Membrane-based technologies for zero liquid discharge and fluoride removal from industrial wastewater

Stratified control of chemical crystallization in a pellet fluidized bed for pH-Adjusted fluoride and phosphate reduction: An experimental study

Chemical crystallization granulation in a fluidized bed offers an environmentally friendly technology with significant promise for fluoride removal. This study investigates the impact of stratified pH control in a crystallization granulation fluidized bed for the removal of fluoride and phosphate on a pilot scale. The results indicate that using dolomite as a seed crystal, employing sodium dihydrogen phosphate (SDP) and calcium chloride as crystallizing agents, and controlling the molar ratio n(F):n(P):n(Ca) = 1:5:10 with an upflow velocity of 7.52 m/h, effectively removes fluoride and phosphate. Stratified pH control-maintaining weakly acidic conditions (pH = 6-7) at the bottom and weakly alkaline conditions (pH = 7-8) at the top-facilitates the induction of fluoroapatite (FAP) and calcium phosphate crystallization. This approach reduces groundwater fluoride levels from 9.5 mg/L to 0.2-0.6 mg/L and phosphate levels to 0.1-0.2 mg/L. Particle size analysis, scanning electron microscopy-energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction physical characterizations reveal significant differences in crystal morphology between the top and bottom layers, with the lower layer primarily generating high-purity FAP crystals. Further analysis shows that dolomite-induced FAP crystallization offers distinct advantages. SDP not only dissolves on the dolomite surface to provide active sites for crystallization but also, under weakly acidic conditions, renders both dolomite and FAP surfaces negatively charged. This allows for the effective adsorption of PO43-, HPO42-, and F- anions onto the crystal surfaces. This study provides supporting data for the removal of fluoride from groundwater through induced FAP crystallization in a chemical crystallization pellet fluidized bed.

Sulfate Doping Promotes Agglomeration of Calcium Fluoride Crystals

Calcium salt precipitation is an effective solution to wastewater fluoride pollution. The purity and precipitation efficiency of calcium fluoride is critical for its removal and recovery. This study aimed to reveal the role of coexisting sulfates in the precipitation of calcium fluoride. A low sulfate concentration promoted calcium fluoride precipitation. The size of calcium fluoride-aggregated particle clusters increased from 750 to 2000 nm when the molar ratio of sulfate to fluoride was increased from 0 to 3:100. Sulfate doped in the calcium fluoride crystals neutralized the positive charge of the calcium fluoride. Online atomic force microscopy measurements showed that sulfate reduced the repulsive force between calcium fluoride crystals and increased the adhesion force from 1.62 to 2.46 nN, promoting the agglomeration of calcium fluoride crystals. Sulfate improved the precipitation efficiency of calcium fluoride by promoting agglomeration; however, the purity of calcium fluoride was reduced by doping. Sulfate reduced the induction time of calcium fluoride crystallization and improved the nucleation rate of calcium fluoride. Sulfate should be retained to improve the precipitation of calcium fluoride and to avoid its loss from the effluents. However, it is necessary to separate sulfate from fluoride to obtain high-purity calcium fluoride. Therefore, sulfate concentration regulation in high-fluoride wastewater is key to achieving the efficient removal and recovery of fluoride ions.

Combing Seeding Crystallization with Flotation for Recovery of Fluorine from Wastewater: Experimental and Molecular Simulation Studies

For effective removal and utilization of fluorine resources from industrial wastewater, stepwise removal and recovery of fluorine were accomplished by seeding crystallization and flotation. The effects of seedings on the growth and morphology of CaF₂ crystals were investigated by comparing the processes of chemical precipitation and seeding crystallization. The morphologies of the precipitates were analyzed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) measurements. The seed crystal, fluorite, helps improve the growth of perfect CaF₂ crystals. The solution and interfacial behaviors of the ions were calculated by molecular simulations. The existing perfect surface of fluorite was proven to provide the active sites for ion adhesion and formed a more ordered attachment layer than the precipitation procedure. The precipitates were then floated to recover calcium fluoride. By stepwise seeding crystallization and flotation, the products with a CaF₂ purity of 64.42% can be used to replace parts of metallurgical-grade fluorite. Both removal of fluorine from wastewater and the reutilization of the fluorine resource were realized.

Recovery of Fluoride-Rich and Silica-Rich Wastewaters as Valuable Resources: A Resource Capture Ultrafiltration-Bipolar Membrane Electrodialysis-Based Closed-Loop Process

Traditional technologies such as precipitation and coagulation have been adopted for fluoride-rich and silica-rich wastewater treatment, respectively, but waste solid generation and low wastewater processing efficiency are still the looming concern. Efficient resource recovery technologies for different wastewater treatments are scarce for environment and industry sustainability. Herein, a resource capture ultrafiltration-bipolar membrane electrodialysis (RCUF-BMED) system was designed into a closed-loop process for simultaneous capture and recovery of fluoride and silica as sodium silicofluoride (Na₂SiF₆) from mixed fluoride-rich and silica-rich wastewaters, as well as achieving zero liquid discharge. This RCUF-BMED system comprised two key parts: (1) capture of fluoride and silica from two wastewaters using acid, and recovery of the Na₂SiF₆ using base by UF and (2) UF permeate conversion for acid/base and freshwater generation by BMED. With the optimized RCUF-BMED system, fluoride and silica can be selectively captured from wastewater with removal efficiencies higher than 99%. The Na₂SiF₆ recovery was around 72% with a high purity of 99.1%. The aging and cyclic experiments demonstrated the high stability and recyclability of the RCUF-BMED system. This RCUF-BMED system has successfully achieved the conversion of toxic fluoride and silica into valuable Na₂SiF₆ from mixed wastewaters, which shows great application potential in the industry-resource-environment nexus.

Removal of fluoride ions from aqueous solution by metaettringite

Fluoride contamination is a major problem in wastewater treatment. Metaettringite (which has previously shown enhanced anion adsorption) was investigated as a possible adsorbent to remove fluoride from low-concentration solution (25 mg-F/L). The fluoride removal properties of ettringite and metaettringite were first compared at pH 10, and metaettringite was found to be more effective. The dominant reaction mechanism for fluoride adsorption in metaettringite was found to be recrystallization of metaettringite by rehydration; this was accompanied by precipitation of calcium fluoride. The adsorption kinetics followed the pseudo-second order model. Metaettringite was also able to remove fluoride effectively in low pH environment (i.e., at pH 3.5). The influence of coexistence of sulfate ions in solution on the fluoride removal performance was investigated, and a small decrease in performance was noted. The residual fluoride concentrations obtained with higher doses of metaettringite were lower than those specified by the Japanese effluent standard (non-coastal areas: 8 mg-F/L; coastal areas: 15 mg-F/L). The fluoride removal capacity of metaettringite was compared with those of other solid materials. The observed maximum capacity was 174.7 mg-F/g-metaettringite. In the case of high fluoride concentration solution, the main removal mechanism will be changed to calcium fluoride precipitation. In general, metaettringite is regarded as promising material for fluoride removal in wastewater treatment.

Removal of fluoride from coke wastewater by aluminum doped chelating ion-exchange resins: a tertiary treatment

Coke wastewater is one of the most problematic industrial wastewaters, due to its large volume and complex pollutant load. In this study, ion exchange technology was investigated with the objective of reducing the fluoride content of the effluent from a coke wastewater treatment plant (26.7 mg F^-/L). Two Al-doped exchange resins with chelating aminomethyl-phosphonic acid and iminodiacetic groups were assessed: Al-doped TP260 and TP207 resins, respectively. The effect of resin dosage, varying from 5 to 25 g/L, was evaluated. F^- removal was within the range 57.8-89.3% and 72.0-92.1% for Al-doped TP260 and TP207, respectively. A kinetic study based on a generalized integrated Langmuir kinetic equation fitted the experimental data (R² > 0.98). The parameters of the said kinetics met the optimal conditions for the ion exchange process, which seemed to be more favorable with Al-doped TP260 resin than with Al-doped TP207 resin, using the same resin dosage. Furthermore, the experimental data were well described (R² > 0.98) by Langmuir and Freundlich isotherm models, in agreement with the findings of the kinetic study: the maximum sorption capacity was obtained for the Al-doped TP260 resin.

High-efficiency N-doped activated carbon-based defluoridation adsorbent prepared from itaconic acid fermentation waste liquid

Excessive amounts of fluoride in water cause irreversible harm to people and seriously threaten human health.

Removal of F- and organic matter from coking wastewater by coupling dosing FeCl3 and AlCl3

Coagulation and precipitation is a widely applied method to remove F^- from wastewater. In this work, the effect of coagulation on the removal of F^- and organic matter from coking wastewater was studied using AlCl₃ and FeCl₃ as compound coagulants. The removal rates of F^- and organic matter under different coagulant doses and pH conditions were investigated. The results show that the highest removal rates of F^- by AlCl₃ and FeCl₃ are 94.4% and 25.4%, respectively; when the dosage is 10 mmol/L, the TOC removal rates of FeCl₃ and AlCl₃ reach 20.4% and 34.7%, respectively. Therefore, the removal rate of F^- by AlCl₃ is higher than that of FeCl₃, but the removal rate of organic matter by FeCl₃ is relatively higher. The addition of Ca²⁺ can promote the removal of F^-, but the removal rate of organic matter decreases. In addition, by investigating the effects of different pH and Fe-Al ratio on the removal rate, the removal effect of adding FeCl₃ and AlCl₃ at the same time was discussed. The results show that the most suitable working condition for the removal of organic matter and F^- is that the pH is 6.5 and the molar ratio of Al/Fe is 8:2. Overall, the removal mechanism of F^- and organic matter in coking wastewater by FeCl₃ and AlCl₃ was explored in this study. The experimental results can provide reference for the advanced treatment of coking wastewater.

Charge-Gradient Hydrogels Enable Direct Zero Liquid Discharge for Hypersaline Wastewater Management

Zero liquid discharge (ZLD), which maximizes water recovery and eliminates environmental impact, is an urgent wastewater management strategy for alleviating freshwater shortage. However, because of the high concentration of salts and broad-spectrum foulants in wastewater, a huge challenge for ZLD is lack of a robust membrane-based desalination technology that enables direct wastewater recovery without costly pretreatment processes. Here, a paradigm-shift membrane distillation (MD) strategy is presented, wherein the traditional hydrophobic porous membrane is replaced with a hydrophilic nonporous charge-gradient hydrogel (CGH) membrane that possesses hypersaline tolerance, fouling/scaling-free properties, and negligible vapor transfer resistance inside the membrane, simultaneously. Therefore, the CGH-based MD with high water flux enables direct desalination of hypersaline wastewater (130 g L^-1 ) containing broad-spectrum foulants (500 mg L^-1 ) during continuous long-term operation (200 h), and this technology paves a promising way to direct ZLD for wastewater management.

Defluorination by ion exchange of SO42- on alumina surface: Adsorption mechanism and kinetics

Electrostatic and complexation effects have been considered as the primary adsorption mechanisms for defluorination using aluminum based materials, while the effect of ion exchange between anions and fluorine ion has been mostly ignored, although synthesized alumina materials usually contain a large amount of anions, such as SO₄^2-, NO₃^-, and Cl^-. In this study, the effect of anions exchanges and its key role on defluorination were systematically investigated for adsorption by aluminas loaded with various typical anions (SO₄^2-, NO₃^- and Cl^-). Experimental results showed that SO₄^2-- loading alumina had the best defluorination performance (94.5 mg/g), much higher than NO₃^- (45.0 mg/g) and Cl^- (19.1 mg/g). The contribution ratio of ion exchange between SO₄^2- and F^- was as high as 20-60% in all potential defluorination mechanisms. By using Density Functional Theory calculation, the detailed mechanism revealed that the ion exchange process was mainly driven by the tridentate chelation of SO₄^2- which reduced the exchange energy ( [Formula: see text] 4.8 eV). Our study clearly demonstrated that ion exchange between SO₄^2- and F^- is a critical mechanism in defluorination using aluminum-based materials and provides a potential alternative method to enhance the adsorption performance of modified alumina.

Removal of fluoride in membrane-based water and wastewater treatment technologies: Performance review

The presence of excess fluoride in aqueous media above local environmental standards (e.g., the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standard of 4 mg/L) affects the health of aquatic life. Excess fluoride in drinking water above the maximum contaminant level (e.g., the World Health Organization (WHO) standard of 1.5 mg/L) also affects the skeletal and nervous systems of humans. Fluoride removal from aqueous solutions is difficult using conventional electrochemical, precipitation, and adsorption methods owing to its ionic size and reactivity. Thus, new technologies have been introduced to reduce the fluoride concentration in industrial wastewater effluents and various drinking water sources. Membrane technology is one of the newer technologies found to be very effective in significantly reducing fluoride to desired standards levels; however, it has received less attention than other technologies because it is perceived as a costly process. This study critically reviewed the performance of various membrane process and compared it with effluent and zero liquid discharge (ZLD) standards. The performance review has been conducted with the consideration of the theoretical background, rejection mechanisms, technical viability, and parameters affecting flux and rejection performance. This review includes membrane systems investigated for the defluoridation process but operated under pressure (i.e., reverse osmosis [RO] and nanofiltration [NF]), temperature gradients (i.e., membrane distillation [MD]), electrical potential gradients (i.e., electrodialysis [ED] and Donnan dialysis [DD]), and concentration differences (i.e., forward osmosis [FO]). Moreover, the study also addressed the advantages, limitations, & applicable conditions of each membrane based defluoridation process.