Transport Models of Ammonium Nitrogen in Wastewater from Rare Earth Smelteries by Reverse Osmosis Membranes

Shuanglin Gui, Zhaohuan Mai, Jiaqi Fu, Yuansong Wei and Jinbao Wan
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Shuanglin Gui: College of Environmental Resources and Chemical Engineering, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330029, China
Zhaohuan Mai: Institute of Energy Conversion, Jiangxi Academy of Sciences, Nanchang 330096, China
Jiaqi Fu: Institute of Energy Conversion, Jiangxi Academy of Sciences, Nanchang 330096, China
Yuansong Wei: Institute of Energy Conversion, Jiangxi Academy of Sciences, Nanchang 330096, China
Jinbao Wan: College of Environmental Resources and Chemical Engineering, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330029, China

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 15, 1-16

Abstract: Wastewater from rare earth smelteries contains large amounts of ammonium nitrogen (NH 4 + -N), which causes severe environmental problems. In this contribution, the desalination efficiency of reverse osmosis (RO) was investigated in the treatment of NH 4 Cl or NaCl solutions from 0.1 to 40 g/L under different operating pressures with a commercial RO membrane. Experimental results showed that when an operating pressure above 30 bar is applied to the 5 g/L NH 4 Cl solution, the permeate was found to meet the discharge standards of NH 4 + -N. Compared to NH 4 Cl, the permeate fluxes of NaCl solutions were higher due to the higher net driving force and lower propensity to membrane fouling. Theoretical models indicate a linear relationship between water flux and the net driving force for both NH 4 Cl and NaCl solutions. On the contrary, a power function between the salt flux and concentration difference correlated well with the experimental data for salt transport. The equations for water and salt transport obtained by this work would provide a facile and practical means for predicting the membrane performance in design and optimization of RO processes for the treatment of wastewater from the rare earth industry.

Keywords: ammonium nitrogen; reverse osmosis; mass-transfer model; concentration polarization; rare earth industry (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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