Evaluating Fertilizer-Drawn Forward Osmosis Performance in Treating Anaerobic Palm Oil Mill Effluent.

Ruwaida Abdul Wahid,Wei Lun Ang,Nidal Hilal,Abdul Wahab Mohammad,Daniel James Johnson

doi:10.3390/membranes11080566

Ruwaida Abdul Wahid, Wei Lun Ang + Show 3 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes11080566

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Abstract

Fertilizer-drawn forward osmosis (FDFO) is a potential alternative to recover and reuse water and nutrients from agricultural wastewater, such as palm oil mill effluent that consists of 95% water and is rich in nutrients. This study investigated the potential of commercial fertilizers as draw solution (DS) in FDFO to treat anaerobic palm oil mill effluent (An-POME). The process parameters affecting FO were studied and optimized, which were then applied to fertilizer selection based on FO performance and fouling propensity. Six commonly used fertilizers were screened and assessed in terms of pure water flux (Jw) and reverse salt flux (JS). Ammonium sulfate ((NH4)2SO4), mono-ammonium phosphate (MAP), and potassium chloride (KCl) were further evaluated with An-POME. MAP showed the best performance against An-POME, with a high average water flux, low flux decline, the highest performance ratio (PR), and highest water recovery of 5.9% for a 4-h operation. In a 24-h fouling run, the average flux decline and water recovered were 84% and 15%, respectively. Both hydraulic flushing and osmotic backwashing cleaning were able to effectively restore the water flux. The results demonstrated that FDFO using commercial fertilizers has the potential for the treatment of An-POME for water recovery. Nevertheless, further investigation is needed to address challenges such as JS and the dilution factor of DS for direct use of fertigation.

Highlights

318.2 mmol of KNO3 was lost with every liter of water extracted from feed solution (FS). These findings showed that a small amount of (NH4 )2 SO4 was lost in the forward osmosis (FO) process compared to KNO3 ; the replenishment cost for (NH4 )2 SO4 would be lower compared to that of other fertilizers
This study investigated the potential of the Fertilizer-drawn forward osmosis (FDFO) process using commercial fertilizers to treat anaerobic palm oil mill effluent (An-palm oil mill effluent (POME)) for nutrient and water recovery
The performance of six fertilizers as draw solution (DS) was assessed in terms of JW and JS, the performance ratio (PR), and the specific reverse salt flux (SRSF)

Summary

Introduction

3.3% of the world’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2019 [1]. Agriculture accounts for the use of 70% of the world’s freshwater use [3]; increases in food production would increase water usage. Water usage in agriculture generates wastewater, which if untreated contributes to water pollution. It is estimated that 80% of all untreated wastewater is discharged into the world’s waterways [3], and the discharge of inadequately treated wastewater has an adverse impact on the environment and human health. Organic pollution can severely impact fisheries, livelihoods, and food security. Improper wastewater management has a direct impact on ecosystems and the services they provide [4]. Proper treatment of agriculture wastewater could mitigate these issues while providing alternative water resources

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