Pilot-scale study of Polyelectrolyte-Enhanced UF for arsenic removal

Municipal Solid Waste as Secondary Resource: Selectively Separating Cu(II) from Highly Saline Fly Ash Extracts by Polymer-Assisted Ultrafiltration

Urban mining from fly ash resulting from municipal solid waste incineration (MSWI) is becoming more and more important due to the increasing scarcity of supply-critical metals. Metal extraction from acid fly ash leaching has already been established. In this context selective Cu recovery is still a challenge. Therefore, our purpose was the separation of Cu(II) from MSWI fly ash extracts by polymer-assisted ultrafiltration (PAUF). We investigated three polyethyleneimines (PEIs) with regard to metal retention, Cu(II) selectivity, Cu(II) loading capacity, and the viscosity of the PEI containing solutions. A demanding challenge was the highly complex matrix of the fly ash extracts, which contain up to 16 interfering metal ions in high concentrations and a chloride content of 60 g L−1. Overcoming that, Cu(II) was selectively enriched and separated from real fly ash extract at pH 3.0. At pH 1.0, a PEI-free Cu(II) concentrate was obtained and PEIs could be regenerated for reuse in further separation cycles. The PAUF conditions developed at laboratory scale were successfully transferred to pilot scale, and hyperbranched PEI (HB-PEI) was found to be the most suitable reagent for PAUF in a technical scale. Moreover, HB-PEI enables photometric control of the Cu(II) enrichment.

Arsenic removal from water by coupling photocatalysis and complexation-ultrafiltration processes: A preliminary study

Inorganic As removal from contaminated water has been studied by off-line coupling of photocatalysis and complexation-ultrafiltration (CP-UF), showing that this combination permits to obtain a quite complete arsenic removal from the treated water. Two commercial polymers, poly(dimethylamine-coepichlorohydrin-coethylenediamine) (PDEHED) and poly(diallyl dimethyl amnmonium chloride) (PolyDADMAC) have been tested in the CP-UF process. The operating conditions (pH and polymer/As weight ratio) for As(V) complexation were determined finding values of 7.5/20 and 9.2/30 for PDEHED and polyDADMAC, respectively. The UF tests were performed by continuous diafiltration and diafiltration with volume reduction modes. The latter method permits to save the volume of washing solution during polymer regeneration. As(III) was not complexed, operating under the As(V) complexation conditions, thus a pre-oxidation step by using the photocatalytic approach was carried out to remove As(III) species. As(III) conversion to As(V) was evaluated by As speciation by using the CP-UF process for analytical purposes. Photocatalytic oxidation was successfully performed under UV radiation by using TiO₂ (0.05 mg L^-1), O₂ and pH = 9. The oxidation was very fast during the first 10 min following a zero order kinetics (k = 0.83 mg L^-1 min^-1) and reaching 90% As(III) oxidation. A conceptual scheme coupling photocatalysis and CP-UF and some criteria to operate the CP-UF process, useful to address it towards application, are reported.

Reactive red 120 retention through ultrafiltration enhanced by synthetic and natural polyelectrolytes

Two cationic chelating polymers, namely synthetic polyethylenimine (PEI), and biopolymer chitosan were employed in the present study to bring about the retention of anionic reactive red 120 (RR 120) from its aqueous solutions by way of polymer enhanced ultrafiltration (PEUF). The effects of process parameters, namely, cross-flow rate, transmembrane pressure, time, polyelectrolyte loading, and ionic strength on dye retention and permeation flux were examined. PEI enhanced ultrafiltration achieved dye retentions as high as 99.9%, and significant permeation fluxes around 148 L/m(2)h. However, in case of chitosan, relatively low retention (88%), and flux (120 L/m(2)h) levels were observed. A careful comparison of the changes induced in the UV-vis spectra of RR 120 by PEI and chitosan indicated a predominant electrostatic interaction between PEI and RR 120, as opposed to the relatively weak and sterically as well as chemically hindered interaction between chitosan and the dye ion. The respective binding constants of PEI-RR 120, and PEI-chitosan complexes, in addition to the relatively more pronounced permeation flux decline witnessed in the presence of chitosan, clearly advocated the use of PEI, rather than chitosan, as the most appropriate complexing agent in the present context.

Comparative study of the uses of poly(4-vinylpyridine) and poly(diallyldimethylammonium) chloride for the removal of perchlorate from aqueous solution by polyelectrolyte-enhanced ultrafiltration

An application of polyelectrolyte-enhanced ultrafiltration utilizes cationic polyelectrolytes to electrostatically bind anionic species. The colloid and target anion are then concentrated using an ultrafilter, producing a filtrate with a lower concentration of the target. This study compared the performances of poly(4-vinylpyridine) (P4VP) and poly(diallyldimethylammonium) chloride (PDADMAC) for the removal of perchlorate. Potentiometric titration data revealed that the ionization properties of P4VP in aqueous solution vary as functions of titrant utilized, degree of protonation, and counterion concentration. The greater affinity of perchlorate over chloride for the protonated pyridine residues of P4VP provided up to 95.8% retention of perchlorate under the solution conditions investigated. Through ultrafiltration experiments, the effects solution pH, counterion concentration, and polymer concentration were examined for both P4VP and PDADMAC. In addition, the effectiveness of P4VP recovery and reuse was also assessed.

Inorganic ligand-modified, colloid-enhanced ultrafiltration: a novel method for removing uranium from aqueous solution

Inorganic ligand-modified, colloid-enhanced ultrafiltration (ILM-CEUF) is as a novel membrane-based separation method for selectively removing target ions from aqueous solution. Traditional colloid-enhanced ultrafiltration (CEUF) is a well-established membrane-based separation technique that can be used to separate metal ions from other aqueous solution components. Ligand-modified, colloid-enhanced ultrafiltration (LM-CEUF) uses organic ligands that selectively complex target ions and also associate with a water-soluble colloid, such as a surfactant micelle or polyelectrolyte. The colloid, associated -ligand, and target ion are then concentrated using an ultrafilter, producing a filtrate with a low concentration of the target ion. While traditional LM-CEUF techniques are able to provide quantitative separations of a variety of ionic pollutants, the high costs of the chelating agents make such techniques nonviable in most remediation schemes. This study investigated the replacement of organic ligands with carbonate for the selective removal of U(VI) from aqueous solution. In slightly to moderately basic solutions containing carbonate, UO(2)(CO(3))(3)(4-) can be made to dominate the U(VI) speciation. Using poly(diallyldimethylammonium) chloride, the effectiveness and efficiency of ILM-CEUF for removing U(VI) from other aqueous solution components was investigated as a function of carbonate concentration, pH, and ionic strength. Uranium separations of greater than 99.6% were achieved; even in the presence of large excesses of competing ions. The specific separation of U(VI) from Sr(2+) was also examined.