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Modeling and transport parameters during nanofiltration of degreasing effluent from a tannery
Author(s) -
Prabhavathy C.,
De S.
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
asia‐pacific journal of chemical engineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.348
H-Index - 35
eISSN - 1932-2143
pISSN - 1932-2135
DOI - 10.1002/apj.478
Subject(s) - nanofiltration , laminar flow , chemistry , permeation , filtration (mathematics) , membrane , turbulence , effluent , chromatography , environmental engineering , thermodynamics , environmental science , mathematics , biochemistry , physics , statistics
Degreasing effluent from a tannery is treated using a single‐step membrane separation (nanofiltration) process in continuous cross‐flow mode. The flow regimes encompass the laminar and turbulent zones, including laminar flows with turbulent promoters. Experimental results are reported in the range of transmembrane pressure drop from 828 to 1242 kPa for all three flow regimes. More than 50% flux enhancement is observed by using turbulent promoters compared to purely laminar flow. The performance criteria of the filtration are evaluated in terms of chemical oxygen demand (COD), total dissolved solids (TDS), total solids (TS), pH and conductivity of the permeate. The proposed scheme successfully reduces COD to well below the permissible limits (250 mg/l). A combination of osmotic pressure and solution‐diffusion model is used for nanofiltration. Three relevant transport coefficients, namely, the effective osmotic coefficient, solute diffusivity and solute permeability through the membrane are estimated by minimising the sum of errors between the experimental and calculated permeate flux and permeate concentrations. Copyright © 2010 Curtin University of Technology and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.