Nanofiltration of surface water for the removal of endocrine disruptors

Abstract

The assessment of surface water nanofiltration (NF) for the removal of endocrine disruptors (EDs) – Nonylphenol Ethoxylate (IGEPAL), 4-Nonylphenol (NP) and 4-Octylphenol (OP) – was carried out with three commercial NF membranes – NF90, NF200, NF270. The permeation experiments were conducted in laboratory flat-cell units of 13.2 × 10−4 m2 of surface area and in a DSS Lab-unit M20 with a membrane surface area of 0.036 m2. The membranes hydraulic permeabilities ranged from 3.7 to 15.6 kg/h/m2/bar and the rejection coefficients to NaCl, Na2SO4 and Glucose are for NF90: 97%, 99% and 97%, respectively; for NF200: 66%, 98% and 90%, respectively and for NF270: 48%, 94% and 84%, respectively. Three sets of nanofiltration experiments were carried out: i) NF of aqueous model solutions of NP, IGEPAL and OP running in total recirculation mode; ii) NF of surface water from Rio Sado (Setubal, Portugal) running in concentration mode; iii) NF of surface water from Rio Sado inoculated with NP, IGEPAL and OP running in conc...