1
|
Sawunyama L, Olatunde OC, Oyewo OA, Bopape MF, Onwudiwe DC. Application of coal fly ash based ceramic membranes in wastewater treatment: A sustainable alternative to commercial materials. Heliyon 2024; 10:e24344. [PMID: 38298659 PMCID: PMC10828652 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e24344] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2023] [Revised: 12/17/2023] [Accepted: 01/08/2024] [Indexed: 02/02/2024] Open
Abstract
The continued increase in the global population has resulted in increased water demand for domestic, agricultural, and industrial purposes. These activities have led to the generation of high volumes of wastewater, which has an impact on water quality. Consequently, more practical solutions are needed to improve the current wastewater treatment systems. The use of improved ceramic membranes for wastewater treatment holds significant prospects for advancement in water treatment and sanitation. Hence, different studies have employed ceramic membranes in wastewater treatment and the search for low-cost and environmentally friendly starting materials has continued to engender research interests. This review focuses on the application of coal fly ash in membrane technology for wastewater treatment. The processes of membrane fabrication and the various limitations of the material. Several factors that influence the properties and performance of coal fly ash ceramic membranes in wastewater treatment are also presented. Some possible solutions to the limitations are also proposed, while cost analysis of coal fly ash-based membranes is explored to evaluate its potential for large-scale applications.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Lawrence Sawunyama
- Materials Science Innovation and Modelling (MaSIM) Research Focus Area, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, Private Bag X2046, Mmabatho, 2735, South Africa
- Department of Chemistry, School of Physical and Chemical Sciences, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, Private Bag X2046, Mmabatho, 2735, South Africa
| | - Olalekan C. Olatunde
- Materials Science Innovation and Modelling (MaSIM) Research Focus Area, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, Private Bag X2046, Mmabatho, 2735, South Africa
- Department of Chemistry, School of Physical and Chemical Sciences, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, Private Bag X2046, Mmabatho, 2735, South Africa
| | - Opeyemi A. Oyewo
- Department of Chemical Engineering, College of Science, Engineering and Technology, University of South Africa, South Africa
| | - Mokgadi F. Bopape
- Department of Chemical, Metallurgical and Material Engineering, Tshwane University of Technology, Private Bag x680, Pretoria, 0001, South Africa
| | - Damian C. Onwudiwe
- Materials Science Innovation and Modelling (MaSIM) Research Focus Area, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, Private Bag X2046, Mmabatho, 2735, South Africa
- Department of Chemistry, School of Physical and Chemical Sciences, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, North-West University, Mafikeng Campus, Private Bag X2046, Mmabatho, 2735, South Africa
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Nthunya LN, Bopape MF, Mahlangu OT, Mamba BB, Van der Bruggen B, Quist-Jensen CA, Richards H. Fouling, performance and cost analysis of membrane-based water desalination technologies: A critical review. J Environ Manage 2022; 301:113922. [PMID: 34731960 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.113922] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2021] [Revised: 09/06/2021] [Accepted: 10/06/2021] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
While water is a key resource required to sustain life, freshwater sources and aquifers are being depleted at an alarming rate. As a mitigation strategy, saline water desalination is commonly used to supplement the available water resources beyond direct water supply. This is achieved through effective advanced water purification processes enabled to handle complex matrix of saline wastewater. Membrane technology has been extensively evaluated for water desalination. This includes the use of reverse osmosis (RO) (the most mature membrane technology for desalination), pervaporation (PV), electrodialysis (ED), membrane distillation (MD), and membrane crystallization (MCr). Though nanofiltration (NF) is not mainly applied for desalination purposes, it is included in the reviewed processes because of its ability to reach 90% salt rejection efficiency for water softening. However, its comparison with other technologies is not provided since NF cannot be used for removal of NaCl during desalination. Remarkably, membrane processes remain critically affected by several challenges including membrane fouling. Moreover, capital expenditure (CAPEX) and operating expenditure (OPEX) are the key factors influencing the establishment of water desalination processes. Therefore, this paper provides a concise and yet comprehensive review of the membrane processes used to desalt saline water. Furthermore, the successes and failures of each process are critically reviewed. Finally, the CAPEX and OPEX of these water desalination processes are reviewed and compared. Based on the findings of this review, MD is relatively comparable to RO in terms of process performance achieving 99% salt rejections. Also, high salt rejections are reported on ED and PV. The operation and maintenance (O&M) costs remain lower in ED. Notably, the small-scale MD OPEX falls below that of RO. However, the large-scale O&M in MD is rarely reported due to its slow industrial growth, thus making RO the most preferred in the current water desalination markets.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Lebea N Nthunya
- Molecular Sciences Institute, School of Chemistry, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag X3, 2050, Johannesburg, South Africa.
| | - Mokgadi F Bopape
- Department of Chemical, Metallurgical and Material Engineering, Tshwane University of Technology, Private Bag x680, Pretoria, 0001, South Africa; Department of Chemical Engineering, KU Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200F, B-3001 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Oranso T Mahlangu
- Institute for Nanotechnology and Water Sustainability, College of Science, Engineering and Technology, University of South Africa, Florida 1709, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Bhekie B Mamba
- Institute for Nanotechnology and Water Sustainability, College of Science, Engineering and Technology, University of South Africa, Florida 1709, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Bart Van der Bruggen
- Department of Chemical Engineering, KU Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200F, B-3001 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Cejna Anna Quist-Jensen
- Center for Membrane Technology, Department of Chemistry and Bioscience, Aalborg University, Fredrik Bajers Vej 7H, 9220, Aalborg, Denmark
| | - Heidi Richards
- Molecular Sciences Institute, School of Chemistry, University of the Witwatersrand, Private Bag X3, 2050, Johannesburg, South Africa
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Bopape MF, Van Geel T, Dutta A, Van der Bruggen B, Onyango MS. Numerical Modelling Assisted Design of a Compact Ultrafiltration (UF) Flat Sheet Membrane Module. Membranes (Basel) 2021; 11:membranes11010054. [PMID: 33466652 PMCID: PMC7828695 DOI: 10.3390/membranes11010054] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2020] [Revised: 01/06/2021] [Accepted: 01/11/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
The increasing adoption of ultra-low pressure (ULP) membrane systems for drinking water treatment in small rural communities is currently hindered by a limited number of studies on module design. Detailed knowledge on both intrinsic membrane transport properties and fluid hydrodynamics within the module is essential in understanding ULP performance prediction, mass transfer analysis for scaling-up between lab-scale and industrial scale research. In comparison to hollow fiber membranes, flat sheet membranes present certain advantages such as simple manufacture, sheet replacement for cleaning, moderate packing density and low to moderate energy usage. In the present case study, a numerical model using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) of a novel custom flat sheet membrane module has been designed in 3D to predict fluid flow conditions. The permeate flux through the membrane decreased with an increase in spacer curviness from 2.81 L/m2h for no (0%) curviness to 2.73 L/m2h for full (100%) curviness. A parametric analysis on configuration variables was carried out to determine the optimum design variables and no significant influence of spacer inflow or outflow thickness on the fluid flow were observed. The numerical model provides the necessary information on the role of geometrical and operating parameters for fabricating a module prototype where access to technical expertise is limited.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mokgadi F Bopape
- Department of Chemical Engineering, KU Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200F, B-3001 Leuven, Belgium;
- Department of Chemical, Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Tshwane University of Technology (TUT), Private Bag X680, Pretoria 0001, South Africa;
- Correspondence: (M.F.B.); (T.V.G.)
| | - Tim Van Geel
- Department of Chemical Engineering, KU Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200F, B-3001 Leuven, Belgium;
- Correspondence: (M.F.B.); (T.V.G.)
| | - Abhishek Dutta
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Izmir Institute of Technology, Gülbahçe Campus, Urla, Izmir 35430, Turkey;
| | - Bart Van der Bruggen
- Department of Chemical Engineering, KU Leuven, Celestijnenlaan 200F, B-3001 Leuven, Belgium;
- Department of Chemical, Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Tshwane University of Technology (TUT), Private Bag X680, Pretoria 0001, South Africa;
| | - Maurice Stephen Onyango
- Department of Chemical, Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Tshwane University of Technology (TUT), Private Bag X680, Pretoria 0001, South Africa;
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Oyewo OA, Bopape MF, Onyango MS. Facile synthesis and application of cellulosic coagulant from banana peels in cadmium-spiked water. IET Nanobiotechnol 2020; 14:590-594. [PMID: 33010134 PMCID: PMC8676375 DOI: 10.1049/iet-nbt.2020.0060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2020] [Revised: 05/23/2020] [Accepted: 06/16/2020] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Cellulosic coagulant with low crystallinity and surface charge of -19.2 mV were extracted from wet banana peels (WBE) using kitchen-blending method. Functionalization with ferric chloride and aluminium chloride yielded higher surface charge of -23.8 mV (mWBE). Both WBE and mWBE coagulants were used to target cadmium ions from aqueous solution. Coagulants and the floccules (WBEA and mWBEA) were characterized by XRD, FT-IR, zeta sizer nano series, and SEM/EDs. The amount of cadmium ion coagulated was determined using ICP-OES. The FTIR analysis revealed the functional groups involved in the coordination and subsequent removal of the metals ions around 1634 cm-1, ascribed to the C = O vibrational band of carbonyl group. Microscopic analysis revealed that the mWBE is porous and exhibited microfibers with rod-like morphology. The effects of parameters such as the initial concentration, coagulant dosage and solution pH were investigated. Coagulation results showed that 10 mg of WBE and mWBE could remove about 80% and 90% of the Cd2+ ions respectively. However; the difference in the performance of both materials does not justify the essence of surface modification. Therefore, WBE is considered more efficient and environmentally friendly. Notwithstanding, the performance of these coagulants in real environmental samples will confirm their robustness.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Opeyemi A Oyewo
- Department of Chemical, Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Tshwane University of Technology, Pretoria 0001, South Africa.
| | - Mokgadi F Bopape
- Department of Chemical, Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Tshwane University of Technology, Pretoria 0001, South Africa
| | - Maurice S Onyango
- Department of Chemical, Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Tshwane University of Technology, Pretoria 0001, South Africa
| |
Collapse
|