Membrane processes for wastewater treatment

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October 17, 2012

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Membrane processes are physical diffusion

processes of particles in water. They
function because certain types of
membranes allow particles with particular
characteristics to pass through them, while
blocking the passage of particles that do
not possess the same
characteristics.Membranes emerged as a
viable means of water purification in the
1960s with the development of high
performance synthetic membranes.
Implementation of membranes for water treatment has progressed using more advanced
membranes made from new materials and employed in various configurations. An
increasing scarcity in fresh water sources fuelled a push towards alternative resources
such as ocean water.
Membranes are becoming increasingly popular for production of potable drinking water
from ground, surface and seawater sources, as well as for the advanced treatment of
wastewater and desalination. These technologies have been one of the most used
technologies for the treatment of water over the last two decades. It is a very high
performing system.

Advantages and Disadvantages

Advantages:

High performance
Compact units: less space needed than conventional treatment schemes
Simple operation

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 Membranes available can be used to separate many kinds of contaminants
Disinfection can be performed without chemicals

Disadvantages:
Membrane fouling
Production of polluted water (from backwashing)
Membranes have to be replaced on a regular basis

Membrane classification
Today there are many different types of membranes that allow the passage of solutes and
others depending on their nature, ionic charge or size.

DIVISION FACTOR DRIVING FORCE TYPE – OPERATION

Size Pressure Filtration

Microfiltration

Ultrafiltration

Nanofiltracion

Size / Difussion Pressure / Reverse Osmosis

Concentration

Ion Charge / Difussion Electric field Electrodialysis

Reversal
Electrodialysis

Temperature (Hydrophobic Steam pressure Membrane distillation

membrane)

In this case the classification is based on Division factor, then there are the most
important types like to describe the main types according to this criteria:

SIZE: Microfiltration / Ultrafiltration / Nanofiltration / Reverse Osmosis

ELECTRIC FIELD: Electrodialysis / Reversal Electrodialysis
TEMPERATURE: Membrane distillation

MICROFILTRATION / ULTRAFILTRATION /NANOFILTRATION

Micro-filtration membranes have a pore size of 0.1-10 µm, enough to restrain all types of
bacteria, turbidity, macromolecules, colloidals, etc. These are used during cold
sterilization of liquid food and pharmaceutical products, water microorganism reduction,
water pretreatment for nano-filtration and reverse osmosis, etc.

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By means of ultra-filtration, particles with a size of 0.001-0.1 µm are removed. All viruses,
macroproteins, antibiotics, etc, are restrained in these membranes. These have
application in the removal of harmful organic substances from food and drink industries,
in the removal of trihalomethanes from water, in the treatment of wastewaters and in the
textile industry, amongst others.
By means of nano-filtration, particles with a size of 0.1 nm-0.001 µm are restrained,
allowing water separation from most molecules, although low molecular weight particles
are partially restrained in the membrane. Nano-filtration is used for water-softening,
wastewater heavy metal elimination, wastewater decontamination, pretreatment for
reverse osmosis, nitrates elimination, colour removal, etc.

REVERSE OSMOSIS

Reverse osmosis uses a procedure whereby through a semipermeable membrane the

chemical potentials of two dilutions located one on each side of the membrane tend to
equalize, making it operate in reverse.

Reverse osmosis consists of pumping water charged with dissolved ions to a tank where
it’s subjected to pressure against a membrane. During this process, water is transferred
from one side of the membrane to the other. Ions are left in the feed water thereby
generating a concentrate in the water that has not yet passed through the membrane and
a purified water flow if it has passed through the membrane.

The concentrate generated should be eliminated from direct contact with the membrane
to prevent an increase in ion concentration that can precipitate salts on the membrane
surface. This provokes a loss of effectiveness of the process in addition to increased
maintenance costs. It is also important to perform pretreatment to prevent clogging.

ELECTRODIALYSIS

Electrodialysis consists of the elimination of electrically charged ions, those of which are
dissolved in water. To carry out this elimination phase, a pair of distinctly charged
electrodes are introduced into the feed water so that the dissolved ions will be attracted to
the electrodes of opposite sign to their own. This achieves moving the ions from one
place to another in the dissolution.

The alternating use of anion and cation selective membranes is essential for the feed
water to continue losing negative and positive ions after passing through the separation
zone.

Most interestingly is alternately placing the membranes so that in some of the channels
solutes are concentrated in water called concentrate. In other channels the feed water
circulates, gradually losing its contaminants until it finishes the process with a very low
salt concentration.

ELECTRODIALYSIS REVERSAL

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In this case, the polarities of the electrodes are periodically altered so that water flows
temporarily change direction receiving purified water from those conduits carrying the
concentrate and vice versa.

This method eliminates the risk of formation of precipitates, fouling and clogging of the
membranes thanks to the periodic change of water flow direction which facilitates
cleaning pipes and membranes and avoids the emergence of slime and other deposits in
the plant.

MEMBRANE DISTILLATION

The treatment of saline and briny effluents is not

possible using conventional processes. The only
technology that offers a complete solution is vacuum
evaporation, given that reverse osmosis or
electrodialysis generate a discharge effluent that
must be managed. And conventional distillation
entails costs that make it financially unviable.

However, there is a technology that, though the first

patent dates from 1963, its use is currently
beginning to emerge harnessing all the
developments in membrane engineering. It is
membrane distillation.

Membrane distillation consists of a thermal process

in which only steam molecules can pass through the membrane, which is hydrophobic.
The feed that is to be treated is in direct contact with one of the surfaces of the
membrane, but it does not penetrate through the pores of the membrane since the latter
is hydrophobic. The driving force for the separation is steam pressure through the
membrane, not the total pressure as in reverse osmosis. On increasing the temperature
of the deed, the steam pressure increases and, therefore, the steam pressure gradient
that is the driving force also increases.

From the commercial point of view, it is a technology that has been widely implemented
for the
following reasons:

The thermal efficiency of the process is low due to the heat loss because of the
conductivity of the membranes that occurs.
Concentration and temperature polarisation effects occur that decrease the flow of
permeate through the membrane.
The wetting effect occurs, which consists of the penetration of impurities in the feed
into the pores of the membrane, thus reducing the flow of permeate.

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Despite these drawbacks which, as the research progresses are overcome, the
technology has a series of advantages that make it competitive in ever more applications.
The most important advantages of membrane distillation are:

As in evaporation, the process is not limited by the equilibrium, such that it is

possible to achieve the necessary water and discharge concentration factors. Unlike
reverse osmosis, there is no equilibrium that establishes a separation limit.
The technology generally does not need pre-treatment of the feed to lengthen the
life of the membrane.
The efficiency of the system and the good quality of the water that is produced are
practically independent of the feed salt.
100% discharge of non-volatile solutes.
The possibility of treating corrosive and acidic effluents, which in conventional
distillation is difficult due to the materials that are required.
Operational flexibility since they are Independent modules.

The selection of the membrane is key for the process to function well. The characteristics
of the membrane directly influence the process; the most important are: the porosity, the
size of the pore, the thickness of the membrane, the thermal conductivity and the
composition, which is related to the resistance to chemical attack.

The characteristics of membrane distillation make it a technology that may be

satisfactorily applied in such varied areas as:

Production of pure water.

Brine treatment.
Elimination of dyes and treatment of wastewater from the textile industry.
Concentration of acids and corrosive substances, as well as separation of
azeotropic mixtures in the chemical industry.
Concentration of juices and processing of milk in the food industry.

Membrane distillation is a competitive technology in a wide variety of industrial sectors

given that it makes it possible to treat complex effluents. It is a technique that, together
with vacuum evaporation, are among the few technologies that make it possible to treat
saline and briny effluents without producing, if necessary, a discharge flow, given that the
separation is not limited by the equilibrium.

However, membrane distillation it still not a technology with high energy efficiency due to
the heat loss resulting from the conductivity of the membrane. As such, its application is
restricted to those applications in which conventional distillation or vacuum evaporation
are not viable alternatives, as is the case when wishing to concentrate acids or corrosive
substances.

As a standard result, reverse osmosis returns 80% purified water and 20% rejection.

Which is the best way to treat my wastewater?

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Contact us and our team of experts in wastewater treatment will get back to you with a
fully customized proposal.

Contact

Membrane configuration
There are four main types of traditional modules (1-4). To To resolve the most common
problem of the membranes which is the sealing caused by the residue layers that
accumulate on the surface of the membrane during the filtration process, vibratory
membranes VR were developed some time ago (5):

1. PLATE-AND-FRAME:
This is the simplest configuration, consisting of two end plates, the flat sheet membrane,
and spacers. In tubular modules, the membrane is often on the inside of a tube, and the
feed solution is pumped through the tube.

2. SPIRAL WOUND
The most popular module in industry for nanofiltration or reverse osmosis membranes is
the spiral wound module. This module has a flat sheet membrane wrapped around a
perforated permeate collection tube. The feed flows on one side of the membrane.
Permeate is collected on the other side of the membrane and spirals in towards the
centre collection tube.

3. HOLLOW FINE FIBRES

Hollow fibre modules used for seawater desalination consist of bundles of hollow fibres in
a pressure vessel. They can have a shell-side feed configuration where the feed passes
along the outside of the fibres and exits the fibre ends. Hollow fibre modules can also be
used in a bore-side feed configuration where the feed is circulated through the fibres.
Hollow fibres employed for wastewater treatment and in membrane bioreactors are not
always used in pressure vessels. Bundles of fibres can be suspended in the feed solution
and the permeate is collected from one end of the fibres.

4. TUBULAR MEMBRANES

Porous tubes with inner diameters ranging from 5mm to 15mm are coated with micro-
porous layers of PVDF or PES on either the inside or outside walls. Depending on the
orientation of the micro-porous layer, tubular modules – consisting of individual tubular
membranes fitted into a cylindrical housing – are either operated in outside-in (waste
water stream flowing outside individual tubes) or inside-out (waste water stream flowing
inside individual tubes) configurations.

5. VIBRATORY MEMBRANES

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The big difference compared to traditional membranes is that the basic design is vertical
instead of horizontal, which means that the space required per unit is less than for other
separation systems.

These vibrating membranes are capable of filtering

any type of wastewater and can treat effluents with
a high load of solids. In addition, it is a technology
that does not require chemicals for operation, apart
from those that are necessary for periodic cleaning
of the membrane.

In a VR Membranes system, the liquid to be

treated is almost immobile, circulating
slowly between the elements of the parallel
membranes. The cleaning action of the
shear is created by vigorously vibrating the
elements of the membrane in tangential
direction to the surface of the membranes.
The shear waves produced by the vibration
of the membrane, mean that the solids are
made to rise to the surface of the
membrane and that they are once again
mixed with the material or effluent that moves inside the membrane. This intense shear
allows the pores of the membrane to be cleaner, achieving a higher performance than
conventional membranes.

Vibratory membranes allow you to recuperate around 90% of the treated water as clean
water that can be emptied or reused.

The type of membrane that is used in VR systems varies depending on the effluent to be
treated. A very general classification would be as follows:

1. Reverse osmosis membranes for the separation of materials.

2. Nanofiltration membranes for the treatment of wastewater and for concentration.
3. Ultrafiltration membranes for oil separation and concentration.
4. Microfiltration membranes to separate the biggest particles from a liquid phase.

Other important parameters are pressure, temperature, amplitude of the vibration and the
time of residence of the material inside the membrane.

All of these parameters are optimized during initial tests and are then recorded in a PLC
that controls the system automatically.

In addition to all of this, it must be added that this is a modular system that can be
modified after installation, should it be necessary:

1. It can be added easily to an existing system to improve the performance.

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 2. It can be installed in areas where space is limited.
3. It is easy to transport and can be moved from one plant to another.
4. It can be installed in multiple systems or phases as a single step.
5. More units can be added in accordance with the increase in production.

I need to treat my wastewater

Contact us and our team of experts in wastewater treatment will get back to you with a
fully customized proposal.

Contact

Sergio Tuset
Chemical Engineer

Founder of Condorchem Envitech. Prestigious specialist in engineering

applied to wastewater management and atmospheric emissions control,
author of various environmental patents and numerous
technical publications.

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