Cong Nguyen

Typical lignocellulosic wastes and by-products for biosorption process in water and wastewater treatment: A critical review

Biosorption on lignocellulosic wastes and by-products has been identified as a proper alternative to the existing technologies applied for toxic metal ion and dye removal from wastewater streams. This paper deals with utilization of typical low cost wastes and by-products produced in different food agricultural and agro-industries as biosorbent and reviews the current state of studies on a wide variety of cheap biosorbents in natural and modified forms. The efficiency of each biosorbent has been also discussed with respect to the operating conditions (e.g. temperature, hydraulic residence time, initial metal concentration, biosorbent particle size and its dosage), chemical modification on sorption capacity and preparation methods, as well as thermodynamics and kinetics.

Application of forward osmosis on dewatering of high nutrient sludge

A novel approach was designed to simultaneously apply low energy sludge dewatering and nutrient removal for activated sludge using forward osmosis (FO). In this study, the municipal wastewater sludge was spiked with different nutrient concentrations to evaluate FO dewatering performance. The results showed that sludge concentration reached 21,511 and 28,500mg/L after 28h from initial sludge concentration of 3000 and 8000mg/L with flow rate of 150mL/min. Moreover, nutrient and organic compounds in sludge solution were also successfully removed (around 96% of NH4(+)-N, 98% of PO4(3-)-P and 99% of dissolved organic carbon (DOC)) due to steric effect of FO membrane and multi barrier layer of sludge forming on membrane surface. Furthermore, the analysis from Scanning Electron Microscopy & Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) images recorded that FO membrane was fouled by cake layer of sludge in the active layer and NaCl in the support layer.

A comprehensive review: electrospinning technique for fabrication and surface modification of membranes for water treatment application

In this world of nanotechnology, nanofibrous structures offer specialized features, such as mechanical strength and a large surface area, which makes them attractive for many applications. Their large surface area to volume ratio also makes them highly efficient. Among all the techniques for generating nanofibers, electrospinning is an emerging and efficient process. Additionally, the electrospinning technique allows a uniform pore size, which is considered to be one of the important characteristics of membranes. Therefore, electrospun nanofibrous membranes have been used in water purification applications. Furthermore, the technique is widely utilized for generating membranes for membrane distillation and nanofiltration processes, for the removal of contaminants. However, in this review paper, more emphasis is given to the optimization of specific parameters and the preparation of polymeric solutions for fabricating specialized nanofibrous non-woven membranes, and surface modification for application in water treatment technology. Other issues, such as technology limitations, research challenges, and future perspectives, are also discussed.

A breakthrough biosorbent in removing heavy metals: Equilibrium, kinetic, thermodynamic and mechanism analyses in a lab-scale study

A breakthrough biosorbent namely multi-metal binding biosorbent (MMBB) made from a combination of tea wastes, maple leaves and mandarin peels, was prepared to evaluate their biosorptive potential for removal of Cd(II), Cu(II), Pb(II) and Zn(II) from multi-metal aqueous solutions. FTIR and SEM were conducted, before and after biosorption, to explore the intensity and position of the available functional groups and changes in adsorbent surface morphology. Carboxylic, hydroxyl and amine groups were found to be the principal functional groups for the sorption of metals. MMBB exhibited best performance at pH 5.5 with maximum sorption capacities of 31.73, 41.06, 76.25 and 26.63 mg/g for Cd(II), Cu(II), Pb(II) and Zn(II), respectively. Pseudo-first and pseudo-second-order models represented the kinetic experimental data in different initial metal concentrations very well. Among two-parameter adsorption isotherm models, the Langmuir equation gave a better fit of the equilibrium data. For Cu(II) and Zn(II), the Khan isotherm describes better biosorption conditions while for Cd(II) and Pb(II), the Sips model was found to provide the best correlation of the biosorption equilibrium data. The calculated thermodynamic parameters indicated feasible, spontaneous and exothermic biosorption process. Overall, this novel MMBB can effectively be utilized as an adsorbent to remove heavy metal ions from aqueous solutions.

Applicability of a novel osmotic membrane bioreactor using a specific draw solution in wastewater treatment

This study aims to develop a new osmotic membrane bioreactor by combining a moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) with forward osmosis membrane bioreactor (FOMBR) to treat wastewater. Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid disodium salt coupled with polyethylene glycol tert-octylphenyl ether was used as an innovative draw solution in this membrane hybrid system (MBBR-OsMBR) for minimizing the reverse salt flux and maintaining a healthy environment for the microorganism community. The results showed that the hybrid system achieved a stable water flux of 6.94 L/m(2) h and low salt accumulation in the bioreactor for 68 days of operation. At a filling rate of 40% (by volume of the bioreactor) of the polyethylene balls used as carriers, NH4(+)-N and PO4(3-)-P were almost removed (>99%) while producing relatively low NO3(-)-N and NO2(-)-N in the effluent (e.g. <0.56 and 0.96 mg/L, respectively). Furthermore, from analysis based on scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and fluorescence emission-excitation matrix spectrophotometry, there was a thin gel-like fouling layer on the FO membrane, which composed of bacteria as well as biopolymers and protein-like substances. Nonetheless, the formation of these fouling layers of the FO membrane in MBBR-OsMBR was reversible and removed by a physical cleaning technique.

A new class of draw solutions for minimizing reverse salt flux to improve forward osmosis desalination

The applications of forward osmosis (FO) have been hindered because of the lack of an optimal draw solution. The reverse salt flux from the draw solution not only reduces the water flux but also increases the cost of draw solute replenishment. Therefore, in this study, Tergitol NP7 and NP9 with a long straight carbon chain and low critical micelle concentration (CMC) were coupled with highly charged ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) as an innovative draw solution to minimize reverse salt diffusion in FO for the first time. The results showed that the lowest reverse salt flux of 0.067 GMH was observed when 0.1M EDTA-2Na coupled with 15mM NP7 was used as a draw solution and deionized water was used as a feed solution in FO mode (active layer facing with the feed solution). This is due to the hydrophobic interaction between the tails of NP7 and the FO membrane, thus creating layers on the membrane surface and constricting the FO membrane pores. Moreover, 1M EDTA-2Na coupled with 15mM NP7 is promising as an optimal draw solution for brackish water and sea water desalination. Average water fluxes of 7.68, 6.78, and 5.95 LMH were achieved when brackish water was used as a feed solution (5, 10, and 20g/L NaCl), and an average water flux of 3.81 LMH was achieved when sea water was used as a feed solution (35g/L NaCl). The diluted draw solution was recovered using a nanofiltration (NF-TS80) membrane with a high efficiency of 95% because of the high charge and large size of the draw solution.

A novel osmosis membrane bioreactor-membrane distillation hybrid system for wastewater treatment and reuse

A novel approach was designed to simultaneously enhance nutrient removal and reduce membrane fouling for wastewater treatment using an attached growth biofilm (AGB) integrated with an osmosis membrane bioreactor (OsMBR) system for the first time. In this study, a highly charged organic compound (HEDTA(3-)) was employed as a novel draw solution in the AGB-OsMBR system to obtain a low reverse salt flux, maintain a healthy environment for the microorganisms. The AGB-OsMBR system achieved a stable water flux of 3.62L/m(2)h, high nutrient removal of 99% and less fouling during a 60-day operation. Furthermore, the high salinity of diluted draw solution could be effectively recovered by membrane distillation (MD) process with salt rejection of 99.7%. The diluted draw solution was re-concentrated to its initial status (56.1mS/cm) at recovery of 9.8% after 6h. The work demonstrated that novel multi-barrier systems could produce high quality potable water from impaired streams.

Exploring high charge of phosphate as new draw solute in a forward osmosis–membrane distillation hybrid system for concentrating high-nutrient sludge

For the first time, a high charge of phosphate was used as the draw solute in a forward osmosis-membrane distillation (FO-MD) hybrid system for concentrating high-nutrient sludge. A high water flux (12.5L/m(2)h) and a low reverse salt flux (0.84g/m(2)) were simultaneously achieved at pH9 by using 0.1M Na3PO4 as the draw solute and deionized water as the feed solution in the FO process. The specific reverse salt flux of 0.1M Na3PO4 (Js/Jw=0.07g/L) was considerably less than that of 0.1M NaCl (Js/Jw=0.37g/L) because the complexion between Na(+) and HPO4(2-) at pH9 led to the reduction of free Na(+) ions, which subsequently reduced the reverse salt diffusion substantially. Moreover, for a feed solution with an initial sludge concentration of 3500mg/L, the sludge concentration could be concentrated to 19,800 and 22,000mg/L in the pressure-retarded osmosis (PRO) and FO membrane orientations, respectively, after 15h of operation. Four types of MD membranes were selected for draw solution recovery; of these, a polytetrafluoroethylene membrane with a pore size of 0.45μm was the most effective in achieving a high water flux (10.28L/m(2)h) and high salt rejection (approximately 100%) in a diluted Na3PO4 draw solution.

Effects of hydraulic retention time and bioflocculant addition on membrane fouling in a sponge-submerged membrane bioreactor.

The characteristics of activated sludge and membrane fouling were evaluated in a sponge-submerged membrane bioreactor (SSMBR) at different hydraulic retention times (HRTs) (6.67, 5.33 and 4.00h). At shorter HRT, more obvious membrane fouling was caused by exacerbated cake layer formation and aggravated pore blocking. Activated sludge possessed more extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) due to excessive growth of biomass and lower protein to polysaccharide ratio in soluble microbial products (SMP). The cake layer resistance was aggravated by increased sludge viscosity together with the accumulated EPS and biopolymer clusters (BPC) on membrane surface. However, SMP showed marginal effect on membrane fouling when SSMBRs were operated at all HRTs. The SSMBR with Gemfloc® addition at the optimum HRT of 6.67h demonstrated superior sludge characteristics such as larger floc size, less SMP in mixed liquor with higher protein/polysaccharide ratio, less SMP and BPC in cake layer, thereby further preventing membrane fouling.

Application of forward osmosis (FO) under ultrasonication on sludge thickening of waste activated sludge

Forward osmosis (FO) is an emerging process for dewatering solid-liquid stream which has the potential to be innovative and sustainable. However, the applications have still been hindered by low water flux and membrane fouling when activated sludge is used as the feed solution due to bound water from microbial cells. Hence, a novel strategy was designed to increase sludge thickening and reduce membrane fouling in the FO process under ultrasonic condition. The results from the ultrasound/FO hybrid system showed that the sludge concentration reached up to 20,400 and 28,400 mg/L from initial sludge concentrations of 3000 and 8000 mg/L with frequency of 40 kHz after 22 hours, while the system without ultrasound had to spend 26 hours to achieve the same sludge concentration. This identifies that the presence of ultrasound strongly affected sludge structure as well as sludge thickening of the FO process. Furthermore, the ultrasound/FO hybrid system could achieve NH4+-N removal efficiency of 96%, PO4(3-)-P of 98% and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) of 99%. The overall performance demonstrates that the proposed ultrasound/FO system using seawater as a draw solution is promising for sludge thickening application.