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6CCVD Research

Membrane preconcentration as an efficient tool to reduce the energy consumption of perfluorohexanoic acid electrochemical treatment

At a Glance

Section titled “At a Glance”
MetadataDetails
Publication Date2018-03-24
JournalSeparation and Purification Technology
AuthorsÁlvaro Soriano, Daniel Gorri, Ane Urtiaga
InstitutionsUniversidad de Cantabria
Citations31

Abstract

Section titled “Abstract”

One of the key points for the large-scale implementation of electrochemical water treatment technologies lies in the need of reducing the energy consumption. The present work analyzes the removal of persistent perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA, 204 mg L−1) from industrial process waters using a strategy that combines membrane pre-concentration followed by electrooxidation of the concentrate. A mathematical model describing the nanofiltration (NF) system was developed and complemented with new and background experimental data of PFHxA and ion species rejections and total permeate flux through the NF270 and NF90 membranes. Similarly, the kinetics of PFHxA electrolysis on boron doped diamond anodes was determined at laboratory scale. Later, the model was used to simulate the NF-ELOX integrated process, where a commercial spiral wound unit (membrane area 7.6 m2) was implemented and the electrooxidation unit was scaled-up to pilot plant (anode area 1.05 m2). The obtained energy savings depended on a combination of the target PFHxA removal ratio at the end of the treatment train, the separation performance of the commercial membrane and the reduction of the electrolyte ohmic resistance in the electrooxidation stage, that was attained as a result of the increase of salts content in the concentrate. Only the tight NF90 membrane allowed to achieve high (99%) PFHxA removal ratios in the integrated NF-ELOX process, and the specific energy consumption was estimated at 11.6 kWh m−3, 59.2% less than when electrolysis alone was applied. Still, the electrolysis is the most energy demanding step, with 85.9% contribution to the total energy consumption. The strategy of combining membrane pre-concentration with electrochemical degradation could be extended to the treatment of other highly persistent organic compounds.

Tech Support

Section titled “Tech Support”

Original Source

Section titled “Original Source”

References

Section titled “References”
  1. 2015 - Review on the occurrence, fate and removal of perfluorinated compounds during wastewater treatment [Crossref]
  2. 2018 - Photocatalytic degradation and mineralization of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) using a composite TiO2−rGO catalyst [Crossref]
  3. 2017 - Perfluorinated alkyl substances (PFASs) in northern Spain municipal solid waste landfill leachates [Crossref]
  4. 2014 - Occurrence of perfluorinated compounds in the aquatic environment as found in science park effluent, river water, rainwater, sediments, and biotissues [Crossref]
  5. 2015 - Hazard assessment of fluorinated alternatives to long-chain perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) and their precursors: Status quo, ongoing challenges and possible solutions [Crossref]
  6. 2013 - Fluorinated alternatives to long-chain perfluoroalkyl carboxylic acids (PFCAs), perfluoroalkane sulfonic acids (PFSAs) and their potential precursors [Crossref]
  7. 2015 - Highly efficient electrochemical degradation of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) by F-doped Ti/SnO2 electrode [Crossref]
  8. 2012 - Electrochemical degradation of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) by Ti/SnO2-Sb, Ti/SnO2-Sb/PbO2 and Ti/SnO2-Sb/MnO2 anodes [Crossref]

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