Ceramic Nanofiltration Research Articles

Ceramic nanofiltration membranes for efficient fouling mitigation through periodic electrolysis

Ceramic membranes are gaining importance in several mainstream membrane applications. Their high chemical and thermal resistance stability make them ideal candidates for oil/water separation, dye rejections, in dairy production, catalyst recovery and in treating a variety of wastewater effluents. Although ceramic microfiltration and ultrafiltration membranes are a predominant research area, there is still limited research on ceramic nanofiltration membranes, especially on controlling its fouling propensity. High flux values in such membranes can cause rapid fouling which lead to a compromise in membrane performance. In this work, we have modified commercial ceramic TiO2 NF membrane by coating it with titanium through an e-beam deposition process. Coating with titanium did not bring about any change in the inherent membrane properties such as its thermal resistance, structure and hydrophilicity. The superhydrophilic membrane showed good electrical conductivity, which enabled us to test the membrane for its self-cleaning ability through periodic electrolysis. Sodium alginate, yeast, humic acid and their mixtures were used as model foulants. A cross-flow filtration setup was used where the membrane acted as a cathode and a potential of 2–4.5 V was applied periodically depending upon the type of foulant. Without membrane cleaning, a sharp decline in flux to even till 10 % of its original value was noticed during some filtration tests. However, a high flux recovery from 88 to 98 % was achieved when the membrane was subjected to intermittent cleaning. The Ti-coated NF ceramic membrane showed efficient surface cleaning. The generation of hydrogen bubbles helped in sweeping away the cake layer formed as a result of concentration polarization. These electro-ceramic NF membranes allow us to address critical problems associated with such pressure driven processes where biofouling is a major problem.

Functionalized boron nitride ceramic nanofiltration membranes for semiconductor wastewater treatment

Boron nitride (BN) nanomaterials were used to enhance the separation performance of membranes due to their ability to create more nanochannels with excellent chemical stability. Two different functionalization methods, including strong acid oxidation and a tannic acid (TA)-assisted exfoliation process, were explored to introduce hydroxyl groups on BN surfaces. We also propose a novel method for the fabrication of ceramic nanofiltration (NF) membranes with optimal functionalized BN loadings on ceramic ultrafiltration (UF) membrane substrates. The functionalized BN-coated ceramic NF membrane exhibited a promising separation performance for both particulate and organic contaminants by modifying the surface chemistry of the ceramic membrane and reducing membrane pores by adding nanochannels. Compared to the performance of the ceramic UF membrane alone, filtering ceramic UF membrane permeate through the functionalized BN-coated ceramic NF membrane increased an additional rejection of 20.4% for dissolved silica and 59.8% for humic acid, respectively. Collectively, the results provide a basis for the optimization of membrane-based semiconductor wastewater treatment by creating a hybrid of the ceramic UF and NF membrane processes. In turn, our findings not only facilitate the achievement of national regulatory standards for wastewater discharge but also provide crucial insights into the transport dynamics of particulate and organic contaminants.

Modeling the antifouling properties of atomic layer deposition surface-modified ceramic nanofiltration membranes

This work investigates the enhancement of antifouling properties of ceramic nanofiltration membranes by surface modification via atomic layer deposition (ALD) of TiO2. Feed solutions containing bovine serum albumin (BSA), humic acid (HA) and sodium alginate (SA) were used as model foulants. The classic fouling mechanism models and the modified fouling indices (MFI) were deduced from the flux decline profiles. Surface roughness values of the ALD coated and uncoated membranes were 63 and 71 nm, respectively, while the contact angles were 34.2 and 59.5°, respectively. Thus, coating increased the water affinity of the membrane surfaces and consequently improved the anti-fouling properties. The MFI values and the classic fouling mechanism correlation coefficients for cake filtration for the ALD coated and the uncoated membrane upon SA fouling were 42,963 (R 2 = 0.82) and 143,365 sL−2 (R 2 = 0.98), respectively, whereas the correlation coefficients for the combined foulants (SA + BSA + HA) were 267,185 (R 2 = 0.99) and 9569 sL−2 (R 2 = 0.37), respectively. The study showed that ALD can effectively enhance the antifouling properties of ceramic membranes.

Performance evaluation of an industrial ceramic nanofiltration unit for wastewater treatment in oil production

An industrial ceramic nanofiltration membrane (pore size 0.9 nm) was tested in a Canadian oil field for more than 12,500 h to treat wastewater directly from daily operations, without any type of pre-treatment. This wastewater contained a high content of total suspended solids (13 to 510 mg/kg), and total organic carbon (31 to 134 mg/kg). The membrane unit was operated at different transmembrane pressure (TMP) set points (4–16 bar) and recovery set points (40–80%). The data show that ion and compound rejection depend strongly on a combination of both TMP and recovery, with the largest rejection occurring at low recovery values and high TMP values. Two mechanisms were responsible for rejection: sieving, which mostly impacted compound rejection, and electrostatic phenomena that impacted ion rejection. It is shown that ion rejection depends linearly on charge density of the ion. Ion rejection was measured as high as 85% and compounds (such as TSS) were rejected as high as 100%. The specific flux varied between 1–10 L/(m2.h.bar). Results from this field testing indicate the possibility of using these types of ceramic membranes for oil field wastewater treatment.

Preparation of α-alumina/γ-alumina/γ-alumina-titania ceramic composite membrane for chloride ion removal

It is a universally acknowledged truth that ceramic membranes with high heat and chemical resistance play a crucial role in the nanofiltration (NF) process under harsh conditions. Although the ceramic membranes are challenging to use for salt filtration due to pore size and surface charge constraints. In this study, sol-gel and dip-coating techniques are used to make alumina–titania composite ceramic membranes with an γ-alumina interlayer for salt rejection. Then, particle size distribution was determined using dynamic light scattering (DLS), and membrane surface quality and morphology were examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The microstructural properties of the membrane have been investigated using X-Ray Diffraction (XRD). A dead-end module is used to measure water permeability and salt rejection. After calcination at 450 °C, SEM shows the crack-free membrane surfaces. The interlayer and top layer membrane thicknesses were estimated to be 1.5 and 0.5 μm, respectively. In addition, XRD measurements show an alumina crystal structure for the interlayer and anatase, rutile, and alumina phases for the composite membranes. Finally, it was shown that the amount of chlorine rejection was pH-dependent, with the rejection rate increasing from 12.7% to 67% as the pH climbed from 4 to 12. Overall, this research provides a composite ceramic nanofiltration for high-pressure desalination, and it is shown that the membrane's surface does not alter after five cycles, which allows for a long-term chemical process and it could be a promising candidate in the wastewater treatment field.

Novel method for the facile control of molecular weight cut-off (MWCO) of ceramic membranes

This study demonstrates a simple and novel preparation method to prepare ceramic nanofiltration membranes with a precise and tunable molecular weight cut-off (MWCO) by packing variously sized nanoparticles into existing membrane pores. As a result, ceramic membranes with a MWCO from 1000 Da to 10,000 Da were successfully prepared with the narrow distribution of the pore size after the filtration-coating process. In addition, the effective porosity of the ceramic membranes was calculated from the results of the membrane properties by the Hagen-Poiseuille equation which fit within the range of the sphere packing theory from 17.3% to 41.8%. Furthermore, the results of nonlinear curve fitting between the MWCO and the nanoparticle size show a high accuracy, which implies that the MWCO of the ceramic membranes can be predicted using the curve fitting model with variously sized nanoparticles in the filtration-coating process. In conclusion, the novel filtration-coating method enables precise pore control and provides a tunable MWCO to ceramic membranes by preparing various sizes of nanoparticles.

Simultaneous retention of organic and inorganic contaminants by a ceramic nanofiltration membrane for the treatment of semiconductor wastewater

The semiconductor manufacturing industry produces large amounts of ammonia-contaminated wastewaters which require costly and energy-intensive treatments. This study demonstrates the application of a commercially available ceramic nanofiltration (NF) membrane for the control of organic and inorganic contaminants as well as ammonium retention in the treatment of semiconductor wastewater. Analysis of the hydrodynamic pore transport model based on the direct measurement of membrane thickness in the active layer indicated that the ceramic NF membrane has an average pore radius of ≈0.65 nm. Zeta potential measurements of the ceramic NF membrane showed that the membrane surface was negatively charged at neutral pH. The ammonium retention capacity of the ceramic NF membrane was evaluated using a single symmetric ammonium salt solution (1.8 mM NH4HCO3; i.e., the average ammonium concentration in semiconductor wastewater) and combined salt solutions (mixtures of 1.8 mM NH4HCO3 and either 2.0 mM of Na2SO4, CaSO4, or CaCl2). The combined NH4HCO3 and Na2SO4 solution rendered a remarkably high ammonium retention rate of 88.7%, which was attributed to higher valency co-ions (SO42-) in this solution with the same negative surface charge of the ceramic NF membrane. In contrast, the calcium ions (Ca2+) in different combined salt solutions containing CaSO4 and CaCl2 interfered with ammonium retention. We further employed the ceramic NF membrane to treat semiconductor wastewater samples taken from a full-scale semiconductor wastewater treatment plant and demonstrated that this proposed treatment method could effectively retain organic and inorganic contaminants with a low fouling propensity. Our results highlight the promising potential of ceramic NF membranes for the treatment of industrial wastewaters with diverse organic and inorganic contaminants.

Characterization of residual organic matter in oil sands steam assisted gravity drainage produced water treated by ceramic nanofiltration membranes

Steam assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) is an energy and water intensive oil recovery technology for in-situ extraction of oil sands bitumen. It is essential to recycle the SAGD produced water (PW) to reduce water consumption and improve the energy efficiency of the process. This work investigated the removal of residual organic matter (ROM) in the SAGD-PW by the ceramic nanofiltration (NF) membrane process. The overall removal efficiency of ROM in the SAGD-PW was influenced by their polarities, membrane pore size, and membrane material. Non-polar oil components including saturated and aromatic hydrocarbons were completely removed; meanwhile, approximately 80% of polar components were removed by the membrane nanofiltration. Membrane nanofiltration significantly altered the chemical composition of the SAGD-PW by removing 95.0–98.3% of total solvent extracted material (TSEM). The chemical fingerprints of the solvent extracted materials in the feed and permeate samples were characterized. The profile of polar components such as naphthenic acids (NAs) in the permeate samples is significantly different from that in the feed samples.

Investigating the potential of ammonium retention by graphene oxide ceramic nanofiltration membranes for the treatment of semiconductor wastewater

Ceramic membranes with high chemical and fouling resistance can play a critical role in treating industrial wastewater. In the present study, we demonstrate the fabrication of graphene oxide (GO) assembled ceramic nanofiltration (NF) membranes that provide effective ammonium retention and excellent fouling resistance for treating semiconductor wastewater. The GO-ceramic NF membranes were prepared via a layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly of GO and polyethyleneimine (PEI) on a ceramic ultrafiltration (UF) substrate. The successful fabrication of the GO-ceramic NF membranes was verified through surface characterization and pore size evaluation. We also investigated the performance of GO-ceramic NF membranes assembled with different numbers of bilayers for the rejection of ammonium ions. GO-ceramic NF membranes with three GO-PEI bilayers exhibited 8.4- and 3.2-times higher ammonium removal with simulated and real semiconductor wastewater, respectively, compared to the pristine ceramic UF substrate. We also assessed flux recovery after filtration using real semiconductor wastewater samples to validate the lower fouling potential of the GO-ceramic NF membranes. Results indicate that flux recovery increases from 39.1 % in the pristine UF substrate to 71.0 % and 90.8 % for the three- and ten-bilayers GO-ceramic NF membranes, respectively. The low-fouling GO-ceramic NF membranes developed in this study are effective and promising options for the removal of ammonium ions from semiconductor wastewater.

Textile Industry Wastewater Treatment by Cavitation Combined with Fenton and Ceramic Nanofiltration Membrane

This work first time reports the intensification of real wastewater treatment by combination of hydrodynamic cavitation (HC), Fenton reagent, and membrane separation. In this work, a micro-porous ceramic membrane was used for the preparation of nano-porous catalytic membrane reactor. Initially, the aluminium boehmite sol has been synthesized and coated onto the tube side of the ceramic membrane by wet impregnation technique. A layer by layer technique was adopted for the wet impregnation of boehmite sol onto the ceramic membrane. After achieving a desired number of layers coating onto the ceramic membrane, a prepared catalyst sol was further used for coating. The dried boehmite powder was characterized using X-ray diffractometer and particle size distribution analysis. Mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP) technique was used to identify the pore size distribution of modified ceramic membrane. The modified ceramic membrane was used in conjunction with HC for industrial dye wastewater treatment. The impact of process parameter such as cavitation unit (orifice) inlet pressure, intensifying chemical additive like Fenton reagent, and H2O2 dosage was investigated. HC along with intensifying chemical additives H2O2 and Fenton reagent improved the organic pollutants removal from textile industry wastewater

Integration of oxalic acid chelation and Fenton process for synergistic relaxation-oxidation of persistent gel-like fouling of ceramic nanofiltration membranes

Ceramic nanofiltration (NF) is a newly-developed technology for water recycling, but is still limited to pilot-scale applications. Lacking efficient and eco-friendly strategies for cleaning ceramic NF membrane impedes its scaling-up in industries. Forward flush, backwash and acidic/caustic cleaning are not efficient enough. In this work, a novel oxalic acid-aided Fenton process was proposed for synergistic relaxation/oxidation of persistent Ca2+-mediated gel-like fouling of ceramic NF membrane. A reactive catalyst layer was online pre-coated on top of the membrane via a pressure-driven cross-flow pre-filtration of Fe3O4 hydrosols. The gel-like fouling was simulated by alginate in the presence of Ca2+ ions. Results show that the Fe3O4 loading could be readily tuned from 0.16 to 1.34 g m−2 by altering the permeate flux during the pre-coating. The membrane permeability loss due to the pre-coating was minimal (<10%). The combination of oxalic acid chelation and Fenton-based oxidation resulted in high flux recovery (85.07%) for the iron-oxide pre-coated membrane, whereas the single treatment by hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) or oxalic acid was inefficient. This synergistic effect was attributed to relaxation of the Ca2+-mediated gel layer via oxalic acid/Ca2+ chelation, which presumably facilitated H2O2 diffusion at the Fe3O4/foulant interface. The iron-oxide pre-coated membrane maintained stable initial normalized fluxes (83.33–90.15%) through the oxalic acid/H2O2 cleaning over five cycles, with no need of refreshing the iron-oxide pre-coat. Additionally, the leaching of iron from the iron-oxide pre-coat by oxalic acid was suppressed by the oxalic acid/H2O2 combination, owing to a reactive shielding by competitive sorption of H2O2 onto the Fe3O4 surface. Overall, the synergistic relaxation/oxidation method, demonstrated in this study, provides new insights into improving reactivity of Fenton-based processes on hybrid catalytic ceramic membranes for water treatment or fouling control.

Sulfate precipitation treatment for NOM-rich ion exchange brines

Ion exchange (IEX) resins can remove natural organic matter (NOM) from drinking water sources. However, the IEX system produces a waste brine rich of sodium, chloride, NOM and sulfate. The treatment of the waste brine aims to recover a clean solution rich of sodium chloride, that can be reused to regenerate IEX resin. Previous research showed that ceramic nanofiltration partially removes NOM from the waste brine, but sulfate removal requires additional treatment. Sulfate removal by chemical precipitation was previously studied either on brines with low NOM concentrations or water with low concentrations of NOM and salts. The current work focussed on sulfate removal from NOM-rich brines by chemical dosing of (1) BaCl2, resulting in precipitation of barite (BaSO4), and (2) CaCl2, Ca(OH)2 and NaAlO2, resulting in precipitation of calcium sulfate and, subsequently, ettringite (Ca6Al2(SO4)3(OH)12). Additionally, the effect of NOM on SO42− removal was studied. Modelling and batch experiments were conducted with IEX and synthetic brines within the typical ion strength range of 0.1 to 1 M. With doses of 2.2 g of BaCl2 per g of initial sulfate, BaSO4 precipitation removed more than 83 percent of sulfate, resulting in final concentrations below 0.4 g/L even in the presence of NOM. However, NOM inhibited the precipitation of calcium sulfate and, subsequently, ettringite. With doses of 1.3 g of CaCl2, 0.5–0.7 g of Ca(OH)2 and 0.4–0.6 g of NaAlO2 per g of initial sulfate, calcium sulfate and ettringite precipitation removed between 8 and 95 percent of sulfate from NOM-rich brines, resulting in final concentrations between 0.8 and 2 g/L. As a reference, NOM-free brines required doses of 1.3 g of CaCl2, 0.2–0.7 g of Ca(OH)2 and 0.1–0.6 g of NaAlO2 per g of initial sulfate for 89 to 99 percent of sulfate removal, resulting in final concentrations of 0.2 g/L. The inhibition might be attributed to covering of crystal sites by NOM molecules, and to NOM coagulation with aluminium.

Fabrication of a charged PDA/PEI/Al2O3 composite nanofiltration membrane for desalination at high temperatures

Ceramic membranes with high thermal and chemical resistances play an important role in nanofiltration process under harsh conditions. However, the application of ceramic membranes for salt filtration is challenging due to the limitation of pore size and surface charge. Herein, composite ceramic nanofiltration membranes were prepared by the codeposition of polydopamine and polyethyleneimine (PDA/PEI), with subsequent cross-linking by glutaraldehyde (GA). Ceramic ultrafiltration membranes served as supports, endowing the composite membranes with high mechanical stabilities and good hydrophilicity. A significant improvement in the rejection of salt solutions was achieved after modification due to the strong positive surface charge and small membrane pore size. The polydopamine/PEI modification layer crosslinked by glutaraldehyde and bonded to the surface of ceramic membrane through covalent bond show good thermal resistance. At high temperatures, the composite ceramic nanofiltration membranes still have a good rejection performance for divalent salt solutions. Overall, this study offers a composite ceramic nanofiltration membrane for desalination at high temperature, allowing a sustainable chemical process.

Cerahelix moves HQ to Bangor facility

Ceramic nanofiltration membrane technology specialist Cerahelix Inc has relocated its corporate headquarters to and consolidated its operations at its manufacturing facility at the Bangor Innovation Center in Bangor, Maine, USA.

Sustainable industrial wastewater reuse using ceramic nanofiltration: results from two pilot projects in the oil and gas and the ceramics industries

Abstract The federal research project, PAkmem, deals with the recycling of industrial wastewater. The aim of the project is to develop and pilot an innovative integrative process for produced water treatment in the oil and gas industry utilizing flotation and ceramic micro-nano-membrane filtrations (MF-NF membranes) as well as the wastewater treatment of the ceramic industry with ceramic NF-membranes and electrodialysis (ED). The process utilized should remove fine particles, organic matter and divalent ions in order to make the water dischargeable or reusable (direct disposal or reuse as process water in the ceramic industry and the enhanced oil recovery reinjection in the oil and gas industry in which the water is conditioned in order to increase the oil production yield). Three pilot plants were designed and built according to strict safety standards and were operated on industrial manufacturing sites in Germany in 2019. Two innovative optical fine particle measuring techniques (inline and online) have been specially adapted for the project and integrated into the pilot plants. The results show promising technical potential for the use of ceramic membranes in the above-mentioned applications.

Industrial application of ceramic nanofiltration membranes for water treatment in oil sands mines

A commercial titania ceramic nanofiltration membrane unit with a permeate flow capacity of 20 m3/h was used to reduce ion concentration, Total Suspended Solids (TSS) and Total Organic Carbon (TOC) in recycle water from a Canadian oil sands mine. This unit, the first of its kind, was tested for almost two years to evaluate membrane performance under actual recycle process water conditions. This paper focuses on the results at a 50% stage cut. A strong correlation between specific flux and rejection was found, with the highest mass rejections observed at the lowest specific flux values. A potential formation of a cake layer on the membrane surface seems to favour the rejection since lower specific flux values improved mass rejection. The analysis of more than 20 ions showed that differences in hydrated ionic sizes and electrostatic phenomena are at play with divalent cations showing the largest rejection. Additional 75–90% TOC and almost 100% TSS rejection was observed. These results indicate that it is possible to implement this technology in an oil sands mine and obtain significant water quality improvements and reducing river water intake.

A five-stage treatment train for water recovery from urine and shower water for long-term human Space missions

Long-term human Space missions will rely on regenerative life support as resupply of water, oxygen and food comes with constraints. The International Space Station (ISS) relies on an evaporation/condensation system to recover 74–85% of the water in urine, yet suffers from repetitive scaling and biofouling while employing hazardous chemicals. In this study, an alternative non-sanitary five-stage treatment train for one “astronaut” was integrated through a sophisticated monitoring and control system. This so-called Water Treatment Unit Breadboard (WTUB) successfully treated urine (1.2-L-d−1) with crystallisation, COD-removal, ammonification, nitrification and electrodialysis, before it was mixed with shower water (3.4-L-d−1). Subsequently, ceramic nanofiltration and single-pass flat-sheet RO were used. A four-months proof-of-concept period yielded: (i) chemical water quality meeting the hygienic standards of the European Space Agency, (ii) a 87-±-5% permeate recovery with an estimated theoretical primary energy requirement of 0.2-kWhp-L−1, (iii) reduced scaling potential without anti-scalant addition and (iv) and a significant biological reduction in biofouling potential resulted in stable but biofouling-limited RO permeability of 0.5 L-m−2-h−1-bar−1. Estimated mass breakeven dates and a comparison with the ISS Water Recovery System for a hypothetical Mars transit mission show that WTUB is a promising biological membrane-based alternative to heat-based systems for manned Space missions.

Ceramic Nanofiltration Membrane Fouling: Application of Mathematical Modelling to the Use of Excitation Emission Matrix Spectroscopy

This paper presents a mathematical modeling for a series of experiments in which humic acid (AH) and calcium chloride (CaCl2) were used, in order to visualize the amount of contaminant before and after the nanofiltration (NF) process, using Excitation Emission Matrix Spectroscopy (EEMS). It allows to a better understanding of membrane fouling. The membrane used for these experiments was a NF ceramic membrane made of titanium dioxide (TiO2). For the experimental determinations, a constant amount of 10 mg/L HA and different amounts of CaCl2, respectively 1, 2, 3 and 4 mmol/L were used, considering the working methodology presented in this article. The presence of the amount of contaminant in water was determined using the EEMS method using the FP-8300 Spectrophotometer, after which a spectral analysis was performed. TableCurve 3D software was used to make the mathematical models in order to ensure that the equations obtained had the same shape. The values of the correlation coefficients, corresponding to the generated equations, have values ranging from 0.91 to 0.93. In order to verify the mathematical models thus obtained, graphs of the difference between the surface obtained with the help of the mathematical models and the surface obtained by means of real data were drawn. In conclusion, it turns out that, the largest difference was obtained in the case of samples taken from the feed, with a maximum difference of 31 fluorescence intensity arbitrary units (a.u.), and for the samples taken from the permeate the deference is 14 fluorescence intensity a.u.

Modelling and optimization studies on decolorization of brilliant green dye using integrated nanofiltration and photocatalysis

The current work explores the treatment of dye wastewater using the combination of photocatalysis and ceramic nanofiltration process. Commercial ceramic membrane and titanium dioxide (TiO2) photocatalyst were used in this study to investigate the removal of Brilliant Green (BG) dye from the synthetic dye wastewater solution. The effect of various operating parameters on dye decolorization and total organic carbon removal were investigated. The operating parameters (pH, catalyst loading and time duration) were optimized using an experimental design model namely Response Surface Methodology (RSM). The use of experimental design by RSM resulted in the improvement of dye decolorization at optimum conditions. In addition to these operating parameters, the trend of initial dye concentration and the influence of catalyst loading on permeate flux was also studied. Around 99% of decolorization was obtained by the hybrid system at 500 mg L− 1 of dye concentration, 1 g L− 1 of TiO2 dosage, pH of 4.2 and 90 min. The integrated system i.e. photocatalytic reactor with nanofiltration membrane has shown complete removal of BG dye compared to individual systems. From the present study, it can be concluded that this integrated system is one of the efficient methods for dye treatment.

Separating NOM from salts in ion exchange brine with ceramic nanofiltration

In drinking water treatment, natural organic matter (NOM) is effectively removed from surface water using ion exchange (IEX). A main drawback of using IEX for NOM removal is the production of spent IEX regeneration brine, a polluting waste that is expensive to discharge. In this work, we studied ceramic nanofiltration as a treatment for the spent NOM-rich brine, with the aim to reduce the volume of this waste and to recycle salt. Compared to polymeric nanofiltration, the fouling was limited. When NOM is rejected and concentrated, a clean permeate with the regeneration salt (NaCl) could be produced and reused in the IEX regeneration process. Bench scale studies revealed that NOM could be effectively separated from the NaCl solution by steric effects. However, the separation of NaCl from other salts present in the brine, such as Na2SO4, was not sufficient for reuse purposes. The low sulphate rejection was mainly due to the low zeta potential of the membrane at the high ionic strength of the brine. The permeate of the ceramic nanofiltration should be treated further to obtain a sodium chloride quality that can be recycled as a regenerant solution for ion exchange. Further treatment steps will benefit from the removal of NOM from the brine.