• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.4 no.1
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• pp.11-25
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• 2013

Emulsion liquid membrane (ELM) process suffers from emulsion instability problem. So far, emulsion produced by mechanical methods such as stirrer and homogenizer has big size and high emulsion breakage. This paper discussed the application of emulsion produced by sonicator to extract cadmium in a batch ELM system. The emulsions consist of N,N-Dioctyl-1-octanamine (trioctylamine/TOA), nitrogen trihydride (ammonia/NH4OH), sorbitan monooleate (Span 80), and kerosene as carrier, stripping solution, emulsifying agent, and organic diluent, respectively. Effects of comprehensive parameters on extraction efficiency of Cd(II) such as emulsification time, extraction time, stirring speed, surfactant concentration, initial feed phase concentration, carrier concentration, volume ratio of the emulsion to feed phase, and pH of initial feed phase were evaluated. The results showed that extraction efficiencies of Cd(II) greater than 98% could be obtained under the following conditions: 15 minutes of emulsification time, 4 wt.% of Span 80 concentration, 4 wt.% of TOA concentration, 15 minutes of extraction time, 250 rpm of stirring speed, 100 ppm of initial feed concentration, volume ratio of emulsion to feed phase of 1:5, and initial feed pH of 1.53.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.313-321
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• 2020

ACF preparation from different materials and its application in constructed wetlands for wastewater treatment has been focused in environmental field. Different materials have been used to prepare ACF around the world. This study aims to prepare, characterize and use of ACF from loofah for removal of Tetracycline from water through composite vertical flow constructed wetlands. ACF was prepared and it was tested for characterization, later it was used for removal of Tetracycline from water through composite vertical flow constructed wetlands. In composite vertical flow constructed wetlands, three HRTs were set according to the experiment, 1D, 2D, and 3D is individually. Samples were transported immediately from collection point to laboratory for analyzing. Samples were measured for Tetracycline (TC), Total Phosphorus (TP), and Total nitrogen and COD. Tetracycline absorbance with respective 356nm was obtained good and HRT is important factor. Results show that composite vertical flow constructed wetlands with ACF from luffa is best option and it is recommended to study further deep analysis.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.237-245
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• 2020

The effects of the mixed two solvents, Dimethylacetamide (DMAc) and Dimethylformamide (DMF), and Polyethylene glycol (PEG) and Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) as additives on performance of Polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membranes were studied. Initially, PEG200 was used as a primary additive at fixed percentage of 5% wt. PVP was then blended with PEG200 in different concentrations. PVDF and DMAc were used as polymer and solvent in the casting solutions, respectively. To control the diffusion rate of PVP in the presence of PEG200 and PVP blend, mixtures of DMAc and DMF were used as the mixed solvent in the casting solutions. Asymmetric PVDF membranes were prepared via phase inversion process in a water bath and the effects of two additives and two solvents on the membrane morphology, pure water flux (PWF), hydrophilicity and rejection (R) were investigated. Attenuated Total Reflection Fourier Transform Infrared Spectra (ATR-FTIR) analysis was used to show the residual PVP on the surface of the membranes. Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) was utilized to determine roughness of membrane surface. The use of mixed solvents in the casting solution resulted in reduction of PVP diffusion rate and increment of PEG diffusion rate. Eventually, PWF and R values reduced, while porosity and hydrophilicity increased.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.275-282
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• 2020

Hranfa's marl, a local natural mineral, is selected for the decontamination by adsorption of aqueous effluents in textile industry. Its physicochemical characterization is first performed. It is composed mainly of Calcite, Quartz, Ankerite and Muscovite. Its specific surface area is 40 ㎡ g^-1. Its adsorption performance is then tested in batch conditions using an industrial organic dye, Bemacid Red E-TL, as a model pollutant. The measured adsorption capacity of Hranfa's marl is 16 mg g^-1 which is comparable to that of other types of natural adsorbents. A hybrid process is tested coupling adsorption of the dye on marl in suspension and microfiltration. An adsorption reactor is inserted into the circulation loop of a microfiltration pilot using ceramic membranes. This makes possible a continuous extraction of the treated water provided that a periodic replacement of the saturated adsorbent is done. The breakthrough curve obtained by analyzing the dye concentration in the permeate is close to the ideal one considering that no dye will cross the membrane as long as the adsorbent load is not saturated. These first experimental data provide proof of concept for such a hybrid process.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.247-255
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• 2020

Sand filter is a key unit process for particle removal in water purification treatments. Its long-standing use is due to on-site customized retrofit. Proper selection of filter media is one of the retrofit approaches to improve filter performance. This study described a series of controlled laboratory column tests and examined the effects of media property on filtration and backwash. When sand media of 0.51 mm in effective size was replaced by sand of 0.60 mm, the filter run increased up to 5 times in the given bed depth. The change of media property required an increase of backwash rate by 0.05 m/min to satisfy the requirement of bed expansion, more than 20%. When the anthracite was changed with lower effective size and uniformity coefficient, correlation with sand in the filter bed could be satisfied within the permissible error between media and bulk characteristics. Besides, this selection resulted in a well-stratified configuration of media layers after bed expansion. The column study showed that the correlation of property between the dual media had a significant effect on the filter productivity and backwash interval.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.127-142
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• 2013

In order to investigate the significance of "salting-out" and "pore swelling" effects on the nanofiltration of neutral solutes, rejection properties of two NF ceramic and polymeric membranes were studied with single polyethyleneglycol (PEG) solution and mixed PEG/inorganic electrolyte solutions. For both membranes, the rejection rate of PEG was found to decrease significantly in the presence of ions. In the case of the ceramic membrane (rigid pores), this phenomenon was imputed to the sole partial dehydration of PEG molecules induced by the surrounding ions. This assumption was confirmed by the lowering of the PEG rejection rates which followed the Hofmeister series. Experimental data were used to compute the resulting decrease in the Stokes radius of PEG molecules in the presence of the various salts. Concerning the polymeric membrane, the decrease in the rejection rate was found to be systematically higher than for the ceramic membrane. The additional decrease was then ascribed to the swelling of the pores. The experimental data of rejection rates were then used to compute the variation in the mean pore radius in the presence of the various salts. The pore swelling phenomenon due to accumulation of counterions inside pores was supported by electrokinetic charge density measurements.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.109-126
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• 2013

Surface modification by low-pressure ammonia ($NH_3$) plasma on commercial thin-film composite (TFC) membranes was investigated in this study. Surface hydrophilicity, total surface free energy, ion exchange capacity (IEC) and zeta (${\zeta}$)-potentials were determined for the TFC membranes. Qualitative and quantitative analyses of the membrane surface chemistry were conducted by attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared (ATR FT-IR) spectroscopy. Results showed that the $NH_3$ plasma treatment increased the surface hydrophilicity, in particular at a plasma treatment time longer than 5 min at 50 W of plasma power. Total surface free energy was influenced by the basic polar components introduced by the $NH_3$ plasma, and isoelectric point (IEP) was shifted to higher pH region after the modification. A ten (10) min $NH_3$ plasma treatment at 90 W was found to be adequate for the TFC membrane modification, resulting in a membrane with better characteristics than the TFC membranes without the modification for water treatment. The thin-film chemistry (i.e., fully-aromatic and semi-aromatic nature in the interfacial polymerization) influenced the initial stage of plasma modification.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.4 no.4
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• pp.237-249
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• 2013

Ultra-pure water (UPW), a highly treated water free of colloidal material and of a conductivity less than 0.06 ${\mu}S$, is an essential component required by modern industry. One of the methods for UPW production is the electrodialysis-ion exchange (ED/IE) system, in which the electrodialysis (ED) process is used as a preliminary demineralization step. The IE step can be replaced with electrodeionization (EDI) to decrease the volume of post-regeneration lyes. In this paper, the electrodialysis process carried out to relatively low diluate conductivity was investigated and the costs of UPW production were calculated. The optimal value of desalination degree by ED in the ED/IE and ED/EDI systems was estimated. UPW unit costs for integrated ED/IE and ED/EDI systems were compared to simple ion exchange and other methods for UPW production (RO-IE, RO-EDI). The minimal UPW unit costs in ED/EDI integrated system were estimated as $0.37/$m^3$ for feed TDS 600 mg/L and $0.36/$m^3$ for feed TDS 400 mg/L at 64 $m^3/h$ capacity, which was lower than in the comparable ED/IE integrated system ($0.42-0.44/$m^3$). The presented results suggest that an ED/EDI integrated system may be economically viable.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.4 no.4
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• pp.265-275
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• 2013

China is one of the countries with the highest reserves of coal bed methane (CBM) in the world. Likewise, the CBM industry is significantly growing in China. However, activities related to CBM development have led to more environmental problems, which include serious environmental damage and pollution caused by CBM-produced water. In this paper, the detailed characteristics of CBM-produced water in the southern Qinshui Basin were investigated and analyzed and compared with local surface water and coal mine drainage. Most of CBM-produced water samples are contaminated by higher concentration of total dissolved solids (TDS), K (Potassium), Na (Sodium) and $NH_4$. The alkalinity of the water from coalmines and CBM production was higher than that of the local surface water. The concentrations of some trace elements such as P (Phosphorus), Ti (Titanium), V (Vanadium), Cr (Chromium), Ni (Nickel), Zn (Zinc), Ge (Germanium), As (Arsenic), Rb (Rubidium), and Pd (Palladium) in water from the coalmines and CBM production are higher than the acceptable standard limits. The ${\delta}D$ and ${\delta}^{18}O$ values of the CBM-produced water are lower than those of the surface water. Similarly, the ${\delta}D$ values of the CBM-produced water decreased with increasing drainage time.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.4 no.4
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• pp.277-291
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• 2013

The transport and recovery of Levafix brilliant red E-4BA and Levafix brilliant red E-6BA were investigated using polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) fiber based supported liquid membrane containing tetra butyl ammonium bromide (TBAB) in coconut oil as a carrier. The influencing parameters studied are: pH of the feed solution, concentration of dye in the feed solution, extractant concentration, and various kind of stripping agent, rate of stirring, time of transport, reusability of membrane and stability of membrane. Increase in TBAB concentration inside the membrane enhances the flux with its maximum value at $1.553{\times}10^{-4}$ M TBAB. Further increase in the concentration of TBAB leads to decreased rate of transport due to increase in viscosity of membrane liquid. The optimum conditions for dye transport are: pH of feed ($7{\pm}0.1$), $1.553{\times}10^{-4}$ M extractant concentration, 350 rpm for stirring, $4.9{\times}10^{-1}$ M potassium hydrogen phthalate as a stripping solution, the time of transport 6 h. It was noticed that flux values were increased with increasing dye concentration in the feed phase. Applying this study to textile wastewater, dyes were transported up to 98% in 6 h. This recovery technique is rewarding to environment and economic.