Pilot study for the treatment of sodium and fluoride-contaminated groundwater by using high-pressure membrane systems

doi:10.1007/s11783-014-0740-3

Front. Environ. Sci. Eng.

2015, Vol. 9

Issue (1) : 155-163 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-014-0740-3

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Pilot study for the treatment of sodium and fluoride-contaminated groundwater by using high-pressure membrane systems

Xiaomao WANG¹,Hongwei YANG¹,Zhenyu LI^1,^*(

),Shaoxia YANG²,Yuefeng XIE^1,³

1. State Key Joint Laboratory of Environmental Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
2. National Engineering Laboratory for Biomass Power Generation Equipment, School of Renewable Energy, North China Electric Power University, Beijing 102206, China
3. Environmental Engineering Programs, The Pennsylvania State University, Middletown, PA 17057, USA

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Abstract

High-pressure membrane process is one of the cost-effective technologies for the treatment of groundwater containing excessive dissolved solids. This paper reports a pilot study in treating a typical groundwater in Huaibei Plain containing excessive sodium, sulfate and fluoride ions. Three membrane systems were set up and two brands of reverse osmosis (RO), four low-pressure RO (LPRO) and one tight nanofiltration (NF) membranes were tested under this pilot study. An apparent recovery rate at about 75% was adopted. Cartridge filtration, in combination with dosing antiscalent, was not sufficient to reduce the fouling potential of the raw water. All RO and LPRO systems (except for the two severely affected by membrane fouling) demonstrated similar rejection ratios of the conductivity (~98.5%), sodium (~98.5%) and fluoride (~99%). Membrane fouling substantially reduced the rejection performance of the fouled membranes. The tight NF membrane also had a good rejection on conductivity (95%), sodium (94%) and fluoride (95%). All membranes rejected sulfate ion almost completely (more than 99%). The electricity consumptions for the RO, LPRO and NF systems were 1.74, 1.10 and 0.72 kWh?m^-3treated water, respectively. The estimated treatment costs by using typical RO, LPRO and tight NF membrane systems were 1.21, 0.98 and 0.96 CNY?m^-3 finished water, respectively. A treatment process consisting of either LPRO or tight NF facilities following multi-media filtration was suggested.

Keywords reverse osmosis (RO) nanofiltration (NF) water quality standards sodium fluoride cost estimation

Corresponding Author(s): Zhenyu LI

Online First Date: 04 July 2014 Issue Date: 31 December 2014

Cite this article:

Yuefeng XIE,Xiaomao WANG,Hongwei YANG, et al. Pilot study for the treatment of sodium and fluoride-contaminated groundwater by using high-pressure membrane systems[J]. Front. Environ. Sci. Eng., 2015, 9(1): 155-163.

URL:

https://academic.hep.com.cn/fese/EN/10.1007/s11783-014-0740-3
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fese/EN/Y2015/V9/I1/155

Fig.1 Schematic diagrams of (a) membrane System 1 and (b) membrane System 2 and System 3

Tab.1 The high-pressure membranes tested during the pilot study period

Tab.2 The raw water qualities to be treated by the pilot-scale systems

Fig.2 The raw water quality during the pilot study

Fig.3 Comparison of the rejection of sodium and sulfate ions with that of the conductivity by the 7 membranes

Fig.4 Variation of (a) the applied pressure and the permeation flux and (b) the rejection ratios of the conductivity, sodium and chloride ions by M-4 with the run time

Fig.5 Autopsy of a fouled membrane element showing (a) the fouled membrane surface, which was then (b) observed under scanning electronic microscope and (c) analyzed by energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy

Fig.6 Comparison of the rejection of fluoride and chloride ions with that of the conductivity by the 7 membranes

Fig.7 Dependence of the rejection of the conductivity and chloride ion with the applied pressure for M-5 and M-7

Fig.8 Box-and-whisker plot of electricity consumption of the 7 membrane systems

Tab.3 The estimated capital and operating costs for the typical RO, LPRO and NF systems treating the raw water (unit: CNY?m^-3 treated water)

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