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MEMBRANES FOR TREATMENT OF HAZARDOUS WASTEWATER
Citation:
Hestekin, J. A., D. Bhattacharyya, S K. Sikdar*, AND B. M. Kim. MEMBRANES FOR TREATMENT OF HAZARDOUS WASTEWATER. Chapter 13, Robert A. Meyers (ed.), Encyclopedia of Environmental Analysis and Remediation. John Wiley & Sons Incorporated, New York, NY, 2:2684-2708, (1998).
Impact/Purpose:
publish information
Description:
Various types of membrane processes have been applied to separating soluble and particulate matters from aqueous streams of numerous descriptions. The extent of separation required depends on the ultimate use of produced water, which may need to be potable, recyclable, or disposable to receiving streams. The known applications cover both porous membranes, such as those in nanofiltration (NF), ultrafiltration (UF), and microfiltration (MF), and dense membranes, such as those in reverse osmosis (RO) and pervaporation (PV). It is useful to evaluate environmental applications of membranes in terms of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) environmental management hierarchy. The preference of waste disposal techniques follows the order: reduction or elimination of waste at the source to recycling wastes for reuse to treatment or destruction of wastes to disposal in deep wells or in a landfill. Considered in these terms, membranes can be employed for purification of raw materials such that impurities or pollutants entering a process can be isolated at the outset and prevented from polluting products or diluted in process streams. Membranes can also be used for in-process recycling, leading to better use of reactants or byproducts, and for concentrating process streams. Last, membranes so far have not been seen as a means of disposing of wastes, although this application cannot be ruled out.
