scholarly journals Direct Membrane Filtration for Wastewater Treatment Using an Intermittent Rotating Hollow Fiber Module

Water ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 1836
Author(s):  
Ignacio Ruigómez ◽  
Enrique González ◽  
Luis Rodríguez-Gómez ◽  
Luisa Vera

Direct membrane filtration of municipal wastewater has attracted a considerable interest in recent years. Preventing severe membrane fouling is a crucial issue in the process development. This paper aims to assess the effectiveness of a rotating hollow fiber module in enhancing fouling control. The effect of rotation speed, intermittence and permeate flux was studied in short-term tests at lab-scale. A combined filtration model considering residual fouling, intermediate pore blocking and cake filtration was used to analyze the effect of the shear induced by rotation. Results showed a significant flux improvement by increasing rotation shear stress and showed a nearly linear correlation between the threshold flux (ranged between 12 and 32 L·h−1·m−2) and the rotation speed. A proper rotation intermittence (10/15 on/off) was found, which may maintain a fouling control comparable to that achieved for continuous rotation. For a given energy demand, the optimal operating conditions involve high speeds (≥180 rev·min−1) with low to moderate intermittences. Analyzing the relative contribution of the different feedwater fractions on membrane fouling, colloidal particles and macromolecules were found to be the main contributors.

Author(s):  
Nina Zhou ◽  
A. G. Agwu Nnanna

Low pressure driven ultrafiltraion (UF) processes has been applied in various industries due to its economical and easy operated benefits. Hollow fiber membrane is one of the most used membrane configuration in industry, membrane fouling is the major challenge for widely usage. Most of the investigation of UF was carried out by experiments to determine the effect of different operating conditions on permeate flux. However, experiments provide limited insight information on the membrane performance. In addition, the prediction of permeate flux under different operating conditions is necessary for experimental design and optimization. The purpose of the present study is to develop a numerical model to simulate the UF process and investigate the UF mechanism. A numerical model was developed using commercial CFD package (FLUENT). The effects of various operating conditions on permeate flux were determined by experiments and simulations, the comparison of the experimental and CFD results shows good agreements. Controlling membrane fouling will maintain a high productivity. The simulations were carried out to investigate the efficiency of removing accumulated particles on membrane surface by installing spacer filaments in membrane channels. The results suggested that the zigzag type spacer has d/h = 0.5 and l/h = 5 is more economical and efficient in reducing fouling.


2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Thien An Huynh ◽  
Edwin Zondervan

Abstract In this paper, a novel mathematical model that combines a membrane filtration model, component balances and reaction kinetics models for an intensified separation-reaction process in membrane reactor producing biofuels was developed. A unique feature is that the proposed model can capture the dynamics of membrane fouling as function of both reversible and irreversible fouling; which leads to cyclic behavior. Fouling leads to the decline of the reactor productivity. With an appropriate fouling-model, the operational strategy can be optimized. In the case study of biodiesel production, the developed model was validated with experimental data. The model was in good agreement with the data, where R-squared are 0.96 for the permeate flux and 0.95 for the biodiesel yield. From a further analysis, the efficiency of membrane reaction system in term of productivity can be significantly improved by changing the backwashing frequency under specific operating conditions. As the backwashing frequency increased eight times, the biodiesel yield increased to more than two to three times before the permeate flux dropped under a predetermined limit due to the increase of irreversible membrane fouling.


2016 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 300-310 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xudong Wang ◽  
Danxi Huang ◽  
Lei Wang ◽  
Xiaorong Meng ◽  
Yongtao Lv ◽  
...  

Membrane processes often experience a decline in the permeate flux or an increase in the operating pressure from membrane fouling. A mathematical model that describes the fouling of inside-out hollow fiber ultrafiltration (UF) membranes was derived from hydrodynamic equations coupled with the theory of depth filtration. The correlation predictions obtained in this study are simpler, as the effect of membrane characteristics, water recovery, and membrane washing processes on UF membrane fouling were expressed using a single parameter: the membrane blocking coefficient. Membrane filtration tests were conducted using diluted paper industry wastewater in a constant-pressure and constant-current operational mode. The effects of different operating conditions, such as water recovery and cleaning methods, and membrane characteristics, on the membrane blocking coefficient were evaluated. The predictive capability of the proposed model was excellent, according to a comparison of the experimental results and model simulations.


Membranes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 369
Author(s):  
Shengji Xia ◽  
Xinran Zhang ◽  
Yuanchen Zhao ◽  
Fibor J. Tan ◽  
Pan Li ◽  
...  

The membrane separation process is being widely used in water treatment. It is very important to control membrane fouling in the process of water treatment. This study was conducted to evaluate the efficiency of a pre-oxidation-coagulation flat ceramic membrane filtration process using different oxidant types and dosages in water treatment and membrane fouling control. The results showed that under suitable concentration conditions, the effect on membrane fouling control of a NaClO pre-oxidation combined with a coagulation/ceramic membrane system was better than that of an O3 system. The oxidation process changed the structure of pollutants, reduced the pollution load and enhanced the coagulation process in a pre-oxidation-coagulation system as well. The influence of the oxidant on the filtration system was related to its oxidizability and other characteristics. NaClO and O3 performed more efficiently than KMnO4. NaClO was more conducive to the removal of DOC, and O3 was more conducive to the removal of UV254.


Membranes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 553
Author(s):  
Dimitra C. Banti ◽  
Manassis Mitrakas ◽  
Petros Samaras

A promising solution for membrane fouling reduction in membrane bioreactors (MBRs) could be the adjustment of operating parameters of the MBR, such as hydraulic retention time (HRT), food/microorganisms (F/M) loading and dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration, aiming to modify the sludge morphology to the direction of improvement of the membrane filtration. In this work, these parameters were investigated in a step-aerating pilot MBR that treated municipal wastewater, in order to control the filamentous population. When F/M loading in the first aeration tank (AT1) was ≤0.65 ± 0.2 g COD/g MLSS/d at 20 ± 3 °C, DO = 2.5 ± 0.1 mg/L and HRT = 1.6 h, the filamentous bacteria were controlled effectively at a moderate filament index of 1.5–3. The moderate population of filamentous bacteria improved the membrane performance, leading to low transmembrane pressure (TMP) at values ≤2 kPa for a great period, while at the control MBR the TMP gradually increased reaching 14 kPa. Soluble microbial products (SMP), were also maintained at low concentrations, contributing additionally to the reduction of ΤΜP. Finally, the step-aerating MBR process and the selected imposed operating conditions of HRT, F/M and DO improved the MBR performance in terms of fouling control, facilitating its future wider application.


2003 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 89-95 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Yu ◽  
D.D. Sun ◽  
J.H. Tay

Ferric chloride and aluminium sulphate as coagulants and positive charged flocculants PDDMAC ((PDDMAC = poly (diallyldimethylammonium chloride) were used for pre-treatment of water and wastewater for removing humic substance prior to RO membrane filtration. It was found that a combination of flocculant and coagulant enhanced the coagulation-flocculation process and humic acid removal. The optimum conditions of coagulation-flocculation were established in reference to the ratio of humic acid and coagulant. Zeta potential and the ratio of E4/E6 were investigated to explore the possible micro-mechanisms of coagulation-flocculation. The ratios of E4/E6 show the molecular size variations using different coagulants and flocculants, which are expected to benefit membrane-fouling control.


2017 ◽  
Vol 76 (11) ◽  
pp. 3160-3170 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wanzhu Zhang ◽  
Lin Wang ◽  
Bingzhi Dong

Abstract The fouling behavior during forward osmosis (FO) was investigated. Tannic acid was used as a model organic foulant for natural organic matter analysis since the main characteristics are similar, and calcium ions were added at different concentrations to explore the anti-pollution capability of FO membranes. The initial permeate flux and calcium ions strength were varied in different operating conditions to describe membrane fouling with membrane cleaning methods. The observed flux decline in FO changed dramatically with the type of foulant and the type of draw solution used to provide the osmotic driving force. Calcium ions aggravated membrane fouling and decreased transmembrane flux. Membrane cleaning methods included physical and physicochemical approaches, and there was no obvious difference among the typical cleaning methods (i.e., membrane flushing with different types of cleaning fluids at various crossflow velocities and backwashing with varying osmotic driving forces) with respect to flux recovery. Ultrasonic cleaning damaged the membrane structure and decreased permeate flux, and reverse diffusion of salt from the draw solution to the feed side accelerated after cleaning.


2017 ◽  
Vol 76 (2) ◽  
pp. 490-500 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yufei Wang ◽  
Hui Jia ◽  
Hongwei Zhang ◽  
Jie Wang ◽  
Wenjin Liu

A recycling magnetic flocculation membrane filtration (RMFMF) process integrating circulating coagulation, magnetic enhanced flocculation and membrane filtration was investigated for the treatment of surface water micro-polluted by tetracycline, a typical pharmaceutical and personal care product. A bench-scale experiment was conducted and several water quality parameters including turbidity, ultraviolet absorbance at 254 nm (UV254), total organic carbon and tetracycline concentration were evaluated, taking coagulation membrane filtration and magnetic flocculation membrane filtration processes as reference treatments. The experimental results showed that at the optimum doses of 20 mg·L−1 ferric chloride (FeCl3), 4 mg·L−1 magnetite (Fe3O4) and 6 mg·L−1 reclaimed magnetic flocs in RMFMF processes, removal efficiencies of above evaluated parameters ranged from 55.8% to 92.9%, which performed best. Simultaneously, the largest average particle size of 484.71 μm and the highest fractal dimension of 1.37 of flocs were achieved, which did not only present the best coagulation effect helpful in enhancing the performance of removing multiple contaminants, but also lead to the generation of loose and porous cake layers favouring reduced permeate flux decline and membrane fouling.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Westphalen Dornelas Camara Heloisa

Membrane separation processes have been more widely applied to industrial activities, especially in water and wastewater treatment. However, there are still challenges associated to the use of membranes. Concentration polarization and fouling can cause significant permeate flux decay during the filtration process, hindering its efficiency and increasing cost. Among many strategies, the combination of membrane filtration with ultrasound (US) application has shown promising results in reducing membrane fouling. The main goal of this research was to identify the effect of US frequency, US power intensity and feed solution concentration on permeate flux during ultrafiltration of simulated latex paint effluent. Maximum increase in permeate flux of 19.7% was obtained by applying 20 kHz and 0.29 W.cm-2 to feed solution with 0.075 wt.% of solid concentration. The effect of feed flow rate was analyzed showing that an increase in feed flowrate is not beneficial to the fouling minimization process. Overall, the application of US improves permeate flux by reducing fouling of ultrafiltration polymeric membrane.


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