ULTRAFILTRATION OF A TEXTILE PLANT EFFLUENT

This preliminary study was initiated to determine the feasibility of using ultrafiltration to remove dyes and other contaminants from industrial textile plant waste streams. Various runs were conducted on samples of the waste stream by using a lab-scale UF unit fitted with a polysulfone XM50 hollow fiber membrane. The effects of temperature and pressure on permeate flow rate and rejection coefficient were investigated. Spectrophotometric analysis was used to determine the rejection coefficients. The average rejection coefficients ranged from 30 to 90%. The permeate-to-feed ratios ranged from 1.4 to 15.2%. Increasing the pressure increased the permeate flow rate, but also decreased the rejection coefficient. The effect of temperature was inconclusive. Fouling varied with the waste solutions, but could be enough to clog the whole unit. The pH remained at the same value of 10 for the permeate, retentate, and feed in all the runs.