Abstract
Application of a mixed-matrix membrane in the treatment of industrial wastewater provides an added advantage of coupling adsorption with membrane filtration. This is particularly useful in achieving high selectivity with enhanced throughput. Continuous cross-flow experiments were conducted with effluent from a secondary treatment plant of the steel industry containing a high concentration of phenol. The transport phenomenon involves the concentration polarization over the gel layer, growth of the gel-layer dynamics, and adsorption in the membrane matrix. Because the real-life effluent is a complex mixture containing several components, knowledge of the physical properties is challenging. Process modeling of the performance of the mixed-matrix ultrafiltration membrane of industrial effluent in a cross-flow configuration is attempted in this study. The mathematical analysis is based on the transport mechanism of the low-molecular-weight solute through a gel of large-molecular-weight solutes and consequent adsorption in the membrane matrix. The model results are compared with the actual experimental data. The effects of the adsorption isotherm and sensitivity of the model parameters on the system performance are also evaluated.
Published Version
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