Evaluating Nanofiltration and Reverse Osmosis Membranes for Pharmaceutically Active Compounds Removal: A Solution...

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Water Treatment Technologies
• Chemical Engineering

Background:

• Trace organic contaminants (TrOCs), including pharmaceutically active compounds (PhACs), are persistent in water and pose environmental and health risks.
• Conventional water treatment methods struggle to remove these emerging contaminants effectively.
• Nanofiltration (NF) and reverse osmosis (RO) are advanced membrane technologies showing promise for TrOC removal.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the performance of NF and RO membranes for removing TrOCs from wastewater.
• To develop a predictive model for TrOC removal using the Solution Diffusion Model.
• To assess the suitability of these membrane technologies for large-scale applications.

Main Methods:

• Experimental evaluation using a stirred cell setup with NF and RO membranes.
• Testing with model TrOCs (acetaminophen and caffeine) at varying concentrations, stirring speeds, and pressures.
• Development and validation of a predictive model based on the Solution Diffusion Model.

Main Results:

• Both NF and RO membranes demonstrated effective removal of pharmaceutical compounds.
• RO membranes achieved high removal efficiency (average 99.21%), while NF membranes showed high permeate flux with good removal (average 84.17%).
• The Solution Diffusion Model accurately predicted membrane performance, correlating well with experimental data.

Conclusions:

• NF and RO membranes are highly effective for removing TrOCs, particularly pharmaceuticals, from wastewater.
• RO membranes are superior for high-efficiency removal, while NF offers a balance of flux and removal.
• The validated predictive model supports the potential for scaling up these membrane processes for effective wastewater treatment.