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Salamanca M, Palacio L, Hernandez A, Peña M, Prádanos P. Evaluation of Forward Osmosis and Low-Pressure Reverse Osmosis with a Tubular Membrane for the Concentration of Municipal Wastewater and the Production of Biogas. MEMBRANES 2023; 13:266. [PMID: 36984653 PMCID: PMC10051251 DOI: 10.3390/membranes13030266] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2023] [Revised: 02/16/2023] [Accepted: 02/21/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
Currently, freshwater scarcity is one of the main issues that the world population has to face. To address this issue, new wastewater treatment technologies have been developed such as membrane processes. Among them, due to the energy disadvantages of pressure-driven membrane processes, Forward Osmosis (FO) and Low-Pressure Reverse Osmosis (LPRO) have been introduced as promising alternatives. In this study, the behavior of a 2.3 m2 tubular membrane TFO-D90 when working with municipal wastewater has been studied. Its performances have been evaluated and compared in two operating modes such as FO and LPRO. Parameters such as fouling, flow rates, water flux, draw solution concentration, organic matter concentration, as well as its recovery have been studied. In addition, the biogas production capacity has been evaluated with the concentrated municipal wastewater obtained from each process. The results of this study indicate that the membrane can work in both processes (FO and LPRO) but, from the energy and productivity point of view, FO is considered more appropriate mainly due to its lower fouling level. This research may offer a new point of view on low-energy and energy recovery wastewater treatment and the applicability of FO and LPRO for wastewater concentration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mónica Salamanca
- Institute of Sustainable Processes (ISP), University of Valladolid, Dr. Mergelina s/n, 47011 Valladolid, Spain
- Department of Applied Physics, Faculty of Sciences, University of Valladolid, Paseo Belén 7, 47011 Valladolid, Spain
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Environmental Technology, University of Valladolid, Paseo Prado de la Magdalena 3-5, 47011 Valladolid, Spain
| | - Laura Palacio
- Institute of Sustainable Processes (ISP), University of Valladolid, Dr. Mergelina s/n, 47011 Valladolid, Spain
- Department of Applied Physics, Faculty of Sciences, University of Valladolid, Paseo Belén 7, 47011 Valladolid, Spain
| | - Antonio Hernandez
- Institute of Sustainable Processes (ISP), University of Valladolid, Dr. Mergelina s/n, 47011 Valladolid, Spain
- Department of Applied Physics, Faculty of Sciences, University of Valladolid, Paseo Belén 7, 47011 Valladolid, Spain
| | - Mar Peña
- Institute of Sustainable Processes (ISP), University of Valladolid, Dr. Mergelina s/n, 47011 Valladolid, Spain
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Environmental Technology, University of Valladolid, Paseo Prado de la Magdalena 3-5, 47011 Valladolid, Spain
| | - Pedro Prádanos
- Institute of Sustainable Processes (ISP), University of Valladolid, Dr. Mergelina s/n, 47011 Valladolid, Spain
- Department of Applied Physics, Faculty of Sciences, University of Valladolid, Paseo Belén 7, 47011 Valladolid, Spain
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A New Method for a Polyethersulfone-Based Dopamine-Graphene (xGnP-DA/PES) Nanocomposite Membrane in Low/Ultra-Low Pressure Reverse Osmosis (L/ULPRO) Desalination. MEMBRANES 2020; 10:membranes10120439. [PMID: 33352893 PMCID: PMC7766060 DOI: 10.3390/membranes10120439] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2020] [Revised: 11/30/2020] [Accepted: 12/05/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Herein we present a two-stage phase inversion method for the preparation of nanocomposite membranes for application in ultra-low-pressure reverse osmosis (ULPRO). The membranes containing DA-stabilized xGnP (xGnP-DA-) were then prepared via dry phase inversion at room temperature, varying the drying time, followed by quenching in water. The membranes were characterized for chemical changes utilizing attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The results indicated the presence of new chemical species and thus, the inclusion of xGnP-DA in the polyethersulfone (PES) membrane matrix. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) showed increasing surface roughness (Ra) with increased drying time. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed the cross-sectional morphology of the membranes. Water uptake, porosity and pore size were observed to decrease due to this new synthetic approach. Salt rejection using simulated seawater (containing Na, K, Ca, and Mg salts) was found to be up to stable at <99.99% between 1–8 bars operating pressure. After ten fouling and cleaning cycles, flux recoveries of <99.5% were recorded, while the salt rejection was <99.95%. As such, ULPRO membranes can be successfully prepared through altered phase inversion and used for successful desalination of seawater.
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Jahan Sajib MS, Wei Y, Mishra A, Zhang L, Nomura KI, Kalia RK, Vashishta P, Nakano A, Murad S, Wei T. Atomistic Simulations of Biofouling and Molecular Transfer of a Cross-linked Aromatic Polyamide Membrane for Desalination. LANGMUIR : THE ACS JOURNAL OF SURFACES AND COLLOIDS 2020; 36:7658-7668. [PMID: 32460500 DOI: 10.1021/acs.langmuir.0c01308] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Reverse osmosis through a polyamide (PA) membrane is an important technique for water desalination and purification. In this study, molecular dynamics simulations were performed to study the biofouling mechanism (i.e., protein adsorption) and nonequilibrium steady-state water transfer of a cross-linked PA membrane. Our results demonstrated that the PA membrane surface's roughness is a key factor of surface's biofouling, as the lysozyme protein adsorbed on the surface's cavity site displays extremely low surface diffusivity, blocking water passage, and decreasing water flux. The adsorbed protein undergoes secondary structural changes, particularly in the pressure-driven flowing conditions, leading to strong protein-surface interactions. Our simulations were able to present water permeation close to the experimental conditions with a pressure difference as low as 5 MPa, while all the electrolytes, which are tightly surrounded by hydration water, were effectively rejected at the membrane surfaces. The analysis of the self-intermediate scattering function demonstrates that the dynamics of water molecules coordinated with hydrogen bonds is faster inside the pores than during the translation across the pores. The pressure difference applied shows a negligible effect on the water structure and content inside the membrane but facilitates the transportation of hydrogen-bonded water molecules through the membrane's sub-nanopores with a reduced coordination number. The linear relationship between the water flux and the pressure difference demonstrates the applicability of continuum hydrodynamic principles and thus the stability of the membrane structure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Md Symon Jahan Sajib
- Chemical Engineering Department, Howard University, 2366 Sixth Street NW, Washington, District of Columbia 20059, United States
| | - Ying Wei
- School of Information Science and Technology, Xiamen University, Tan Kah Kee College, 422 Siming South Road, Zhangzhou, Fujian 363105, China
| | - Ankit Mishra
- Mork Family Department of Chemical Engineering & Materials Science, University of Southern California, 925 Bloom Walk, HED 216, Los Angeles, California 90007, United States
| | - Lin Zhang
- Engineering Research Center of Membrane and Water Treatment of MOE, College of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Zhejiang University, 38 Zhe Da Road, Hangzhou 310027, China
| | - Ken-Ichi Nomura
- Mork Family Department of Chemical Engineering & Materials Science, University of Southern California, 925 Bloom Walk, HED 216, Los Angeles, California 90007, United States
- Collaboratory for Advanced Computing and Simulations, University of Southern California, 3651 Watt Way, VHE 608, Los Angeles, California 90089, United States
| | - Rajiv K Kalia
- Mork Family Department of Chemical Engineering & Materials Science, University of Southern California, 925 Bloom Walk, HED 216, Los Angeles, California 90007, United States
- Collaboratory for Advanced Computing and Simulations, University of Southern California, 3651 Watt Way, VHE 608, Los Angeles, California 90089, United States
- Department of Physics & Astronomy, University of Southern California, 825 Bloom Walk, ACB 439, Los Angeles, California 90089, United States
- Department of Computer Science, University of Southern California, 941 Bloom Walk, Los Angeles, California 90089, United States
| | - Priya Vashishta
- Mork Family Department of Chemical Engineering & Materials Science, University of Southern California, 925 Bloom Walk, HED 216, Los Angeles, California 90007, United States
- Collaboratory for Advanced Computing and Simulations, University of Southern California, 3651 Watt Way, VHE 608, Los Angeles, California 90089, United States
- Department of Physics & Astronomy, University of Southern California, 825 Bloom Walk, ACB 439, Los Angeles, California 90089, United States
- Department of Computer Science, University of Southern California, 941 Bloom Walk, Los Angeles, California 90089, United States
| | - Aiichiro Nakano
- Mork Family Department of Chemical Engineering & Materials Science, University of Southern California, 925 Bloom Walk, HED 216, Los Angeles, California 90007, United States
- Collaboratory for Advanced Computing and Simulations, University of Southern California, 3651 Watt Way, VHE 608, Los Angeles, California 90089, United States
- Department of Physics & Astronomy, University of Southern California, 825 Bloom Walk, ACB 439, Los Angeles, California 90089, United States
- Department of Computer Science, University of Southern California, 941 Bloom Walk, Los Angeles, California 90089, United States
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, 3616 Trousdale Parkway, AHF 107, Los Angeles, California 90089, United States
| | - Sohail Murad
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Illinois Institute of Technology, 10 West 35th Street, Chicago, Illinois 60616, United States
| | - Tao Wei
- Chemical Engineering Department, Howard University, 2366 Sixth Street NW, Washington, District of Columbia 20059, United States
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Mapping RO-Water Desalination System Powered by Standalone PV System for the Optimum Pressure and Energy Saving. APPLIED SCIENCES-BASEL 2020. [DOI: 10.3390/app10062161] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Brackish water desalination is widely used to supply fresh water; reverse osmosis (RO) desalination units are considered as the most widespread technology used for this purpose due to the advantage of low power consumption. On the other hand, renewable energy resource integration into the power systems is an important trend, which serves energy supply especially in rural areas and non-stable power supply places. RO units powered from Photovoltaic (PV) systems are considered one of the reliable solutions in places where both water and energy demands are issues to be improved. In this research, the idea of storing energy in water salinity is introduced and discussed to reduce conventional battery storage banks. This concept depends on changing the pressure of the RO unit based on solar profiles to get high distilled water at high solar radiation times (high pressure applied) and low distilled water at low radiation times (low pressure values). Then, the produced water is mixed to get an acceptable salinity in the produced water. This research was applied on a small-scale RO testing unit with a pressure that changed from 40 to 60 bar, and, as a result, the water conductivity changed from 1.7 to 1.1 mS/cm. This was the base line to investigate the possibility of curtailing the battery storage system of the selected plant. Following the variable pressure scenarios, energy storage capacity was reduced by a factor of 20%.
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Leandro MJ, Marques S, Ribeiro B, Santos H, Fonseca C. Integrated Process for Bioenergy Production and Water Recycling in the Dairy Industry: Selection of Kluyveromyces Strains for Direct Conversion of Concentrated Lactose-Rich Streams into Bioethanol. Microorganisms 2019; 7:E545. [PMID: 31717512 PMCID: PMC6920800 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms7110545] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/09/2019] [Revised: 11/05/2019] [Accepted: 11/05/2019] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Dairy industries have a high environmental impact, with very high energy and water consumption and polluting effluents. To increase the sustainability of these industries it is urgent to implement technologies for wastewater treatment allowing water recycling and energy savings. In this study, dairy wastewater was processed by ultrafiltration and nanofiltration or ultrafiltration and reverse osmosis (UF/RO) and retentates from the second membrane separation processes were assessed for bioenergy production. Lactose-fermenting yeasts were tested in direct conversion of the retentates (lactose-rich streams) into bioethanol. Two Kluyveromyces strains efficiently fermented all the lactose, with ethanol yields higher than 90% (>0.47 g/g yield). Under severe oxygen-limiting conditions, the K. marxianus PYCC 3286 strain reached 70 g/L of ethanol, which is compatible with energy-efficient distillation processes. In turn, the RO permeate is suitable for recycling into the cleaning process. The proposed integrated process, using UF/RO membrane technology, could allow water recycling (RO permeate) and bioenergy production (from RO retentate) for a more sustainable dairy industry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria José Leandro
- Unidade de Bioenergia, Laboratório Nacional de Energia e Geologia, I.P. (LNEG), Estrada do Paço do Lumiar 22, 1649-038 Lisboa, Portugal; (M.J.L.); (S.M.); (B.R.)
- Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica António Xavier, Biology Division, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Av. da República, 2780-157 Oeiras, Portugal;
| | - Susana Marques
- Unidade de Bioenergia, Laboratório Nacional de Energia e Geologia, I.P. (LNEG), Estrada do Paço do Lumiar 22, 1649-038 Lisboa, Portugal; (M.J.L.); (S.M.); (B.R.)
| | - Belina Ribeiro
- Unidade de Bioenergia, Laboratório Nacional de Energia e Geologia, I.P. (LNEG), Estrada do Paço do Lumiar 22, 1649-038 Lisboa, Portugal; (M.J.L.); (S.M.); (B.R.)
| | - Helena Santos
- Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica António Xavier, Biology Division, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Av. da República, 2780-157 Oeiras, Portugal;
| | - César Fonseca
- Unidade de Bioenergia, Laboratório Nacional de Energia e Geologia, I.P. (LNEG), Estrada do Paço do Lumiar 22, 1649-038 Lisboa, Portugal; (M.J.L.); (S.M.); (B.R.)
- Department of Chemistry and Bioscience, Section for Sustainable Biotechnology, Aalborg University, A. C. Meyers Vænge 15, 2450 Copenhagen, Denmark
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da Silva FRM, Fonsêca DADM, da Silva WLA, Villarreal ERL, Echaiz Espinoza GA, Salazar AO. System of Sensors and Actuators for the Production of Water Used in the Manufacture of Medicines. SENSORS 2019; 19:s19204488. [PMID: 31623218 PMCID: PMC6832464 DOI: 10.3390/s19204488] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2019] [Revised: 10/11/2019] [Accepted: 10/12/2019] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
This paper presents the development and implementation of a centralized industrial network for an automatic purified water production system used in the pharmaceutical industry. This implementation is part of a project to adapt an industrial plant to cope with advances in industrial technology to achieve the level of Industry 4.0. The adequacy of the instruments and the interconnection of the controllers made it possible to monitor the process steps by transforming a manual plant, with discontinuous production into an automated plant, improving the efficiency and quality of the produced water. The development of a supervisory system provides the operator with a panoramic view of the process, informing in real-time the behavior of the variables in the process steps, as well as storing data, event history and alarms. This system also prevented the collection of erroneous or manipulated data, making the process more transparent and reliable. Accordingly, we have been able to tailor this water treatment plant to operate within the minimum requirements required by the regulator.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fabricio Roosevelt Melo da Silva
- Department of Computer Engineering and Automation, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (DCA-UFRN), Natal 59072-970, Brazil.
| | - Diego Antonio de Moura Fonsêca
- Department of Computer Engineering and Automation, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (DCA-UFRN), Natal 59072-970, Brazil.
| | - Werbet Luiz Almeida da Silva
- Department of Computer Engineering and Automation, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (DCA-UFRN), Natal 59072-970, Brazil.
| | - Elmer Rolando Llanos Villarreal
- Department of Natural Sciences, Mathematics, and Statistics, Federal Rural University of Semi-arid (DCME-UFERSA), Mossoró 59625-900, Brazil.
| | - German Alberto Echaiz Espinoza
- Automation and Control Department, School of Electronical Engineering, National University of San Agustín de Arequipa (UNSA), Arequipa 04002, Peru.
| | - Andrés Ortiz Salazar
- Department of Computer Engineering and Automation, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte (DCA-UFRN), Natal 59072-970, Brazil.
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