Grantee Research Project Results
Development of Reliable, Cost-Effective Membrane Technology for Industrial Wastewater Treatment
EPA Contract Number: 68D02032Title: Development of Reliable, Cost-Effective Membrane Technology for Industrial Wastewater Treatment
Investigators: Pinnau, Ingo
Small Business: Membrane Technology and Research Inc.
EPA Contact: Richards, April
Phase: I
Project Period: April 1, 2002 through September 1, 2002
Project Amount: $70,000
RFA: Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) - Phase I (2002) RFA Text | Recipients Lists
Research Category: Watersheds , SBIR - Water and Wastewater , Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)
Description:
Many industrial wastewater producers are being required to treat their wastewater prior to discharge to publicly owned treatment works. These streams often are relatively small (< 50,000 gal/day), but they contain several categories of pollutants that make them difficult to treat with any one technology. Reverse osmosis can produce dischargeable water from these streams at a very economical cost, provided the process reliability can be improved. The key problem is membrane fouling leading to a rapid decline in membrane flux. Membrane Technology and Research, Inc.'s project involves the development of a new type of nonfouling reverse osmosis membrane in a process design that could solve the fouling problem. In Phase I, the membranes will be tested with model fouling solutions, along with commercial membranes as controls to demonstrate the overall feasibility of the approach. In a subsequent Phase II project, a small pilot system will be built and operated.Supplemental Keywords:
small business, SBIR, membrane, industrial wastewater, fouling, reverse osmosis, cost effective., Scientific Discipline, Water, Chemical Engineering, Environmental Chemistry, Wastewater, Chemistry, Environmental Engineering, Engineering, Chemistry, & Physics, wastewater treatment, industrial wastewater, wastewater remediation, membrane filtration, membrane-based, alternative technology, emulsified liquids, nonfouling membrane, fouling resistant membranes, wastewater discharges, aqueous waste, aqueous waste stream, membrane technologyProgress and Final Reports:
The perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.