Study of the fouling behavior of typical inorganic-organic foulants in silicates-bearing mine wastewater on reverse osmosis membrane

• Published in: Journal of environmental chemical engineering 2024-06, Vol.12 (3), p.113117, Article 113117
• Main Authors: Li, Jiapeng, Chen, Yunhuan, Zhang, Rui, Wang, Hailong, Ren, Yongsheng, Ma, Yulong
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Membrane fouling; Mine wastewater; Reverse osmosis; Soluble silicate; XDLVO theory
• ISSN: 2213-3437; 2213-3437
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jece.2024.113117

Inorganic-organic contaminants in mine wastewater treatment constantly challenge the performance of reverse osmosis (RO) membranes. In this work, the main pollutants are calcium ions, soluble silicate, and fulvic acid (FA). We investigate the membrane contamination response of these contaminants in single cases and several composite scenarios. It turns out that membrane fouling is significantly affected by differences in feed composition and content. When all three contaminants coexist, the Lewis acid-base (AB) interaction may dominate the contamination process. When the Ca2+ concentration was raised from 0 to 7 mM, the AB energy between foulants decreased from −77.47 KT to −98.84 KT at the minimum separation distance. This study highlights the impact of typical inorganic and organic pollutants in the RO process, which could help optimize feed conditions while also giving a comparable theory for the water treatment sector. [Display omitted] •Membrane fouling behavior under various RO feed conditions.•The presence of Ca2+ with FA or silicates induces distinct membrane fouling behavior.•The presence of Ca2+ worsen membrane fouling by decreasing electrostatic repulsion.•Changes in AB interface interactions dominate the evolution of membrane fouling.