydrophobic polymers, e.g. polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF), polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) or polypropylene (PP), using various methods including phase inversion and electrospinning techniques. Recent literature on MD membranes clearly shows their important role in surface water/wastewater treatment and seawater desalination. Modification of MD membranes with nanoscale materials significantly improves their performance, preventing wetting and fouling. This review presents a critical assessment of the progress on the use of nanomaterials for the modification of MD membranes. The techniques commonly used to synthesize MD membranes, the modifications that have been adopted for the incorporation of nanomaterials onto membranes, and the unique properties these nanomaterials impart on the membranes are discussed. The use of modified membranes in different MD configurations and their application in groundwater, surface water, wastewater, brackish water and seawater treatment is reviewed. Finally, cost implications, commercial viability, environmental sustainability, and future prospects of MD are also discussed to elucidate promising approaches for a future and successful implementation of MD at an industrial scale. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry     

Novel chitosan-piperazine composite nanofiltration membranes for the desalination of brackish water and seawater

A novel chitosan (CS)-piperazine (PIP) composite nanofiltration (NF) membrane with satisfied characteristics for brackish water and seawater desalination was successfully developed. PIP was mixed with CS during the interfacial polymerization (IP) process to enhance the NF membrane permeate flux. The resultant NF membranes were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), scanning electron microscope (SEM), atomic force microscope (AFM), contact angle. Effects of CS concentration, trimesoyl chloride (TMC) concentration, reaction time and the mixing ratio of CS/PIP on NF membrane performance were investigated thoroughly. When PIP in the aqueous phase monomers reached to 25% (w/w), the PWF (60.6 L·m^?2·h^?1) was synergistically improved by nearly 2 times without a significant reduction of Na₂SO₄ rejection (89.1%). Moreover, the NF membranes possessed excellent performance for the desalination of brackish water and seawater, which showed high potential to be applied in the desalination process for water treatment.     

The effect of transmembrane pressure and pH on treatment of paper machine process waters by using a two-step nanofiltration process: Flux decline analysis

In this work, the treatment of paper machine whitewater obtained from paper production by using loose and tight Nanofiltration (NF) membranes in a lab-scale plant with a plate and frame module was investigated. The NF membranes were evaluated for fouling, flux decline due to concentration polarization and their suitability for removing of components present in wastewater. The loose NF membrane was used for the first step under different transmembrane pressure (8 to 32 bars) and pH (3, 5.6 and 10) values. The best filtration performances were provided under a pressure of 32 bar and a pH of 5.6. The fouling mechanism at different transmembrane pressures and pH values was investigated by “Hermia's model”. Also, fouling on pores and on the surface of NF membranes was characterized by Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and contact angle measurements, respectively. For the advanced treatment of permeate obtained from the loose NF membrane that provided the lowest fouling and flux decline, a tight NF membrane was used in the second step. Even better retentions were achieved from experiments with this NF membrane. Results obtained in this study showed that the combination loose and tight NF membranes achieved reuse of paper machine white water for use as shower water of paper machine.     

焦化生化出水电渗析脱盐研究

采用电渗析技术对焦化生化出水如曝气生物滤池出水及反渗透浓水进行脱盐,考察不同废水中的离子迁移、废水脱盐及离子交换膜污染情况。结果表明:2种焦化废水采用电渗析处理具有较好的脱盐效果,其中不同离子的迁移脱除与其浓度、离子半径等密切相关。膜电阻测试表明,不同焦化废水电渗析体系中不同离子交换膜的污染存在差别。扫描电镜和红外分析表明,曝气生物滤池出水主要由有机物造成阴离子交换膜污染,而反渗透浓水主要在电渗析浓室侧的膜表面形成颗粒状的无机污染,且阳膜浓室侧比阴膜浓室侧更显著。     

Performance of Nanofiltration Membranes in the Treatment of Synthetic and Real Seawater

Abstract

Nanofiltration membranes (NF) are being employed in pretreatment unit operations in both thermal and membrane seawater desalination processes and as partial demineralization to seawater. In order to predict NF membrane performance, a systematic study on the filtration performance of selected commercial NF membranes against seawater is presented in this paper. Two commercial nanofiltration membranes (NF90 and NF270) have been investigated in details to study their performance in filtering the salt mixture, synthetic and real seawater in a cross‐flow NF membrane process at a pressure range from 4 to 9 bars. The Spiegler‐Kedem model was used to fit the experimental data of rejection with the permeate flux in order to determine the fitting parameters of the reflection coefficient (σ) and the solute permeability (P_s). The results showed that the rejection increases with pressure for NF90 and slightly increases with pressure for NF270. Also, the NF90 membrane has shown to be able to reject both monovalent and divalent of all investigated mixtures and seawater with very reasonable values but at a relatively low flux. Moreover, it reduced the salinity of investigated seawater from 38 to 25.5 g/L using one stage of the NF membrane at 9 bars. This makes NF90 more suitable for the application in the pretreatment of desalination processes. On the other hand, NF270 can reject monovalent ions at relatively low values and divalent ions at reasonable values. It has also reduced the seawater salinity to 33.6 g/L, but at a very high permeate flux. The SKM model fitted the experimental data of divalent ions in salt mixture and seawater.     

A comparison of silver‐ and copper‐charged polypropylene feed spacers for biofouling control

Implementation of nanofiltration (NF) and reverse osmosis (RO) processes in treating traditional water sources can provide a steady‐state level of removal that eliminates the need for regeneration of ion exchange resins or granular activated carbon. Moreover, RO can help meet future potable water demands through desalination of seawater and brackish waters. The productivity of membrane filtration is severely lowered by fouling, which is caused by the accumulation of foreign substances on the surface and/or within pores of membranes. Microbial fouling, or biofouling, is the growth of microorganisms on the membrane surface and on the feed spacer as present between the envelopes. The fouling of membranes has demanded and continues to demand considerable attention from industry and research communities. Many of these applications use membranes in a spiral wound configuration that contains a feed spacer. The goal of this project was to develop low‐biofouling polypropylene (PP) spacers through the functionalization of PP by a spacer arm with metal chelating ligands charged with biocidal metal ions, investigate the use of this metal‐charged polypropylene (PP) feed spacers that target biofouling control, and to use some traditional and one novel techniques to autopsy the membranes after filtration to gain a better understanding of the biofouling mechanism and how the modified spacers are affecting it. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci., 2013     

Shear stress in a pressure‐driven membrane system and its impact on membrane fouling from a hydrodynamic condition perspective: a review

Pressure‐driven membrane technology has gained increasing popularity in municipal/domestic and industrial wastewater treatment, desalination, and water reclamation. Careful manipulation of surface shear stress, which plays a vital role in membrane fouling control from a purely hydrodynamic perspective, can minimise concentration polarisation of solute on flat sheet membranes, or enhance the particle back transport from hollow fibre membranes. This review considers the techniques to generate turbulence and shear at the membrane surface, the magnitude of shear stress, and the experimental, as well as numerical methods for evaluation of shear stress. The findings are presented in terms of the amount of shear stress reported to control membrane fouling in these systems. Operational disadvantages of fouling control via application of shear stress occur while changing the properties of the solute or particles, such as cell breakup, bacterial population change, or shear stress classification. The literature teaches that future developments on shear stress for membrane systems must be addressed, in addition to energy consumption, shear stress distribution and the development of combined analytical methods to characterise and visualise shear in situ for different membrane configurations. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry     

Distillation vs. membrane filtration: overview of process evolutions in seawater desalination

The worldwide need for fresh water requires more and more plants for the treatment of non-conventional water sources. During the last decades, seawater has become an important source of fresh water in many arid regions. The traditional desalination processes [reverse osmosis (RO), multi stage flash (MSF), multi effect distillation (MED), electrodialysis (ED)] have evoluated to reliable and established processes; current research focuses on process improvements in view of a lower cost and a more environmentally friendly operation. This paper provides an overview of recent process improvements in seawater desalination using RO, MSF, MED and ED. Important topics that are discussed include the use of alternative energy sources (wind energy, solar energy, nuclear energy) for RO or distillation processes, and the impact of the different desalination process on the environment; the implementation of hybrid processes in seawater desalination; pretreatment of desalination plants by pressure driven membrane processes (microfiltration, ultrafiltration and nanofiltration) compared to chemical pretreatment; new materials to prevent corrosion in distillation processes; and the prevention of fouling in reverse osmosis units. These improvements contribute to the cost effectiveness of the desalination process, and ensure a sustainable production of drinking water on long terms in regions with limited reserves of fresh water.