Evaluation of new reverseJosmosis membrane for the separation of toxic compounds from waste water.

Abstract

Efforts were made to select the most effective reverse osmosis membrane materials for treating the MUST hospital wastewaters. This was accomplished with the advent of the NS-100 and the aromatic polyamide membranes. An extensive studies on the characteristics of the NS-100 membrane was conducted. These included formulation of mathematical models for optimsing the casting conditions for flat sheet NS-100, predicting its performance under varous operating conditions, and relating its surface structure to its degree of separation of organic compounds using a simple test with sodium chloride solution. In addition, exploratory work was conducted on the potential application of both NS-100 and aromatic polyamide membranes (B-9 and B-10 permeators) to other wastewaters. The objectives of the last stage of this study were to evaluate the engineering parameters involved in applying NS-100 membranes to the treatment of wastewater. The tasks included optimising the casting of tubular NS-100 membrane, evaluating the chemical stability of NS-100 towards oxidants, studying the effects of additives on the ability of the membrane to maintain its performance, and developing a computer program for the design of a large treatment plant using results of tests on single tubes or tubular modules. (A)