Economical evaluation of the fluoride removal by nanofiltration

Economic evaluation was carried out for a plant of fluoride removal by nanofiltration having a capacity of 2400 m³/d (100 m³/h) corresponding to a water consumption for 50.000 capita following the Moroccan considerations in rural medium. The design of this plant was carried out for the predetermined optimized conditions corresponding to a recovery rate of 84%, a fluoride rejection of 97.8% and a pressure pump of 10 bar. The capital cost was estimated to 748,003 € and the calculated operating cost to 0.212 €/m³. These costs were briefly compared to other ones.     

Treatment of tanning effluent using nanofiltration followed by reverse osmosis

An investigation on the recovery of chromium from the effluent of a chrome-tanning bath has been performed using nanofiltration (NF) followed by reverse osmosis (RO). The experiments are conducted using a rectangular cross flow cell under laminar and turbulent regimes. Significant flux enhancement is achieved using thin wires as turbulent promoters. The performance criteria are evaluated in terms of the concentration of chromium, COD, BOD, TDS, TS, pH, and conductivity of the permeate. The effects of different operating parameters on permeate flux and observed retention of chromium are evaluated experimentally. The retention of chromium is found to be 91–98% for NF and 98.8–99.7% for RO for the experimental conditions of this study. Concentrations of chromium and COD of the final permeate are well within the permissible limits.     

Removal of boric acid,monoborate and boron complexes with polyols by reverse osmosis membranes

The effects of reverse osmosis (RO) membrane type on the rejection efficiency of boric acid, monoborate and boron complexes with d-mannitol, sodium d-gluconate and N-methyl d-glucamine was revealed. The membranes examined included: XLE, TW-30, BW-30 and SW-30, supplied by DOW™ FILMTEC™. The mass transport coefficients: permeability and reflection coefficient were determined for each species in boric acid–polyol aqueous system. The influence of the membrane type upon these coefficients was evaluated and quantitative, comparative analysis of the efficacy of boron rejection at varying permeate flux, the feedwater boron content, the alcohol/boron molar ratio and the pH was conducted. It was found that boron rejection in the above systems was determined by the extent of boric acid transport, even when boric acid constituted only a minor component of the feedwater. At high permeate flux the effectiveness in boric acid rejection decreased in the following descending membrane order: SW-30 > BW-30 > TW-30 > XLE. The results presented here enable the selection of the best membrane, the most suitable operating conditions for boron separation by RO in the presence or absence of polyols, and for quantitative prediction of the efficiency of boron removal with various RO membranes.     

Comparison of polyamide nanofiltration and low-pressure reverse osmosis membranes on As(III) rejection under various operational conditions

A nanofiltration (NF) membrane and a low-pressure reverse osmosis (LPRO) membrane both with aromatic polyamide selective layer from the same manufacturer were employed for the comparison of their performances in terms of As(III) rejection and filtration flux under a variety of operational conditions. In addition to the smaller membrane pore size, the LPRO membrane possesses much more dissociable functional groups than the NF membrane. When the feed pH was below the pKa₁ value (9.22) of H₃AsO₃, for which the steric hindrance is the only rejection mechanism, the removal efficiencies by NF and LPRO were about 10% and 65%, respectively. When the feed pH was higher, for which electrostatic effect began to take effect, the removal efficiencies could reach 40% and 90% for NF and LPRO, respectively. The rejection performance of LPRO was marginally affected by the feed As(III) concentration or ionic strength, although ionic strength had a strong effect on the filtration flux. In contrast, feed As(III) concentration and ionic strength had little effect on the filtration flux but great influence on the As(III) rejection performance of NF. The filtration flux was enhanced with the increase of transmembrane pressure for either NF or LPRO. The NF model could predict the general trend of the effects of the filtration flux, the feed water chemistry and its own concentration on As(III) rejection ratio by the NF membrane, but the rejection ratios were over-predicted.     

Recent advances in nanofiltration,reverse osmosis membranes and their applications in biomedical separation field

In the face of human society’s great requirements for health industry, and the much stricter safety and quality standards in the biomedical industry, the demand for advanced membrane separation technologies continues to rapidly grow in the world. Nanofiltration(NF) and reverse osmosis(RO) as the highefficient, low energy consumption, and environmental friendly membrane separation techniques, show great promise in the application of biomedical separation field. The chemical compositions, microstr...     

Influence of filtration conditions on the performance of nanofiltration and reverse osmosis membranes in dairy wastewater treatment

Filtration performance and fouling of nanofiltration (NF) and reverse osmosis (RO) membranes in the treatment of dairy industry wastewater were investigated. Two series of experiments were performed. The first one involved a NF membrane (TFC-S) for treating the chemical-biological treatment plant effluents. The second one used a RO membrane (TFC-HR) for treating the original effluents from the dairy industry. The permeate flux was higher at higher transmembrane pressures and higher feed flowrates. The curves of permeate flux exhibited a slower increase while the feed flowrate decreased and the pressure increased. Membrane fouling resulted in permeate flux decline with increasing the feed COD concentration. Furthermore, the flux decline due to the COD increase was found higher at higher pressures for both NF and RO membranes.     

反渗透膜脱硼技术研究进展

硼是生命体中必不可少的微量元素,但是摄入过量的硼会危害动植物的生长发育。在现有脱硼技术中,反渗透膜脱硼被认为最具应用前景,但受硼酸分子的分子直径小和不带电荷等影响,反渗透膜对硼的脱除仍不能满足实际要求,因此制备高脱硼反渗透膜具有重要意义。本文综述了近年来反渗透膜脱硼技术的研究进展,重点阐述了提高反渗透膜脱硼率的机制,主要思路包括优化反渗透膜结构和利用硼酸特殊性质;改善反渗透膜脱硼性能的有效途径包括开发新型膜材料,优化界面聚合工艺和物理化学法改性等;制备高脱硼反渗透膜的主要障碍是水硼传输的trade-off现象和缺少针对水和硼传输的模型。另外,硼酸分子具有独特的物理化学性质,可以借助硼酸分子研究聚酰胺反渗透膜的网络结构、水硼在膜内的传输机制和引起trade-off现象的因素。     

反渗透法去除煤矿矿井水氟化物的试验研究

为了确保煤矿矿井水出水氟化物质量浓度达到《GB 3838-2002地表水环境质量标准》Ⅲ类标准要求,采用RO反渗透法净化矿井水,研究了矿井水pH、盐质量浓度、系统压力及进水温度等主要因素对除氟性能的影响;结果表明:随着矿井水pH增大、矿井水盐质量浓度增大、系统压力增大、进水温度升高,除氟率均逐渐降低;为确保出水氟化物质量浓度小于1 mg/L,需将矿井水进水pH调至小于8,进水盐质量浓度调至小于5 g/L,反渗透系统压力控制在1.5 MPa以下,进水水温控制在60℃以下。     

Nanofiltration and reverse osmosis thin film composite membrane module for the removal of dye and salts from the simulated mixtures

Nanofiltration (NF) and reverse osmosis (RO) thin film composite polyamide membrane modules were used to remove the color from the contaminated solution mixture. The feasibility of membrane processes for treating simulated mixture by varying the feed pressures (100-400 psi) and feed concentrations was studied to assess the separation performance of both NF and RO membranes. It was found that the efficiency of NF and RO membranes used in the treatment of colored water effluents was greatly affected by the presence of salts and dyes in the mixture. Color removal by NF with a high rejection of 99.80% and total dissolved solids (TDS) of 99.99% was achieved from RO by retaining significant flux rate compared to pure water flux, which suggested that membranes were not affected by fouling during the simulated wastewater process operation. The effect of varying concentrations of Na₂SO₄ salt and methyl orange (MO) dye on the performance of spiral wound membranes was determined. Increasing the dye concentration from 500 to 1000 mg/L resulted in a decrease of salt rejection at all operating pressures and for both concentrations of 5000 and 10,000 mg/L as the feed TDS. Increasing the salt concentration from 5000 to 10,000 mg/L resulted in a slight decrease in dye removal.     

Nanofiltration study of the interaction between bicarbonate and nitrate ions

In contrast to other anions, there are not many studies focusing on the effect of bicarbonate ion on the rejection of other anions in nanofiltration. However, bicarbonate is one of the major anions in many inland waters and its concentration remains significant even after acidification. In order to obtain specific information about the interaction of bicarbonate and nitrate ions, nanofiltration experiments with the membrane SU-610 (Toray) were performed using solutions containing sodium, nitrate and bicarbonate ions. The influence of the bicarbonate ion concentration was studied in the range from 4 to 32 mol·m^− 3 of bicarbonate ion and from 1 to 4 mol·m^− 3 of nitrate ion. The experimental data were analysed by means of multiple linear regression. The results showed that nitrate rejection was decreased by bicarbonate ion concentration. This effect was compared with that obtained using sulphate or chloride as co-ions. The regression models obtained for nitrate and bicarbonate ion rejection showed good fitting to the experimental results (r-squared equal to 99.3% and 97.6% respectively). The models were able to predict the evolution of nitrate in a concentration process at constant pH.     

Characterization of reverse osmosis and nanofiltration membranes by an automated system

Nanofiltration membranes have been characterized by computer controlled permeation experiments to provide certified results. This method records a real-time history of operating conditions and allows the incorporation of variations in the calculations of derived parameters. The effects of temperature and physical properties of feed on permeation have been evaluated and incorporated in models describing fluid flow trough membranes. As the influence of initial experimental conditions in nanofiltration is very significant, a method based on system mass-transfer coefficient is proposed in order to verify the accuracy of the results.     

Enhanced removal of nitrate and phosphate from wastewater by Chlorella vulgaris: Multi-objective optimization and CFD simulation

To enhance the efficiency of wastewater biotreatment with microalgae, the effects of physical parameters need to be investigated and optimized. In this regard, the individual and interactive effects of temperature, p H and aeration rate on the performance of biological removal of nitrate and phosphate by Chlorella vulgaris were studied by response surface methodology(RSM). Furthermore, a multi-objective optimization technique was applied to the response equations to simultaneously find optimal combinations of input parameters capable of removing the highest possible amount of nitrate and phosphate. The optimal calculated values were temperature of 26.3 °C, pH of 8 and aeration rate of 4.7 L·min~(-1). Interestingly, under the optimum condition, approximately 85% of total nitrate and 77% of whole phosphate were removed after 48 h and 24 h, respectively, which were in excellent agreement with the predicted values. Finally, the effect of baffle on mixing performance and, as a result, on bioremoval efficiency was investigated in Stirred Tank Photobioreactor(STP) by means of Computational Fluid Dynamics(CFD). Flow behavior indicated substantial enhancement in mixing performance when the baffle was inserted into the tank. Obtained simulation results were validated experimentally. Under the optimum condition, due to proper mixing in baffled STP, nitrate and phosphate removal increased up to 93% and 86%,respectively, compared to unbaffled one.     

溶胀嵌入脂肪酸分子制备高脱硼反渗透膜

采用“溶胀-嵌入-收缩”方法改性聚酰胺反渗透膜,制备了一种高脱硼反渗透膜。通过甲醇溶胀增加了高分子链之间的距离,为疏水性癸酸分子的嵌入提供了场所,然后在压力和浓差极化共同作用下,改性分子选择性嵌入聚酰胺膜的孔内;当甲醇分子离开后,聚酰胺膜收缩将癸酸分子固定在高分子网络中。实验借助溶胀和分子嵌入以及溶胀后的收缩调节聚酰胺膜的孔径大小;利用脂肪酸的疏水性降低聚酰胺膜的极性,从而实现增加空间位阻和减少氢键结合位点数量的目的。实验结果显示,改性膜的脱硼率和截盐率均明显升高,截盐率从90.36%增加到96.46%,脱硼率从未改性膜的47.85%增加到77.32%,渗透液的硼含量达到WTO的使用标准。虽然水和硼的渗透性均下降,但是水和硼的渗透选择性增加,证明该方法有利于提高水硼选择性。     

中空纤维纳滤膜与反渗透膜的研究

根据界面聚合反应成膜原理,以哌嗪(PIP)或间苯二胺(m-PD)水溶液为水相,均苯三甲酰氯(TMC)正己烷溶液为有机相,以聚砜中空纤维超滤膜为基膜,制备了一系列聚酰胺/聚砜纳滤或反渗透复合膜.研究了水相浓度、有机相浓度、界面聚合时间和温度等条件对复合膜性能的影响.结果表明:中空纤维纳滤复合膜在0.4 MPa、室温条件下,对2 g/L MgSO_4水溶液的通量可达36.64 L/(m~2·h),截留率为97.2%;中空纤维反渗透膜在0.7 MPa、室温条件下,对0.5 g/L的NaCl水溶液通量可达12.2 L/(m~2·h),截留率96.5%.     

Influences of molecular weight, molecular size, flux, and recovery for aromatic pesticide removal by nanofiltration membranes

Eleven aromatic pesticides were used for a removal study using a 4040 spiral-wound polyamide nanofiltration (NF) membrane. The influences of molecular weight, molecular size (length and width), flux, and recovery were studied. The molecular weights of these pesticides are from 198 Da to 286 Da. Molecular sizes were determined by theoretical calculation for their length and width by “Hyperchem” based on their structures and orientation. Furthermore, the study held constant for two operated recoveries and fluxes to determine their effects. The results showed that the NF membrane can remove pesticides from 46% to 100% based on their molecular weights, lengths, fluxes and recoveries. The rejections were increased as the molecular weight increased, and a sharp increase to complete rejection (100%) was observed around MW 200 Da. Therefore, a molecular weight cut-off (MWC) of 200 Da can be determined for this membrane from this result. In addition, the results showed the molecular length was more significant than molecular width for these pesticides. The rejections were not only dependent on molecular weight and length, but also on operational flux and recovery. For a particular pesticide in the two operational fluxes and recoveries, the highest percent rejections occurred on high flux and low recovery, and lowest percent rejection occurred on low flux and high recovery, which would indicate the basic diffusion control theory.     

Chemical cleaning of reverse osmosis and nanofiltration membranes fouled by licorice aqueous solutions

The aim of this work was finding optimum cleaning agents and conditions for cleaning reverse osmosis (RO) and nanofiltration (NF) membranes fouled by licorice aqueous solutions. The effect of various chemicals on flux recovery (FR) and resistance removal (RR) of the fouled membranes was investigated. For both membranes the results indicate that a combination of ethylene diamine tetra acetic acid (EDTA), sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) and sodium hydroxide may be used as cleaning agents to achieve an optimum cleaning efficiency. Zeta potential and contact angle measurements indicate the changes in charge and hydrophilicity of the surface of RO and NF membranes at various pH solutions, respectively. The effect of surface characteristics is evident in efforts to select the optimal operating conditions. The effect of cleaning condition such as concentration, temperature, pH and cleaning time was studied. The optimum temperature, cleaning time, pH and concentration were found as 35 ± 1 °C, 20 min, 12 and 0.1 wt.%, respectively. SEM pictures showed the surface morphology of RO and NF membrane.     

Preparation of yttria-stabilized ZrO2 nanofiltration membrane by reverse micelles-mediated sol-gel process and its application in pesticide wastewater treatment

8 mol% yttria-stabilized ZrO₂ (8YSZ) nanofiltration (NF) membranes were prepared from size-controlled spherical ZrO₂ nanoparticles with an average diameter of ˜10 nm and a particle roundness value greater than 0.90, and the nanoparticles were efficiently fabricated by a reverse micelles (RMs)-mediated sol-gel process. It was found that yttria doping not only suppressed the tetragonal to monoclinic (t-m) phase transition, ensuring the membranes integrity, but also decreased the tetragonal grain size, increased the specific surface area, narrowed the pore size distribution and thus optimized the NF performance. The as-prepared 8YSZ NF membranes with a thickness of ˜260 nm exhibited high NF performances, while the pure water permeability and molecular weight cut-off (MWCO) were 3.9-4.2 L m⁻² h^-1 bar^-1 and 800 ± 50 Da respectively. In the treatment of pesticide wastewater, the removal rate of carbofuran by 8YSZ NF membranes was more than 82%, while the maximum removal rate could reach 89%. Furthermore, the contaminated membranes could be restored as ever after alkali wash and low-temperature calcination, implementing multiple reuses.     

Influence of di-hydrogen phosphate ion on performance of polyamide reverse osmosis membrane for nitrate and nitrite removal

Reverse osmosis process has great potential in treatment of water and wastewater containing undesirable dissolved species. In the real world, the wastewater contains mixtures of ions. Generally, the presence of particular substances may affect the removal of specific ions and harmful substances in wastewater treatment. In this work, a Filmtec TW30HP-4641 RO element (polyamide, thin-film composite) with the capacity of 14.38 m³/d was employed for wastewater treatment in Exir Pharmaceutical Co. (Borojerd, Iran). The rejections of individual nitrite, nitrate, and sulfite ions were around 91, 93, and 95%, respectively. However, the addition of KH₂PO₄ to the solution containing nitrite and nitrate ions improved the rejection up to 99%. Polyamide has electronic lone-pair in amino group that can make a resonance structure with carbonyl segment. The feed solution containing potassium and di-hydrogen phosphate ions may establish binding with membrane. The binding of potassium ions to the electronic lone-pair of membrane hold H₂PO₄ ⁻ ions and provide a negative layer on the surface of membrane. Diffusion of anions through the membrane is minimized by establishment of the proposed negative layer. This improves the ion rejection capability of the membrane.     

Evaluation of boron removal by electrocoagulation using iron and aluminum electrodes

Boron compounds are used in the variety of products manufacturing and are introduced to the environment in the form of waste. Here the feasibility of the boron removal from wastewater by electrocoagulation (EC) is studied. Aluminum and iron were simultaneously used in the reactor as materials for cathode and anode. The results show that the EC process for boron removal strongly depends on the current density, initial concentrations, and time. The process is examined under varying indices in order to determine optimal operating conditions. It is important to note the EC application needs no chemical reagents and makes the boron-containing wastewater treatment easy for regulation and automation.     

地下水硝酸盐迁移转化规律分析

地下水硝酸盐污染已日趋严重,已经在很大程度上影响了环境和人类健康。分析了地下水硝酸盐的迁移转化过程,并指出要从空间和时间两方面综合研究硝酸盐的迁移转化规律。最后,就今后地下水硝酸盐迁移转化规律的研究方向提出展望。