• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.257-274
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• 2020

There are many previous review articles are available to summarize either the characterization methods of effluent organic matter (EfOM) or the individual control treatment options. However, there has been no attempt made to compare in parallel the physicochemical treatment options that target the removal of EfOM from biological treatments. This review deals with the recent progress on the characterization of EfOM and the novel technologies developed for EfOM treatment. Based on the publications after 2010, the advantages and the limitations of several popularly used analytical tools are discussed for EfOM characterization, which include UV-visible and fluorescence spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), size exclusion chromatography (SEC), and Fourier transform-ion cyclotron resonance-mass spectrometry (FT-ICR-MS). It is a recent trend to combine an SEC system with various types of detectors, because it can successfully track the chemical/functional composition of EfOM, which varies across a continuum of different molecular sizes. FT-ICR-MS is the most powerful tool to detect EfOM at molecular levels. However, it is noted that this method has rarely been utilized to understand the changes of EfOM in pre-treatment or post-treatment systems. Although membrane filtration is still the preferred method to treat EfOM before its discharge due to its high separation selectivity, the minimum requirements for additional chemicals, the ease of scaling up, and the continuous operation, recent advances in ion exchange and advanced oxidation processes are greatly noteworthy. Recent progress in the non-membrane technologies, which are based on novel materials, are expected to enhance the removal efficiency of EfOM and even make it feasible to selectively remove undesirable fractions/compounds from bulk EfOM.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.29-34
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• 2018

Purpose: This study aimed to systematically analyze the reliability and validity of Korean versions of mobility and gait assessment tools for patients with stroke. Methods: Two reviewers conducted an independent literature search and systematically reviewed the literature. Literature published until June of 2017 was searched using search engines for electronic databases. The 2 reviewers reviewed the title and abstract of each article. Among the articles examined, we read the full text of those judged to be suitable for our study. We classified the selected data into research methods and results. The determination was made through mutual agreement. Results: The reviewers selected 5 articles related to the purpose of this study. The DGI was found to be moderately associated with BBS, 10MWT, and TUG in intra-rater reliability (ICC=0.92), inter-rater reliability (ICC=0.88), and concurrent validity tests. The FGA demonstrated a high level of reliability with intra-rater (ICC=0.92-0.95) and inter-rater reliability (ICC=0.91, 0.95). The intra-rater reliability of the RMI was high at ICC=0.98. Its concurrent validity showed a high association with STREAM and BI. The intra-rater reliability of the MAS was ICC=0.75-0.99. Its inter-rater reliability was very high, exceeding 0.99. The inter-rater reliability of the Tinetti-gait Scale was ICC=0.91, and its concurrent validity was moderately associated with the DGI, 10WMT, OLST, FM-L/E, and STS. Conclusion: The results of this study revealed that the reliability and validity of the Korean versions of the mobility and gait assessment tools were high.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.143-155
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• 2013

Four membranes were used to separate Chlorella sp. from their culture medium in cross-flow microfiltration (MF) experiments: cellulose acetate (CA), cellulose nitrate (CN), polypropylene (PP) and polyvinylidenefluoride (PVDF). It was found that the hydrophilic CA and CN membranes with a pore size of 1.2 ${\mu}m$ exhibited the best performances among all the membranes in terms of permeation flux. The hydrophobicity of each membrane material was determined by measuring the angle between the water (liquid) and membrane (solid). Contact angle measurements showed that deionized (DI) water had almost adsorbed onto the surfaces of the CA and CN membranes, which gave $0.00^{\circ}$ contact angle values. The PP and PVDF membranes were more hydrophobic, giving contact angle values of $95.97^{\circ}$ and $126.63^{\circ}$, respectively. Although the pure water flux increased with increasing pore diameter (0.8 < 1.2 < 3.0 ${\mu}m$) in hydrophilic CA and CN membranes, the best performance in term of filtration rate for filtering a microalgae suspension was attained by membranes with a pore size of 1.2 ${\mu}m$. The fouled membrane pore sizes and pore blocking were inspected using a scanning electron microscope (SEM). MF with large pore diameters was more sensitive to fouling that contributed to intermediate blocking, where the size of the membrane pores is almost equivalent to that of cells.

• 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.41-48
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• 2020

Lead is a highly toxic heavy metal that causes serious health problems. Nonetheless, it is increasingly being used for industrial applications and is often discharged into the environment without adequate purification. In this study, Pb(II) was removed by powdered waste sludge (PWS) based on the biosorption mechanism. Different PWSs were collected from a submerged moving media intermittent aeration reactor (SMMIAR) and modified Ludzack-Ettinger (MLE) processes. The contents of extracellular polymeric substances were similar, but the surface area of MLE-PWS (2.07 ㎡/g) was higher than that of SMMIAR-PWS (0.82 ㎡/g); this is expected to be the main parameter determining Pb(II) biosorption capacity. The Bacillaceae family was dominant in both PWSs and may serve as the major responsible bacterial group for Pb(II) biosorption. Pb(II) biosorption using PWS was evaluated for reaction time, salinity effect, and isotherm equilibrium. For all experiments, MLE-PWS showed higher removal efficiency. At a fixed initial Pb(II) concentration of 20 mg/L and a reaction time of 180 minutes, the biosorption capacities (q_e) for SMMIAR- and MLE-PWSs were 2.86 and 3.07 mg/g, respectively. Pb(II) biosorption using PWS was rapid; over 80% of the maximum biosorption capacity was achieved within 10 minutes. Interestingly, MLE-PWS showed enhanced Pb(II) biosorption with salinity values of up to 30 g NaCl/L. Linear regression of the Freundlich isotherm revealed high regression coefficients (R² > 0.968). The fundamental Pb(II) biosorption capacity, represented by the K_F value, was consistently higher for MLE-PWS than SMMIAR-PWS.

• 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.