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Oily Wastewater Treatment Using Polyamide Thin Film Composite Membrane Technology
Sarah Elhady1, Mohamed Bassyouni2,3, Ramadan A Mansour4
1Public Works Department of Sanitary and Environmental Engineering, the High Institute of Engineering and Technology in New Damietta, New Damietta 34518, Egypt.
Membranes
|May 2, 2020
Summary
This study demonstrates that polyamide thin film composite (PA-TFC) reverse osmosis (RO) membrane filtration, enhanced with activated carbon pre-treatment, effectively removes up to 99% of high-concentration edible oil wastewater. This hybrid system significantly improves permeate flux for efficient wastewater treatment.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Science
- Chemical Engineering
- Materials Science
Background:
- Edible oil wastewater presents a significant environmental challenge due to high concentrations of oil emulsions.
- Conventional treatment methods often struggle with efficiency and cost-effectiveness for such challenging effluents.
- Polyamide (PA) thin film composite (TFC) membranes offer potential for advanced separation processes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the efficacy of PA-TFC membrane filtration for treating edible oil wastewater emulsions.
- To evaluate the impact of activated carbon pre-treatment on membrane performance and purification efficiency.
- To assess the influence of wastewater characteristics (oil concentration, droplet size, contact angle) on separation performance.
Main Methods:
- Characterization of PA-TFC membranes using mechanical, thermal, chemical, physical tests, and SEM.
- Filtration experiments using PA-TFC membranes with varying edible oil concentrations.
- Assessment of purification performance via chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal and permeate flux.
- Comparative analysis with and without activated carbon pre-treatment.
Main Results:
- PA-TFC membranes showed effective separation of edible oil emulsions.
- Activated carbon pre-treatment significantly enhanced COD removal from 94% to 99%.
- Permeate flux improved substantially from 34 L/m²hr to 75 L/m²hr with activated carbon pre-treatment.
- Higher oil concentrations and droplet sizes impacted separation efficiency.
Conclusions:
- The hybrid system combining PA-TFC RO membrane filtration and activated carbon pre-treatment is a highly effective technique for removing high-concentration edible oil wastewater emulsions.
- Activated carbon pre-treatment is crucial for enhancing both removal efficiency and permeate flux.
- This integrated approach offers a convenient and efficient solution for industrial oily wastewater treatment.
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