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Seawater-driven forward osmosis for pre-concentrating nutrients in digested sludge centrate.
Minh T Vu1, William E Price2, Tao He3
1Centre for Technology in Water and Wastewater, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, NSW, 2007, Australia.
Journal of Environmental Management
|June 28, 2019
Summary
Forward osmosis effectively enriches nutrients from sludge centrate. A novel technique using an acidic draw solution (DS) and high membrane area significantly reduced membrane fouling and precipitation, improving nutrient recovery.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Science
- Chemical Engineering
- Water Treatment
Background:
- Nutrient recovery from sludge centrate is crucial for resource circularity.
- Forward osmosis (FO) faces challenges like membrane fouling and nutrient precipitation.
- High pH in sludge centrate can exacerbate nutrient precipitation during FO.
Purpose of the Study:
- To demonstrate seawater-driven forward osmosis for nutrient enrichment from sludge centrate.
- To develop and evaluate a novel technique for reducing membrane fouling and nutrient precipitation.
- To improve nutrient enrichment efficiency and reduce filtration time.
Main Methods:
- Utilized seawater as the draw solution (DS) in a forward osmosis setup.
- Implemented a novel method to maintain the DS at an acidic condition.
- Investigated the effect of membrane area to permeate volume ratio and feed agitation.
- Quantified nutrient enrichment (ammonia, phosphorus) and membrane fouling.
Main Results:
- A novel technique using acidic DS and high membrane area significantly reduced membrane fouling by over 10 times.
- Filtration time to achieve 70% water recovery was reduced by over 90%.
- Nutrient enrichment efficiency approached theoretical values with negligible nutrient loss due to precipitation.
Conclusions:
- Seawater-driven FO with an acidic DS is a viable method for nutrient recovery from sludge centrate.
- The developed technique effectively mitigates membrane fouling and nutrient precipitation.
- This approach enhances nutrient enrichment efficiency and reduces processing time, promoting sustainable water treatment.
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