Jump to main content
US EPA
United States Environmental Protection Agency
Search
Search
Main menu
Environmental Topics
Laws & Regulations
About EPA
Health & Environmental Research Online (HERO)
Contact Us
Print
Feedback
Export to File
Search:
This record has one attached file:
Add More Files
Attach File(s):
Display Name for File*:
Save
Citation
Tags
HERO ID
5079968
Reference Type
Journal Article
Title
Membrane preconcentration as an efficient tool to reduce the energy consumption of perfluorohexanoic acid electrochemical treatment
Author(s)
Soriano, A; Gorri, D; Urtiaga, Ane
Year
2019
Is Peer Reviewed?
1
Journal
Separation and Purification Technology
ISSN:
1383-5866
Publisher
Elsevier B.V.
Volume
208
Page Numbers
160-168
Language
English
DOI
10.1016/j.seppur.2018.03.050
Web of Science Id
WOS:000449136400021
Abstract
One of the key points for the large-scale implementation of electrochemical water treatment technologies lies in the need of reducing the energy consumption. The present work analyzes the removal of persistent perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA, 204 mg L-1) from industrial process waters using a strategy that combines membrane pre-concentration followed by electrooxidation of the concentrate. A mathematical model describing the nanofiltration (NF) system was developed and complemented with new and background experimental data of PFHxA and ion species rejections and total permeate flux through the NF270 and NF90 membranes. Similarly, the kinetics of PFHxA electrolysis on boron doped diamond anodes was determined at laboratory scale. Later, the model was used to simulate the NF-ELOX integrated process, where a commercial spiral wound unit (membrane area 7.6 m(2)) was implemented and the electrooxidation unit was scaled-up to pilot plant (anode area 1.05 m(2)). The obtained energy savings depended on a combination of the target PFHxA removal ratio at the end of the treatment train, the separation performance of the commercial membrane and the reduction of the electrolyte ohmic resistance in the electrooxidation stage, that was attained as a result of the increase of salts content in the concentrate. Only the tight NF90 membrane allowed to achieve high (99%) PFHxA removal ratios in the integrated NF-ELOX process, and the specific energy consumption was estimated at 11.6 kWh m(-3), 59.2% less than when electrolysis alone was applied. Still, the electrolysis is the most energy demanding step, with 85.9% contribution to the total energy consumption. The strategy of combining membrane pre-concentration with electrochemical degradation could be extended to the treatment of other highly persistent organic compounds.
Keywords
BDD electrolysis; Energy minimization; Nanofiltration; Process integration; Perfluorohexanoic acid
Tags
•
PFHxA
LitSearch Update: Feb 2018 - May 2019
WoS
Literature Search
WOS
LitSearch Update: May 2019 - May 2020
WoS
Scopus: April 2021
HAWC
•
PFOA (335-67-1) and PFOS (1763-23-1)
Literature Search Update (2013-2019)
WOS
Home
Learn about HERO
Using HERO
Search HERO
Projects in HERO
Risk Assessment
Transparency & Integrity