Removal of heavy metals from wastewater by membrane processes: a comparative study

Abstract Wastewater containing copper and cadmium can be produced by several industries. The application of both reverse osmosis (RO) and nanofiltration (NF) technologies for the treatment of wastewater containing copper and cadmium ions to reduce fresh water consumption and environmental degradation was investigated. Synthetic wastewater samples containing Cu2+ and Cd2+ ions at various concentrations were prepared and subjected to treatment by RO and NF in the laboratory. The results showed that high removal efficiency of the heavy metals could be achieved by RO process (98% and 99% for copper and cadmium, respectively). NF, however, was capable of removing more than 90% of the copper ions existing in the feed water. The effectiveness of RO and NF membranes in treating wastewater containing more than one heavy metal was also investigated. The results showed that the RO membrane was capable of treating wastewater with an initial concentration of 500 ppm and reducing the ion concentration to about 3 ppm (99.4% removal), while the average removal efficiency of NF was 97%. The low level of the heavy metals concentration in the permeate implies that water with good quality could be reclaimed for further reuse.

[1]  H. Neomagus,et al.  Copper(II) removal from polluted water with alumina/chitosan composite membranes , 2002 .

[2]  I. Koyuncu Reactive dye removal in dye/salt mixtures by nanofiltration membranes containing vinylsulphone dyes: effects of feed concentration and cross flow velocity , 2002 .

[3]  Andrea I. Schäfer,et al.  Nanofiltration of Natural Organic Matter: Removal, Fouling and the Influence of Multivalent Ions , 1998 .

[4]  A. P. Padilla,et al.  Treatment of an industrial effluent by reverse osmosis , 1999 .

[5]  G. D. Giacomo,et al.  Removal and destruction of toxic micropolluting organic compounds from waste waters by a combined NF and SCWO process , 2001 .

[6]  R. Gimbel,et al.  Removal of pesticides and other micropollutants by nanofiltration , 1997 .

[7]  Zaini Ujang,et al.  Application of low-pressure reverse osmosis membrane for Zn2+ and Cu2+ removal from wastewater , 1996 .

[8]  Jaeweon Cho,et al.  Characterization of clean and natural organic matter (NOM) fouled NF and UF membranes, and foulants characterization☆ , 1998 .

[9]  Mark Wilf,et al.  Application of low fouling RO membrane elements for reclamation of municipal wastewater , 2000 .

[10]  Menachem Elimelech,et al.  Chemical and physical aspects of natural organic matter (NOM) fouling of nanofiltration membranes , 1997 .

[11]  A. Fane,et al.  Removal and recovery of heavy metals from wastewaters by supported liquid membranes. , 2001, Water science and technology : a journal of the International Association on Water Pollution Research.

[12]  J. A. Redondo,et al.  Brackish-, sea- and wastewater desalination , 2001 .

[13]  Vicki Chen,et al.  NANOFILTRATION OF TEXTILE WASTEWATER FOR WATER REUSE , 2002 .

[14]  Bruce Durham,et al.  Membranes as pretreatment to desalination in wastewater reuse: operating experience in the municipal and industrial sectors , 2001 .

[15]  Jose M. Veza,et al.  Dead-end microfiltration as advanced treatment for wastewater , 2000 .