Treatment of vegetable oil refinery wastewater using alumina ceramic membrane: optimization using response surface methodology

Abstract New regulations in environment protection and increasing market demands for “green” companies are forcing the industry to consider finding new and sustainable methods of wastewater treatment. The valuable information regarding treatment of the wastewater from the edible oil industry is presented in this research. The obtained results confirm a promising application of the third generation membranes, comprised of ceramic material (aluminium oxide), in treatment of wastewater from the edible oil industry. Positive results regarding chemical oxygen demand reduction and turbidity removal were noticed. Permeate flux values were used for process optimization in order to achieve a cost-effective process. Response surface methodology was used for the experimental design. The effects of wastewater temperature, transmembrane pressure, and feed-flow rate on the microfiltration model fit were studied. The experiments showed that microfiltration of this type of wastewater is a convenient technique for a possible large scale industrial application as a secondary step in treating wastewater from the oilseed processing facilities.

[1]  Ligia Damasceno Ferreira Marczak,et al.  Ultrafiltration of wastewater from isolated soy protein production: A comparison of three UF membranes , 2010 .

[2]  Luigi Pelagagge,et al.  Improving the environmental performance of vegetable oil processing through LCA , 2014 .

[3]  B. C. Ng,et al.  Effects of process conditions in submerged ultrafiltration for refinery wastewater treatment: Optimization of operating process by response surface methodology , 2012 .

[4]  A. Zinatizadeh,et al.  Application of response surface methodology (RSM) to optimize coagulation-flocculation treatment of leachate using poly-aluminum chloride (PAC) and alum. , 2009, Journal of hazardous materials.

[5]  C. Daughton.  Non-regulated water contaminants: emerging research , 2004 .

[6]  P. Drogui,et al.  Coupling microfiltration and nanofiltration processes for the treatment at source of dyeing-containing effluent , 2012 .

[7]  Douglas C. Montgomery,et al.  Response Surface Methodology: Process and Product Optimization Using Designed Experiments , 1995 .

[8]  M. Kaštelan-macan,et al.  Water resources and waste water management in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro , 2007 .

[9]  Guenter Langergraber,et al.  Using phytoremediation technologies to upgrade waste water treatment in Europe , 2007, Environmental science and pollution research international.

[10]  Munir Cheryan,et al.  Deacidifying rice bran oil by solvent extraction and membrane technology , 1999 .

[11]  J. Drewes,et al.  Fate of natural organic matter (NOM) during groundwater recharge using reclaimed water , 1999 .

[12]  G. Zeng,et al.  Treatment of swine wastewater using chemically modified zeolite and bioflocculant from activated sludge. , 2013, Bioresource technology.

[13]  M. Vincent-Vela,et al.  Analysis and optimization of the influence of operating conditions in the ultrafiltration of macromolecules using a response surface methodological approach , 2010 .

[14]  Adriano Joss,et al.  Removal of pharmaceuticals and fragrances in biological wastewater treatment. , 2005, Water research.

[15]  R. Wakeman,et al.  Mechanisms of permeate flux decay, solute rejection and concentration polarisation in crossflow filtration of a double chain ionic surfactant dispersion , 1994 .

[16]  Anita Kovač Kralj,et al.  The re-usages of wastewater within industry: the positive impact of contaminants , 2015 .

[17]  A. Ismail,et al.  A review of the effects of emerging contaminants in wastewater and options for their removal , 2009 .

[18]  Y. Mi,et al.  Bean curd wastewater treatment by membrane separation , 1999 .

[19]  T. Ternes,et al.  Pharmaceuticals and personal care products in the environment: agents of subtle change? , 1999, Environmental health perspectives.

[20]  M. Balakrishnan,et al.  Wastewater treatment in molasses-based alcohol distilleries for COD and color removal: a review. , 2008, Journal of environmental management.

[21]  H. Chu,et al.  Characteristics of algogenic organic matter generated under different nutrient conditions and subsequent impact on microfiltration membrane fouling , 2012 .