The internal reflux effect on dialysis through the retentate phase of a countercurrently cross-flow rectangular module is investigated. Theoretical analysis of mass transfer in cross-flow devices with or without recycling is analogous to heat transfer in cross-flow heat exchangers. In contrast to a device without reflux, considerable mass transfer is achievable if cross-flow dialyzers are operated with reflux, which provides an increase in fluid velocity, resulting in a reduction in mass-transfer resistance. It is concluded that reflux can enhance mass transfer, especially for large flow rate and feed-concentration operated under high reflux ratio.

Ultra-pure water (UPW), a highly treated water free of colloidal material and of a conductivity less than 0.06 <TEX>${\mu}S$</TEX>, is an essential component required by modern industry. One of the methods for UPW production is the electrodialysis-ion exchange (ED/IE) system, in which the electrodialysis (ED) process is used as a preliminary demineralization step. The IE step can be replaced with electrodeionization (EDI) to decrease the volume of post-regeneration lyes. In this paper, the electrodialysis process carried out to relatively low diluate conductivity was investigated and the costs of UPW production were calculated. The optimal value of desalination degree by ED in the ED/IE and ED/EDI systems was estimated. UPW unit costs for integrated ED/IE and ED/EDI systems were compared to simple ion exchange and other methods for UPW production (RO-IE, RO-EDI). The minimal UPW unit costs in ED/EDI integrated system were estimated as $0.37/<TEX>$m^3$</TEX> for feed TDS 600 mg/L and $0.36/<TEX>$m^3$</TEX> for feed TDS 400 mg/L at 64 <TEX>$m^3/h$</TEX> capacity, which was lower than in the comparable ED/IE integrated system ($0.42-0.44/<TEX>$m^3$</TEX>). The presented results suggest that an ED/EDI integrated system may be economically viable.

A membrane bioreactor (MBR) with sludge retention time (SRT) of 300 days was maintained for over 2 years. Polypropylene microfiltration (MF) membrane with pore size of 0.2 <TEX>${\mu}m$</TEX> was used in the MBR system. The fouling behaviors of various sludge fractions from the MBR were studied and sub-divided resistances were analyzed. It was observed that <TEX>$R_{cp}$</TEX> was a dominant resistance during the filtration of activated sludge, contributing 63.0% and 59.6% to the total resistance for MBR and sequential batch reactor (SBR) respectively. On the other hand, <TEX>$R_c$</TEX> played the significant role during the filtration of supernatant and solutes, varying between 54.54% and 67.18%. Compared with <TEX>$R_{cp}$</TEX> and <TEX>$R_c$</TEX>, <TEX>$R_{if}$</TEX> was negligible, and <TEX>$R_m$</TEX> values remained constant at <TEX>$0.20{\times}10^{12}m^{-1}$</TEX>. Furthermore, resistances of all sludge fractions increased linearly with rising mixed liquor suspended solids (MLSS) concentration and growing trans-membrane pressure (TMP), while the relationship was inversed between fraction resistances and cross flow velocity (CFV). Among all fractions of activated sludge, suspended solid was the main contributor to the total resistance. A compact cake layer was clearly observed according to the field emission scanning electro microscopy (FE-SEM) images.

Laboratory tests were performed to determine the efficiency of dye solution desalination by electrodialysis. The study involved anionic dye and mineral salt recovery by obtaining two streams from a salt and dye mixture - dye-rich solution and salt solution. A standard anion-exchange and cation-exchange membranes or monovalent selective anion-exchange membranes were used in the ED stack. It was found that the separation efficiency was strongly dependent on the dye molecular weight. The best results for standard ion-exchange membranes were achieved for the desalination of Direct Black solution. Furthermore, the obtained results implied that the application of monovalent selective anion-exchange membranes improved the recovery of dye and salt solutions - the dye concentration in the diluate remained constant irrespective of the molecular weight of anionic dyes, whereas the salt recovery remained very high (99.5%).

During cleaning steps, ultrafiltration membranes are mechanically and chemically stressed. This may result in membrane degradations and failures. In this paper, polysulfone membranes were used to evaluate membrane deteriorations by commercial detergents in static conditions. Ageing of the membrane was simulated by immersing samples in solutions containing commercial detergents with various concentrations, temperatures and times defined by experimental designs. Indeed, an innovative approach in the chemical membranes ageing researches, based on methodological tools, was used in order to achieve significant ageing experiments without using an accelerated ageing protocol. The macroscopic changes were monitored by permeability measurements and mechanical strength tests coupled with a microscopic characterization by ATR-FTIR and HRSEM. The present work details results obtained for three commercial detergents: an alkaline, an acidic and an enzymatic detergent. It was found that the detergents used in the industrial advised conditions (concentration, temperature and time of contact) were not detrimental for membrane properties (permeability and elongation at break) and so for the quality of the produced water. Over the industrial cumulated time of contact, different ageing effects can be observed and compared with the ones induced by NaOCl.

The process of electromembrane transformation of L-lysine monohydrochlorides into their zwitterionic form in four- and two-chamber electrodialysis apparatus was investigated. The process of transformation at various concentrations of lysine monohydrochloride (0.1-0.6 mol.L-1) was studied and it was established that at the optimum density of current optimal concentrations of lysine hydrochloride during electrodyalisis was in the range of 0.2-0.4 mol.L-1. It was determined that the process of total transformation was accomplished when pH of the lysine solution achieved 10. Changes of concentrations of Cl‾ ions and lysine diffused into the neighboring chamber were determined depending on the time. The method developed by us allows adjusting the removal coefficient of Cl‾ ions during transformation to a maximal value, the losses of lysine diffused into the next chamber after its return to the technological cycle being less than 1.0 %. The specific energy consumption during the process of transformation in two- and four-chamber electrodialyzers was 0.19 and 0.205 A.h.kg-1 and the current efficiency was 75.9 and 73.1 %, correspondingly. Study of the process of electromembrane transformation allowed obtaining zwitterionic form of L-lysine from L-lysine monohydrochloride with minimal reagent and energy consumption.

Ultrafiltration is an emerging technology for drinking water treatment because it produces better water quality as compared with conventional treatment systems. More recently, the combination of UF technology with other processes in order to improve its performance has been observed. These associations aim to maximize the contaminants removal and reduce membrane fouling. The operational performance of contaminants removal and water production of two UF pilot plants was compared. The first plant (Guarapiranga) was fed with raw water and the second plant (ABV) with pre-treated water by the coagulation, flocculation and sedimentation processes at Alto da Boa Vista WTP (Sao Paulo, Brazil). Both units operated continuously for approximately 2,500 hours, from September/2009 to January/2010. The results showed that the ABV UF pilot plant was able to operate at higher specific fluxes (6.2 L.d−1.m−2.kPa−1 @ 25oC) than Guarapiranga (3.1 L.d−1.m−2.kPa−1 @ 25oC). However, the number of chemical cleanings conducted in both pilot units during the considered operation period was the same (4 chemical cleanings for each plant), which shows that the pre-treatment reduced the membrane fouling. The water quality at ABV for all the variables analyzed was better, but the feed water quality was also better due to pretreatment. The rejection values for the different contaminants were higher at Guarapiranga mainly because of a pollution load reduction after pretreatment at ABV. Even with the better performance of the ABV UF pilot plant, it is necessary to take into consideration the complexity of the complete treatment system, and also the costs involved in the construction and operation of a full-scale treatment unit.

Membrane distillation process was used for desalination of hot (333 K) geothermal water, which was applied in the plant producing heating water. The investigated water contained 120 g salts/dm3, mainly NaCl. The mineral composition was studied using an ion chromatography method. The obtained rejection of solutes was closed to 100%, but the small amounts of NH3 also diffused through the membrane together with water vapour. However, the composition of obtained distillate allowed to use it as a makeup water in the heating water system. The geothermal water under study was concentrated from 120 to 286 g NaCl/dm3. This increase in the solution concentration caused the permeate flux decline by a 10-20%. The geothermal water contained sulphates, which was subjected to two–fold concentration to achieve the concentration 2.4-2.6 g SO4 2−/dm3 and the sulphates then crystallized in the form of calcium sulphate. As a results, an intensive membranes scaling and the permeate flux decline was observed. The XRD analysis indicated that beside the gypsum also the NaCl crystallites were deposited on the membrane surfaces. The fresh geothermal water dissolved the mixed CaSO4 and NaCl deposit from the membrane surface. This property can be utilized for self-cleaning of MD modules. Using a batch feeding of MD installation, the concentration of geothermal water was carried out over 800 h, without significant performance losses.

The air gap membrane distillation (AGMD) process was applied for water desalination. The main objective of the present work was to study the heat and mass transfer mechanism of the process. The experiments were performed on a flat sheet module using aqueous NaCl solutions as a feed. The membrane employed was hydrophobic PTFE of pore size 0.22 . A mathematical model is proposed to evaluate the membrane mass transfer coefficient, thermal boundary layers` heat transfer coefficients, membrane / liquid interface temperatures and the temperature polarization coefficients. The mass transfer model was validated by the experimentally and fitted well with the combined Knudsen and molecular diffusion mechanism. The mass transfer coefficient increased with an increase in feed bulk temperature. The experimental parameters such as, feed temperature, 313 to 333 K, feed velocity, 0.8 to 1.8 m/s (turbulent flow region) were analyzed. The permeation fluxes increased with feed temperature and velocity. The effect of feed bulk temperature on the boundary layers` heat transfer coefficients was shown and fairly discussed. The temperature polarization coefficient increased with feed velocity and decreased with temperature. The values obtained were 0.56 to 0.82, indicating the effective heat transfer of the system. The fouling was observed during the 90 h experimental run in the application of natural ground water and seawater. The time dependent fouling resistance can be added in the total transport resistance.

The sulfatation of chitosan, by reaction with chlorosulfonic acid under controlled conditions, allowed increasing the pH range of chitosan solubility. The biopolymer was characterized using FTIR and <TEX>$^{13}C$</TEX>-NMR spectroscopy, elemental analysis and titration analysis and it was tested for mercury recovery by polymer enhanced ultrafiltration (PEUF). In slightly alkaline conditions (i.e., pH 8) mercury recovery was possible and at saturation of the polymer the molar ratio <TEX>$-NH_2$</TEX>/Hg(II) tended to 2.6. Polymer recycling was possible changing the pH to 2 and the polymer was reused for 3 cycles maintaining high metal recovery. The presence of chloride ions influences metal speciation and affinity for the polymer and "playing" with metal speciation allowed using the PEUF process for mercury separation from cadmium; at pH 11 the formation of hydroxo-complexes of Hg(II) limits it retention. Cake formation reveals the predominant controlling step for permeation flux.