Pilot scale membrane separation of electroplating waste water by reverse osmosis

Electroplating waste water containing copper was treated by means of reverse osmosis (RO) membrane separation on a pilot scale. The copper concentration in the untreated waste water was 340 ppm. After the treatment, the concentration in the treated water was below 4 ppm which is the Hong Kong government discharge limit. It is shown that, by increasing transmembrane pressure drop, metal concentrations in the treated water can be further reduced. This study suggests that larger scale operations on treating electroplating waste water by RO membrane separation is possible and effective. Effects of operating variables including transmembrane pressure drop and temperature on membrane separation performance were studied and explained based on the solution-diffusion model. The present study is part of the recent investigation of industrial waste water management sponsored by the Hong Kong Government. The purpose of this project is to provide guidelines to the local industries for waste minimization which is closely monitored by the Hong Kong legislature.

[1]  Shigeto Koga,et al.  Alclose reverse osmosis system , 1977 .

[2]  Masaaki Sekino,et al.  Precise analytical model of hollow fiber reverse osmosis modules , 1993 .

[3]  Takeshi Matsuura,et al.  Synthetic Membranes and Membrane Separation Processes , 1993 .

[4]  T. Matsuura,et al.  A TRANSPORT MODEL FOR REVERSE OSMOSIS SEPARATION OF BINARY ORGANIC LIQUID MIXTURES , 1991 .

[5]  Scott B. McCray,et al.  Reverse osmosis technology : Bipin S. Parekh (Ed.), Marcel Dekker, Inc., New York, NY, 1988, 516 pp., $99.75 (US). , 1990 .

[6]  S. Kremen,et al.  Large-scale reverse osmosis processing of metal finishing rinse waters , 1977 .

[7]  Zahid Amjad,et al.  Reverse osmosis : membrane technology, water chemistry & industrial applications , 1993 .

[8]  T. Robbertsen,et al.  Transport of lactic acid through reverse osmosis and nanofiltration membranes , 1993 .

[9]  G. Muldowney,et al.  A comparison of solute rejection models in reverse-osmosis membranes. 2. System water-sodium chloride-asymmetric polyamide , 1990 .

[10]  C. M. Mohr,et al.  Membrane applications and research in food processing , 1989 .

[11]  Kinnosuke Imasu.  Wastewater recycle in the plating industry using brackish water reverse osmosis elements , 1985 .

[12]  J. G. Wijmans,et al.  The solution-diffusion model: a review , 1995 .

[13]  R. L. Riley,et al.  Transport properties of cellulose acetate osmotic membranes , 1965 .

[14]  Yoshio Taniguchi,et al.  RO Applications in wastewater reclamation for re-use , 1977 .