Oily Wastewater Treatment Using Polyamide Thin Film Composite Membrane Technology

In this study, polyamide (PA) thin film composite (TFC) reverse osmosis (RO) membrane filtration was used in edible oil wastewater emulsion treatment. The PA-TFC membrane was characterized using mechanical, thermal, chemical, and physical tests. Surface morphology and cross-sections of TFCs were characterized using SEM. The effects of edible oil concentrations, average droplets size, and contact angle on separation efficiency and flux were studied in detail. Purification performance was enhanced using activated carbon as a pre-treatment unit. The performance of the RO unit was assessed by chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal and permeate flux. Oil concentration in wastewater varied between 3000 mg/L and 6000 mg/L. Oily wastewater showed a higher contact angle (62.9°) than de-ionized water (33°). Experimental results showed that the presence of activated carbon increases the permeation COD removal from 94% to 99%. The RO membrane filtration coupled with an activated carbon unit of oily wastewater is a convenient hybrid technique for removal of high-concentration edible oil wastewater emulsion up to 99%. Using activated carbon as an adsorption pre-treatment unit improved the permeate flux from 34 L/m2hr to 75 L/m2hr.

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Developed Method for Treatment of Industrial Wastewater from Edible Oil Industry using Membrane Technology

International Journal of Engineering and Advanced Technology - Regular Issue ◽

10.35940/ijeat.c5940.029320 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 9 (3) ◽

pp. 3034-3038

Keyword(s):

Surface Water ◽

Removal Efficiency ◽

Membrane Filtration ◽

Negative Impact ◽

Edible Oil ◽

Tween 20 ◽

Market Demand ◽

Permeate Flux ◽

Industrial Sectors ◽

Ro Membrane

Microorganisms and algae growth on surface water are stimulated in surface water in the presence of effluent wastewater from edible oil industries. This leads to depletion of dissolved oxygen (DO) by eutrophication process result in negative impact on aquatic environment. The new regulation in environment agency and increasing market demand are forcing the industrial sectors to consider finding new solutions and sustainable techniques of the wastewater treatment. In this study, reverse osmosis (RO) membrane filtration has been applied to assess the removal performance of emulsified oil from wastewater. Polysorbate 20 (Tween 20) was used as an oil/water emulsifier. Effect of oil concentrations in terms of chemical oxygen demand (COD) and activated carbon unit on removal efficiency and permeate flux have been studied in details. The results elucidated significant improvement in removal efficiency reached to "98%". The obtained results show promising application of RO membrane (polyamide membrane) at flux "17 L/m2 hr-1". The experiments showed that membrane filtration of wastewater from edible oil is a convenient technique for a possible removal of high concentration of oil (up to 6000 mg/L) with "98%" removal efficiency at permeate flux "17 L/m2 hr-1 "and low fouling rate.

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Low-pressure membrane filtration with unconventional coagulation regimes

Water Science & Technology Water Supply ◽

10.2166/ws.2005.0032 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 5 (5) ◽

pp. 1-8 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

K.Y. Choi ◽

B.A. Dempsey

Keyword(s):

Activated Carbon ◽

Membrane Filtration ◽

Membrane Surface ◽

Cross Flow ◽

Chemical Cleaning ◽

Sand Filters ◽

Charge Neutralization ◽

Floc Size ◽

Filtration System ◽

Pre Treatment

The objective of the research was to evaluate in-line coagulation to improve performance during ultrafiltration (UF). In-line coagulation means use of coagulants without removal of coagulated solids prior to UF. Performance was evaluated by removal of contaminants (water quality) and by resistance to filtration and recovery of flux after hydraulic or chemical cleaning (water production). We hypothesized that coagulation conditions inappropriate for conventional treatment, in particular under-dosing conditions that produce particles that neither settle nor are removed in rapid sand filters, would be effective for in-line coagulation prior to UF. A variety of pre-treatment processes for UF have been investigated including coagulation, powdered activated carbon (PAC) or granular activated carbon (GAC), adsorption on iron oxides or other pre-formed settleable solid phases, or ozonation. Coagulation pre-treatment is often used for removal of fouling substances prior to NF or RO. It has been reported that effective conventional coagulation conditions produced larger particles and this reduced fouling during membrane filtration by reducing adsorption in membrane pores, increasing cake porosity, and increasing transport of foulants away from the membrane surface. However, aggregates produced under sweep floc conditions were more compressible than for charge neutralization conditions, resulting in compaction when the membrane filtration system was pressurized. It was known that the coagulated suspension under either charge-neutralization or sweep floc condition showed similar steady-state flux under the cross-flow microfiltration mode. Another report on the concept of critical floc size suggested that flocs need to reach a certain critical size before MF, otherwise membranes can be irreversibly clogged by the coagulant solids. The authors were motivated to study the effect of various coagulation conditions on the performance of a membrane filtration system.

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Comparative environmental impact evaluation using life cycle assessment approach: a case study of integrated membrane-filtration system for the treatment of aerobically-digested palm oil mill effluent

Sustainable Environment Research ◽

10.1186/s42834-021-00089-5 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 31 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Yeit Haan Teow ◽

Meng Teck Chong ◽

Kah Chun Ho ◽

Abdul Wahab Mohammad

Keyword(s):

Activated Carbon ◽

Life Cycle ◽

Palm Oil ◽

Membrane Filtration ◽

Electricity Consumption ◽

Sand Filters ◽

Unit Operations ◽

Filtration System ◽

Pre Treatment ◽

Aerobically Digested

AbstractAiming to mitigate wastewater pollution arising from the palm oil industry, this university-industry research-and-development project focused on the integration of serial treatment processes, including the use of moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR), pre-treatment with sand filters and activated carbon filters, and membrane technology for aerobically-digested palm oil mill effluent (POME) treatment. To assess the potential of this sustainable alternative practice in the industry, the developed technology was demonstrated in a pilot-scale facility: four combinations (Combinations I to IV) of unit operations were developed in an integrated membrane-filtration system. Combination I includes a MBBR, pre-treatment unit comprising sand filters and activated carbon filters, ultrafiltration (UF) membrane, and reverse osmosis (RO) membrane, while Combination II excludes MBBR, Combination III excludes UF membrane, and Combination IV excludes both MBBR and UF membrane. Life cycle assessment (LCA) was performed to evaluate potential environmental impacts arising from each combination while achieving the goal of obtaining recycled and reusable water from the aerobically-digested POME treatment. It is reported that electricity consumption is the predominant factor contributing to most of those categories (50–77%) as the emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides, and volatile mercury during the combustion of fossil fuels. Combination I in the integrated membrane-filtration system with all unit operations incurring high electricity consumption (52 MJ) contributed to the greatest environmental impact. Electricity consumption registers the highest impact towards all life cycle impact categories: 73% on climate change, 80% on terrestrial acidification, 51% on eutrophication, and 43% on human toxicity. Conversely, Combination IV is the most environmentally-friendly process, since it involves only two-unit operations – pre-treatment unit (comprising sand filters and activated carbon filters) and RO membrane unit – and thus incurs the least electricity consumption (41.6 MJ). The LCA offers insights into each combination of the operating process and facilitates both researchers and the industry towards sustainable production.

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Submerged microfiltration membrane and activated carbon processes for recalcitrant compounds removal in Oil refinery effluent as electrodialysis pre-treatment

Water Science & Technology ◽

10.2166/wst.2021.318 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Carolinne Ragazzi Piombini ◽

Larissa Loureiro Salgueiro Silva ◽

Fabiana Valéria da Fonseca ◽

Juacyara Carbonelli Campos

Keyword(s):

Activated Carbon ◽

Oil Refinery ◽

P Value ◽

Particle Sizes ◽

Permeate Flux ◽

Combined System ◽

Toc Removal ◽

Best Response ◽

Size Condition ◽

Pre Treatment

Abstract The combination of suspended activated carbon (AC) and submerged microfiltration (SMF) processes was applied to polish a biotreated effluent generated in a refinery industry. Preliminary results indicated that Norit 1240 W AC was more suitable than Carbomafra AC brand for Total Organic Carbon (TOC) removal due to the highest Freundlich adsorption constant value (1.97 ± 0.42 and 0.96 ± 0.23 (mg/g)(L/mg)1/n, respectively), thus the first one was used in the combined system. Among all particle sizes of AC tested (0.041–1.01 mm), AC/SMF system was better performed, according to permeation flux, when applying granular AC instead of the powder one. On the other hand, the best response regarding TOC removal and Absorbance at 254 nm (ABS254 nm) reduction were observed when applying powder AC (89 and 97%, respectively). Statistical analysis with Two-sample T-test (p-value <0.05) endorsed the need of both air purge (20 L/h) and backwash strategies (8 min of permeation and 10 seconds of backwash) to diminish fouling occurrence in the SMF system. Finally, it was found that 2 g/L of Norit 1240 W PAC (0.041 mm particle size) condition fitted the effluent to further EDR process (3.4 mg/L TOC) with consistent normalized permeate flux after 5 h of permeation (0.76 ± 0.1 J/J0).

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Novel Hole-Pillar Spacer Design for Improved Hydrodynamics and Biofouling Mitigation in Membrane Filtration

10.21203/rs.3.rs-115648/v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Adnan Qamar ◽

Sarah Kerdi ◽

Syed Muztuza Ali ◽

Ho Kyong Shon ◽

Johannes Vrouwenvelder ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Shear Stress ◽

Membrane Filtration ◽

Membrane Surface ◽

Applied Pressure ◽

Feed Water ◽

Permeate Flux ◽

Biofilm Thickness ◽

Feed Pressure ◽

Pre Treatment ◽

Critical Components

Abstract Feed spacers are the critical components of any spiral-wound filtration module, dictating the filtration performance. Three spacer designs, namely a non-woven commercial spacer (varying filament cross-section), a symmetric pillar spacer, and a novel hole-pillar spacer (constant filament diameter) were studied using Direct Numerical Simulations (DNS), 3-D printed and subsequently experimentally tested in a lab-scale ultrafiltration set-up with high biofouling potential feed water at various feed pressures. Independent of the applied pressure, the novel hole-pillar spacer showed initially the lowest feed channel pressure drop, the lowest shear stress, and the highest permeate flux compared to the commercial and pillar spacers. Furthermore, less biofilm thickness development on membrane surface was visualized by Optical Coherent Tomography (OCT) imaging for the proposed hole-pillar spacer. At higher feed pressure, a thicker biofilm developed on membrane surface for all spacer designs explaining the stronger decrease in permeate flux at high pressure. The findings systematically demonstrated the role of various spacer designs and applied pressure on the performance of pre-treatment process, while identifying specific shear stress distribution guidelines for engineering a new spacer design in different filtration techniques.

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Comparison of reverse osmosis membrane fouling characteristics in full-scale leachate treatment systems with chemical coagulation and microfiltration pre-treatments

Water Science & Technology ◽

10.2166/wst.2014.468 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 71 (4) ◽

pp. 580-587 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Weerapong Rukapan ◽

Benyapa Khananthai ◽

Thirdpong Srisukphun ◽

Wilai Chiemchaisri ◽

Chart Chiemchaisri

Keyword(s):

Reverse Osmosis ◽

Membrane Fouling ◽

Full Scale ◽

Permeate Flux ◽

Leachate Treatment ◽

Chemical Coagulation ◽

Cake Layer ◽

Ro Membrane ◽

Pre Treatment ◽

Fouling Characteristics

Fouling characteristics of reverse osmosis (RO) membrane with chemical coagulation and microfiltration (MF) pre-treatment were investigated at full-scale leachate treatment systems. In chemical coagulation pre-treatment, solid separation from stabilized leachate was performed by ferric chloride coagulation followed by sand filtration. Meanwhile, MF pre-treatment and the RO system utilized direct filtration using a 0.03 µm membrane without chemical addition. MF pre-treatment yielded better pollutant removals in terms of organics and nitrogen. The study on effect of pre-treatment on RO membrane fouling revealed that accumulated foulant on the RO membrane in MF pre-treatment was significantly lower than that of chemical coagulation. Nevertheless, NaOH cleaning of the fouled RO membrane after chemical coagulation pre-treatment could better recover its permeate flux, thus suggesting that the formation of a loose-structure cake layer by chemical coagulation pre-treatment could allow effective penetration of chemical cleaning and detachment of foulant layer from the membrane surface.

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Boron removal by activated carbon and microfiltration for pre-treatment of seawater desalination

Water Science & Technology Water Supply ◽

10.2166/ws.2011.086 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 11 (5) ◽

pp. 560-567 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Joon-Seok Kang ◽

Ramon Christian Eusebio ◽

Han-Seung Kim

Keyword(s):

Activated Carbon ◽

Polyvinylidene Fluoride ◽

Membrane Filtration ◽

Hollow Fiber Membrane ◽

Boron Removal ◽

Activated Carbon Adsorption ◽

Average Value ◽

Seawater Reverse Osmosis ◽

Pre Treatment ◽

Flat Sheet Membrane

This study aimed to enhance boron removal through powdered activated carbon adsorption (PAC) and application of a micro-filtration (MF) process as a pretreatment of a seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) process. Batch and continuous experiments were conducted to investigate the effect of membrane filtration as well as PAC addition on boron removal in reconstituted seawater. In batch test, two kinds of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) hollow fiber membrane, Module A and Module B, were used to assess the influence of pH and PAC on boron removal, whereas in continuous mode, two MF systems with submerged PVDF flat-sheet membrane were run in parallel. Modules A and B obtained the highest percentage boron removal at pH 9 in the batch experiment with an average value of 47.33%, and their concentration of boron was further reduced after addition of PAC increasing the removal to 51.33 and 69.33%, respectively. For the continuous operation, PAC addition decreased the boron concentration by 20–30 and 40% in the reactor and effluent, respectively. On the other hand, only 5% reduction was obtained inside the reactor and 30–40% in the effluent for the system without PAC. Thus, operating the system at high pH with PAC addition could enhance the performance of the adsorption-MF system, which can be used as a pretreatment for the SWRO process.

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Performance of an Integrated Membrane Process with Electrochemical Pre-Treatment on Poultry Slaughterhouse Wastewater Purification

Membranes ◽

10.3390/membranes10100256 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (10) ◽

pp. 256

Author(s):

Kulyash Meiramkulova ◽

Davud Devrishov ◽

Mikhail Zhumagulov ◽

Sholpan Arystanova ◽

Zhaskhaiyr Karagoishin ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Wastewater Treatment ◽

Removal Efficiency ◽

Physicochemical Parameters ◽

Membrane Filtration ◽

Suspended Solids ◽

Oxygen Demand ◽

Total Suspended Solids ◽

Treatment System ◽

Treatment Unit ◽

Pre Treatment

Industrial activities produce a variety of pollutants that may not be easily treated using centralized wastewater treatment systems based on a single treatment unit. The variability of the pollutants brings the importance of industrial-specific integrated wastewater treatment plants such as integrated membrane filtration systems. However, the performance of a membrane filtration process can be highly affected by the presence of high amounts of suspended particles in the raw wastewater. Therefore, proper selection of a pre-treatment unit prior to a membrane filtration wastewater treatment system is a key aspect of its performance. This study investigated the performance of an integrated membrane filtration treatment system connected to an electrochemical process (pre-treatment) on the purification of a poultry slaughterhouse wastewater toward achieving a high-quality effluent. The industrial-scale treatment plant installed at the Izhevsk Production Corporative (PC) poultry farm in Kazakhstan is composed of an electrochemical, ultrafiltration (UF), and reverse osmosis (RO) as the main treatment units. From the analysis results, the electrochemical pre-treatment unit was observed to be highly effective for the removal of some physicochemical parameters such as turbidity, color, total suspended solids, total iron, aluminum, chemical oxygen demand, and biochemical oxygen demand; with removal efficiency ranging from 71 to 85%. The low removal efficiency of the pre-treatment system was also observed from free and total chlorine, nitrites, nitrates, phosphates, and ammonium nitrogen; with removal efficiency ranging from 4 to 45%. While in general, the overall treatment train was observed to be highly efficient for some physicochemical parameters such as turbidity, color, total suspended solids, as well as chemical and biochemical oxygen demand; maintaining almost 100% removal efficiency throughout the study period. Also, the high removal efficiency of the electrochemical pre-treatment processes led to a relatively low rate of cake formation on the membrane filters.

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Novel hole-pillar spacer design for improved hydrodynamics and biofouling mitigation in membrane filtration

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-86459-w ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Adnan Qamar ◽

Sarah Kerdi ◽

Syed Muztuza Ali ◽

Ho Kyong Shon ◽

Johannes S. Vrouwenvelder ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Shear Stress ◽

Membrane Filtration ◽

Membrane Surface ◽

Applied Pressure ◽

Feed Water ◽

Permeate Flux ◽

Biofilm Thickness ◽

Feed Pressure ◽

Pre Treatment ◽

Critical Components

AbstractFeed spacers are the critical components of any spiral-wound filtration module, dictating the filtration performance. Three spacer designs, namely a non-woven commercial spacer (varying filament cross-section), a symmetric pillar spacer, and a novel hole-pillar spacer (constant filament diameter) were studied using Direct Numerical Simulations (DNS), 3-D printed and subsequently experimentally tested in a lab-scale ultrafiltration set-up with high biofouling potential feed water at various feed pressures. Independent of the applied pressure, the novel hole-pillar spacer showed initially the lowest feed channel pressure drop, the lowest shear stress, and the highest permeate flux compared to the commercial and pillar spacers. Furthermore, less biofilm thickness development on membrane surface was visualized by Optical Coherent Tomography (OCT) imaging for the proposed hole-pillar spacer. At higher feed pressure, a thicker biofilm developed on membrane surface for all spacer designs explaining the stronger decrease in permeate flux at high pressure. The findings systematically demonstrated the role of various spacer designs and applied pressure on the performance of pre-treatment process, while identifying specific shear stress distribution guidelines for engineering a new spacer design in different filtration techniques.

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