• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.51-71
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• 2017

Antimicrobial polyethersulfone ultrafiltration membranes containing zerovalent iron ($Fe^0$) and magnetite ($Fe_3O_4$) nanoparticles were synthesized via phase inversion method using polyethersulfone (PES) as membrane material and nano-iron as nanoparticle materials. Zerovalent iron nanoparticles (nZVI) were prepared by the reduction of iron ions with borohydride applying an inert atmosphere by using $N_2$ gases. The magnetite nanoparticles (nMag) were prepared via co-precipitation method by adding a base to an aqueous mixture of $Fe^{3+}$ and $Fe^{2+}$ salts. The synthesized nanoparticles were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray powder diffraction, and dynamic light scattering analysis. Moreover, the properties of the synthesized membranes were characterized by scanning electron microscopy energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy. The PES membranes containing the nZVI or nMag were examined for antimicrobial characteristics. Moreover, amount of iron run away from the PES composite membranes during the dead-end filtration were tested. The results showed that the permeation flux of the composite membranes was higher than the pristine PES membrane. The membranes containing nano-iron showed good antibacterial activity against gram-negative bacteria (Escherichia coli). The composite membranes can be successfully used for the domestic wastewater filtration to reduce membrane biofouling.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.7 no.6
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• pp.521-537
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• 2016

Laboratory-scale experiments were carried out to investigate the adsorption equilibrium, the adsorption kinetics and facilitated transport of two cationic dyes (Methylene Blue (MB) and Rhodamine B (RB)) on Polymer Inclusion Membrane (D2EHPA-PIM). Different adsorption isotherms (Freundlich, Langmuir and Temkin models) as well as kinetics models indicated that the adsorption process is spontaneous and exothermic. Under the optimal conditions, the adsorption removal efficiencies reach about 93% and 97% for MB and RB respectively. Different extraction values by D2EHPA-PIM were obtained for the two cationic dyes: MB is weakly extracted at pH 2.0 (E% = 18.7%) whilst E% = 82.4% was observed for RB at the same pH. This difference was exploited in a mixture containg both the 2 cationic dyes for the selective extraction of RB at pH 2. Desorption of both dyes was achieved from the membrane by using acidic aqueous solutions and desorption ratio up to 90% was obtained. The formulas of the extracted complexes by the PIMs were, determined by the method of slopes. The dyes transport was elucidated using mass transfer analysis where in it found relatively high values of the initial flux ($J_0$) as 41.57 and $18.74{\mu}mol.m^2.s^{-1}$ for MB and RB respectively.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.8 no.5
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• pp.449-462
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• 2017

Direct treatment of municipal wastewater by forward osmosis (FO) process was evaluated in terms of water flux decline, reverse salt diffusion, pollutants rejection and concentration efficiency by using synthetic seawater as the draw solution. It was found that when operating in PRO mode (active layer facing the draw solution), although the FO membrane exhibited higher osmotic water flux, more severe flux decline and reverse salt diffusion was also observed due to the more severe fouling of pollutants in the membrane support layer and accompanied fouling enhanced concentration polarization. In addition, although the water flux decline was shown to be lower for the FO mode (active layer facing the feed solution), irreversible membrane fouling was identified in both PRO and FO modes as the water flux cannot be restored to the initial value by physical flushing, highlighting the necessity of chemical cleaning in long-term operation. During the 7 cycles of filtration conducted in the experiments, the FO membrane exhibited considerably high rejection for TOC, COD, TP and $NH_4{^+}-N$ present in the wastewater. By optimizing the volume ratio of seawater draw solution/wastewater feed solution, a concentration factor of 3.1 and 3.7 was obtained for the FO and PRO modes, respectively. The results demonstrated the validity of the FO process for direct treatment of municipal wastewater by using seawater as the draw solution, while facilitating the subsequent utilization of concentrated wastewater for bioenergy production, which may have special implications for the coastline areas.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.8 no.5
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• pp.499-515
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• 2017

The purpose of this study was to investigate membrane fouling caused by microalgal cells in submerged membrane systems consisting of polymeric and ceramic microfiltration membranes. In this study, one polymeric (flat-sheet, pore size: $0.2{\mu}m$) and two ceramic (flat-sheet, pore size: $0.2{\mu}m$ and cylindrical, pore size: $1{\mu}m$) membranes were used. Physical cleaning was performed with water and air to determine the potential for reversible and irreversible membrane fouling. The study results showed that substantial irreversible membrane fouling (after four filtration cycles, irreversible fouling degree 27% (cleaning with water) and 38% (cleaning with air)) occurs in the polymeric membrane. In cleaning studies performed using water and air on ceramic membranes, it was observed that compressed air was more effective (recovery rate: 87-91%) for membrane cleaning. The harvesting performance of the membranes was examined through critical flux experiments. The critical flux values for polymeric membrane with a pore size of $0.20{\mu}m$ and ceramic membranes with a pore size of $0.20{\mu}m$ and $1{\mu}m$ were ${\leq}95L/m^2hour$, ${\leq}70L/m^2hour$ and ${\leq}55L/m^2hour$, respectively. It was determined that critical flux varies depending on the membrane material and the pore size. To obtain more information on membrane fouling caused by microalgal cells, the characterization of the fouled polymeric membrane was performed. This study concluded that ceramic membranes with a pore size of $0.2-1{\mu}m$ in the submerged membrane system could be efficiently used for microalgae harvesting by cleaning the membrane with compressed air at regular intervals.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.59-68
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• 2020

The study objective was to evaluate the enhanced removal of high concentrations of phosphorus from synthetic wastewater (solely phosphorus-containing) and real wastewater (pig manure) by using carbon nanotube (CNT)-coated steel slag. Generally, phosphorus removal by steel slag is attributed to Ca²⁺ eluted from the slag. However, in this study, CNT was used to control the excess release of Ca²⁺ from steel slag and increase the phosphorus removal. The phosphorus removal rate by the uncoated steel slag was lower than that of the CNT-coated steel slag, even though the Ca²⁺ concentrations were higher in the solution containing the uncoated steel slag. Therefore, the phosphorus removal could be attributed to both precipitation with Ca²⁺ eluted from steel slag in aqueous solution and adsorption onto the surface of the CNT-coated steel slag. Furthermore, the protons released from the CNT surface by exchanging with divalent cations acted to reduce the pH increase of the solution, which is attributed to the OH^- eluted from the steel slag. The adsorption isotherm and kinetics of the CNT-coated steel slags followed the Freundlich isotherm and pseudo-second-order model, respectively. The maximum adsorption capacity of the uncoated and CNT-coated steel slags was 6.127 and 9.268 mg P g^-1 slag, respectively. In addition, phosphorus from pig manure was more effectively removed by the CNT-coated steel slag than by the uncoated slag. Over 24 hours, the PO₄-P removal in pig manure was 12.3% higher by the CNT-coated slag. This CNT-coated steel slag can be used to remove both phosphorus and metals and has potential applications in high phosphorus-containing wastewater like pig manure.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.69-77
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• 2020

Former studies revealed that sepiolite thermally treated at high temperature have high adsorption capacity for phosphate. However, its micron size (75 ㎛) limits its application to water treatment. In this study, we synthesized sepiolite impregnated polysulfone (PSf) beads to separate it easily from an aqueous solution. PSf beads with different sepiolite ratios were synthesized and their efficiencies were compared. The PSf beads with 30% impregnated sepiolite (30SPL-PSf bead) possessed the optimum sepiolite ratio for phosphate removal. Kinetic, equilibrium, and thermodynamic adsorption experiments were performed using the 30SPL-PSf bead. Equilibrium adsorption was achieved in 24 h, and the pseudo-first-order model was suitable for describing the phosphate adsorption at different reaction times. The Langmuir model was appropriate for describing the phosphate adsorption onto the 30SPL-PSf bead, and the maximum adsorption capacity of the 30SPL-PSf bead obtained from the model was 24.48 mg-PO₄/g. Enthalpy and entropy increased during the phosphate adsorption onto the 30SPL-PSf bead, and Gibb's free energy at 35 ℃ was negative. An increase in the solution pH from 3 to 11 induced a decrease in the phosphate adsorption amount from 27.30 mg-PO₄/g to 21.54 mg-PO₄/g. The competitive anion influenced the phosphate adsorption onto the 30SPL-PSf bead was in the order of NO₃^- > SO₄^2- > HCO_3^-. The phosphate breakthrough from the column packed with the 30SPL-PSf bead began after ~2000 min, reaching the influent concentration after ~8000 min. The adsorption amounts per unit mass of 30SPL-PSf and removal efficiency were 0.775 mg-PO₄/g and 61.6%, respectively. This study demonstrates the adequate performance of 30SPL-PSf beads as a filter for phosphate removal from aqueous solutions.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.11-23
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• 2020

The effectiveness of in situ sediment capping as a technique for heavy metal risk mitigation in Hyeongsan River estuary, South Korea was studied. Sites in the estuary were found previously to show moderate to high levels of contamination of mercury, methylmercury and other heavy metals. A 400 m × 50 m section of the river was selected for a thin layer capping demonstration, where the total area was divided into 4 sections capped with different combinations of capping materials (zeolite, AC/zeolite, AC/sand, zeolite/sand). Pore water concentrations in the different sites were studied using diffusive gradient in thin film (DGT) probes. All capping amendments showed reduction in the pore water concentration of the different heavy metals with top 5 cm showing %reduction greater than 90% for some heavy metals. The relative maxima for the different metals were found to be translated to lower depths with addition of the caps. For two-layered cap with AC, order of placement should be considered since AC can easily be displaced due to its relatively low density. Investigation of methylmercury (MeHg) in the site showed that MeHg and %MeHg in pore water corresponds well with maxima for sulfide, Fe and Mn suggesting mercury methylation as probably coupled with sulfate, Fe and Mn reduction in sediments. Our results showed that thin-layer capping of active sorbents AC and zeolite, in combination with passive sand caps, are potential remediation strategy for sediments contaminated with heavy metals.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.163-172
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• 2018

This study investigated the effect of organic matter on the precipitation of struvite and calcium phosphate for phosphorus recovery from synthetic dairy wastewater. Batch precipitation experiments were performed to precipitate phosphorus from solutions containing $PO_4{^{3-}}$ and $NH_4{^+}$ by the addition of $Mg^{2+}$ and $Ca^{2+}$, separately, at varying pH, Mg/P and Ca/P molar ratios, and organic matter concentrations. Soluble total organic solids exhibited more inhibition to precipitation due to potential interaction with other dissolved ionic species involved in phosphorus precipitation. Xylan with low total acidity only exhibited significant inhibition at very high concentrations in synthetic wastewater (at up to 100 g/L). No significant inhibition was observed for Mg and Ca precipitation at relatively lower concentrations (at up to 1.2 g/L). MINTEQ simulations show that dissolved organic matter (DOM) as humic substances (HS) can cause significant inhibition even at relatively low concentrations of 0.165 g/L fulvic acid. However, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis suggested that xylan altered the crystal structure of both precipitates and had caused the formation of smaller sized struvite crystals with slightly rougher surfaces This could be due to xylan molecules adhering on the surface of the crystal potentially blocking active sites and limit further crystal growth. Smaller particle sizes will have negative practical impact because of poorer settleability.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.9 no.3
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• pp.137-146
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• 2018

Soil washing is one of the most frequently used remediation technologies for heavy metal-contaminated soils. Inorganic and organic acids and chelating agents that can enhance the removal of heavy metals from contaminated soils have been employed as soil washing agents. However, the toxicity, low removal efficiency and high cost of these chemicals limit their use. Given that humic substance (HS) can effectively chelate heavy metals, the development of an eco-friendly, performance-efficient and cost-effective soil washing agent using a nano-scale chelator composed of HS was examined in this study. Copper (Cu) and lead (Pb) were selected as target heavy metals. In soil washing experiments, HS concentration, pH, soil:washing solution ratio and extraction time were evaluated with regard to washing efficiency and the chelation effect. The highest removal rates by soil washing (69% for Cu and 56% for Pb) were achieved at an HS concentration of 1,000 mg/L and soil:washing solution ratio of 1:25. Washing with HS was found to be effective when the pH value was higher than 8, which can be attributed to the increased chelation effect between HS and heavy metals at the high pH range. In contrast, the washing efficiency decreased markedly in the low pH range due to HS precipitation. The chelation capacities for Cu and Pb in the aqueous phase were determined to be 0.547mmol-Cu/g-HS and 0.192mmol-Pb/g-HS, respectively.

• Journal of Energy Engineering
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.292-300
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• 2012

KHNP CRI has been developing APR+ nuclear power plant since 2007, which is GEN III+ model with 4,361 MWth capacity. To develop safer and more economical nuclear power plant than APR1400, we studied domestic and foreign nuclear power plants under construction. We also reviewed nuclear power plants which are appropriate for domestic construction in Korea and also for export. Economic assessments were made twice during the second phase of standard detailed design of the plant. The result of the second phase of economic analysis for APR+ standard detailed design showed that APR+ N-th plant was 24.6% more economical than coal-fired 1,000MW power plant, and was evaluated to be competitive enough in global market for construction of the nuclear power plant.