Current nanofiltration (NF) models are based on the “diluted solution” assumption and cannot successfully predict permeate fluxes at high salt concentrations. The reasons behind the strong differences between the predicted and observed fluxes are still not fully understood. In this work, it is proposed that these deviations are possibly caused by the electrical charges inside the membrane pores. At a nanoscale level, the complex electrostatic interactions between the highly confined charged solutes and the charges inside membrane pores contribute to flow retardation and this phenomena can be characterized using an additional resistance factor, which is defined as the electric resistance factor in this study. To this extent, experiments were carried out with aqueous sodium chloride (NaCl) solutions in a wide range of concentrations (0.05 – 1.96 M) using two commercial membranes (NF270 and Desal-5 DL). Salt retention was fitted and analysed by means of the classical Spiegler-Kedem model (SK). The model has been modified to include the proposed empirical electric resistance factor, Relec, to account for this additional hydrodynamic flow resistance. The modified Spiegler-Kedem model (MSK) was verified by fitting experimental data at relatively low salt concentration to obtain model parameters and then comparing the model prediction with experimental data at higher concentrations. A mathematical equation was developed to describe the dependence of an important model parameter, reflection coefficient (σ), on operational conditions such as pressure and bulk salt concentration. The thesis also discussed the mechanisms of NF separation, highlighting the electrostatic interaction between the co-ions and the membrane charges in the confined nano-environment inside the NF membrane pores.

Membranes are a robust, reliable and economical technology. However, polymeric membranes are manufactured from polymeric and organic solvent sources derived from petrochemical sources. The high volatile organic compounds (VOC) emissions of the organic solvents and the non-recyclability of the polymers often question the membrane manufacture sustainability. The main goal of this dissertation is the preparation of polymeric membranes for liquid separation through more sustainable processes. We report here the green preparations of hollow fibers, thin-film composite and integrally skinned asymmetric membranes. An important part of the work is represented by the development of cellulose hollow fibers from ionic liquid solutions, avoiding strong alkali or harsh solvents. By tuning the manufacturing process, we prove that the membranes can be used for different applications such as oil-water separation, protein separation via ion-exchange chromatography and solvent purification via organic solvent nanofiltration. The main advantages of using cellulose to prepare hollow fiber membranes are the biodegradability of the polymer and the intrinsic chemical stability. Another significant milestone of this work is replacing volatile solvents such as hexane during the thin-film composite membrane manufacture. As green alternative solvents, we decided to use naturally extracted oleic acid and decanoic acid. Due to their low costs and volatility, they represent a valid alternative for industrial membrane preparation through the interfacial polymerization process. The membranes prepared with this process were used for solvent resistant nanofiltration. Finally, by using ionic liquids as solvents, we improved the manufacturing sustainability polytriazole asymmetric membranes synthesized in the lab.

Regenerated cellulose (RC) membranes are extensively used in medical and pharmaceutical separation processes due to their biocompatibility, low fouling tendency and solvent resistant properties. They typically possess ultrafiltration and microfiltration separation characteristics, but recently, there have been attempts to widen their pool of applications in nanofiltration processes. In this work, a novel method for preparing high performance composite RC membranes was developed. These membranes reveal molecular weight cut-offs (MWCO) of less than 250 daltons, which possibly put them ahead of all commercial RC membranes and in competition with high performance nanofiltration membranes. The membranes were prepared by acidic hydrolysis of dip-coated trimethylsilyl cellulose (TMSC) films. TMSC, with a degree of silylation (DS) of 2.8, was prepared from microcrystalline cellulose by reaction with hexamethyldisilazane under the homogeneous conditions of LiCl/DMAC solvent system. Effects of parameters, such as coating solution concentration and drying rates, were investigated. It was concluded that higher TMSC concentrations as well as higher solvent evaporation rates favor better MWCOs, mainly due to increase in the selective layer thickness. Successful cross-linking of prepared membranes with glyoxal solutions, in the presence of boric acid as a catalyst, resulted in MWCOs less than 250 daltons. The suitability of this crosslinking reaction for large scale productions was already proven in the manufacturing of durable-press fabrics. For us, the inexpensive raw materials as well as the low reaction times and temperatures were of interest. Moreover, the non-toxic nature of glyoxal is a key advantage in medical and pharmaceutical applications. The membranes prepared in this work are strong candidates for separation of small organic solutes from organic solvents streams in pharmaceutical industries. Their hydrophilicity, compared to typical nanofiltration membranes, offer high fouling resistance and higher fluxes in aqueous applications.

Bio-based monomers are a more sustainable alternative to conventional oil-based monomers [1]. The bis-epoxide limonene dioxide from the epoxidation of the terpene limonene has shown potential for different applications [2]. One of those applications is the use of limonene dioxide as a crosslinking agent to improve the solvent resistance of nanofiltration membranes. Epoxidation of terpenes is conventionally done using meta-chloroperoxybenzoic acid (m-CPBA), using metal complexes with metals such as Tungsten, Titanium, and Cobalt, or different hydroperoxides. A greener method of epoxidation explored is the use of in situ generated dimethyldioxirane from the reaction of acetone and potassium peroxy-monosulfate (Oxone) [3]. The reaction uses sodium bicarbonate buffer in aqueous solution with a mixture of limonene and acetone. This project aims to synthesize different bis-, and tris-epoxides from different bio-derived terpenes including limonene, gamma-terpinene, geraniol, farnesol, and nerol using the reported method using Oxone and ultrasonication. Epoxidation using m-CPBA is also investigated to compare it to the Oxone method. In general, epoxidation using m-CPBA results in higher amount of epoxide, but the Oxone method presents a more sustainable alternative with good results. Successfully synthesized epoxides are used to crosslink polybenzimidazole nanofiltration membranes. Solvent testing in dimethylacetamide is used to inspect whether crosslinking is successful. Polyethylene glycol diglycidyl ether is a commercial bis-epoxide that was used to validate the crosslinking method. Crosslinking was successful, as confirmed by solvent testing and FT-IR analysis. Filtration testing showed that the permeance of the membrane was not affected by crosslinking, while the membrane’s rejection was increased from 10.29 ± 1.01 % to 17.23 ± 2.49 % after crosslinking using polyethylene glycol diglycidyl ether. Nerol and limonene bis-epoxides were successfully synthesized with high purity and were tested as crosslinkers. However, crosslinking was unsuccessful, as demonstrated by solvent testing. This project successfully synthesized bis-epoxides from different terpenes using a greener method of epoxidation. The possibility of successful crosslinking using the terpene-based crosslinkers should be further investigated.

Specific conductivity (SC) and total dissolved solids (TDS) are increasingly being used as a parameter used to judge the aquatic health of streams that are impacted by coal mining operations in the Appalachian region of the United States. Due to this, government environmental regulatory bodies have been considering issuing a regulation on SC for all mining operation outfalls. Sulfate typically has the greatest dissolved ion presence in coal mine waters. In literature examining the treatment of mine waters, SC and TDS analysis is typically not reported. The technologies examined in this study were nanofiltration membrane technology and biological sulfate reducing bioreactors. In the nanofiltration study, three different nanofiltration membranes were evaluated for SC reduction: NF270, DK, and NFX. The DK and NFX nanofilters were able to reduce SC levels by an average of 84 percent for both mine waters tested and were able to reach SC levels below the proposed limit of 500 S/cm. The SC levels achieved by the NF270 nanofilters were observed to have much higher variability. The inclusion of microfiltration and simulated-sand filtration were also introduced as a pre-treatment stage in order to determine whether or not nanofiltration performance would improve in terms of SC reduction. In the biological sulfate reducing bioreactor study, multiple bioreactors were established to identify the optimal organic mixture to foster both SC and sulfate reduction. Sulfate reduction began to occur approximately 20 days after the establishment of each bioreactor. SC levels were greater than 13,000 S/cm in each of the bioreactors sampled by the fortieth day of sampling. The probable cause of the increase SC was identified to be the manure/compost used in the study. Future testing should incorporate more sampling in the early phases of experimentation in order to ensure the ability to monitor changes in water quality. / MS

Xylitol can be produced from xylose or hemicellulose hydrolysates by either chemical reduction or microbial fermentation. Current technology for commercial production is based on chemical reduction of xylose or hemicellulose, and xylitol is separated and purified by chromatographic methods. The resultant product is very expensive because of the extensive purification procedures. Microbial production of xylitol is being researched as an alternative method for xylitol production. Apart from the chromatographic separation method and activated carbon treatment, no other separation method has been proposed for the separation of xylitol from the fermentation broth. Membrane separation was proposed as an alternative method for the recovery of xylitol from the fermentation broth because it has the potential for energy savings and higher purity. A membrane separation unit was designed, constructed, tested, and successfully used to separate xylitol from the fermentation broth. Eleven membranes were investigated for xylitol separation from the fermentation broth. A 10,000 nominal molecular weight cutoff (MWCO) polysulfone membrane was found to be the most effective for the separation and recovery of xylitol. The membrane allowed 82.2 to 90.3% of xylitol in the fermentation broth to pass through while retaining 49.2 to 53.6% of the Lowry's method positive material (such as oligopeptides and peptides). Permeate from the 10,000 MWCO membrane was collected and crystallized. Crystals were analyzed by HPLC for xylitol and impurities and determined to have purity up to 90.3%. / Master of Science

Nanofiltration (NF) can be used in water and wastewater treatment as well as water recycling applications, removing micropollutants such as hormones. Due to their potential health risk it is vital to understand their removal mechanisms by NF membranes aiming at improving and developing more effective and efficient treatment processes. Although NF should be effective and efficient in removing small molecular sized compounds such as hormones, the occurrence of adsorption onto polymeric membranes results in performances difficult to predict and with reduced effectiveness and efficiency. This study aims firstly at defining, understanding and quantifying the relevant filtration operation parameters and, secondly, in identifying the physical mechanisms of momentum and mass transfer controlling the adsorption and transport of hormones onto polymeric NF membranes in cross-flow mode. The hormones estrone (E1) and 17-b-estradiol (E2) were chosen as they have very high endocrine disrupting potency. The NF membranes used and tested were the NF 270, NF 90, BW30, TFC-SR2 and TFC-SR3 since they have a wide span of pore sizes. The first step is to experimentally acquire the knowledge of how fluid flow hydrodynamics and mass transfer close to the membrane affect hormone adsorption. The focus will be particularly on the effect of operating pressure, circulating Reynolds numbers (based on channel height, Reh) and hormone feed concentration. These hydrodynamic parameters play an important role in concentration polarisation development at the membrane surface. A Reh increase from 400 to 1400 for the NF 270 membrane caused the total mass adsorbed of E1 and E2 to decrease from 1.5 to 1.3 ng.cm-2 and 0.7 to 0.5 ng.cm-2, respectively. In contrast, a pressure increase from 5 to 15 bar yielded an increase in the adsorbed mass of E1 and E2 from 1.0 to 1.8 ng.cm-2 and 0.5 to 0.7 ng.cm-2, respectively. Moreover, increasing hormone feed concentration caused an increase in the mass adsorbed for both hormones. These observations led to the conclusion that adsorption is governed by the initial concentration at the membrane surface which, in turn, depends on the hormone feed concentration, operating Reh and pressure. Membrane retention, however, depends on the initial polarisation modulus, defined as the ratio between the initial concentration at the membrane surface and the initial feed concentration. The same trends were obtained for the TFC-SR2 membrane. However, this membrane has a much lower permeability compared to the NF 270 one (7.2 vs 17 L.h-1.m-2.bar-1, respectively) and concentration polarisation is less severe. The experimental variations in mass adsorbed and retention as a function of the operating filtration parameters (Reh and pressure) were therefore lower. Based on these experimental results, a sorption model was developed. This model predicts well both feed and permeate transient concentrations for both hormones and membranes (NF 270 and TFC-SR2) in the common range of operating pressures and Reh of spiral-wound membrane modules. The model was further applied for E2 in the presence of background electrolyte, yielding good predictions. These findings are an important advancement in determining which membrane would be more suitable to effectively remove hormones with a substantial reduction of experimental work. The above-mentioned developed model does not give insight into the phenomena occurring inside the membrane since it focuses on the feed conditions. However, membrane characteristics, such as material and pore radius were found to have an impact in adsorption and retention of hormones. It was found experimentally that polyamide, from which the active layer of the NF membranes is made, adsorbs three times more mass of hormone than any other polymers constituting the membranes. Since this active layer is the membrane selective barrier of the membrane that is in contact with the largest hormone concentration (due to concentration polarization in the feed solution) it is concluded that the active layer adsorbs most of the hormones. Further experimental work carried out in this thesis showed that increasing the pore radius from 0.32 nm to 0.52 nm increased the E2 mass adsorbed from 0.17 ng.cm-2 to 1.1 ng.cm-2 and decreased the retention from 88% to 34%. These results show that the wider the pore, the larger the quantity of hormone that penetrates (i.e. partitions) inside the membrane and, therefore, the more the membrane adsorbs the hormone. For membranes of similar pore radius, the membrane with larger internal surface area was found to adsorb more. All the previous results led to the establishment of a new model for the hormone transport inside the membrane pore taking convection, diffusion and adsorption into account. Since the differential equation describing the transport with adsorption inside the pore has no analytical solution, a numerical model based on the finite-difference approach was applied. With such a model, its validation against experiments and parametric studies it was possible to understand the transport mechanisms of adsorbing hormones through NF membranes. The results show that for low pressures the hormone transport is diffusion dominated. In contrast, for higher pressures (above 11 bar) the transport is convection dominated, showing that a purely diffusion transport model does not describe well the actual transport phenomena of hormones in NF membranes. Furthermore, it was found that two similar molecules can behave very differently in terms of adsorption on the membrane. E1, which adsorbs 20% more than E2 in static mode, being slightly smaller than E2, partitions more inside the membrane pore and adsorbs double under filtration conditions. This study contributes to illuminating the adsorption mechanisms of hormones onto NF membranes by understanding what parameters control adsorption such as hydrodynamics, materials, structure, etc. This not only identifies a potential problem in large scale applications, but it also provides an understanding of the mechanisms involved in the removal of these hormones and a tool that can be used to design future membranes for the improvement of micropollutant removal.

Les déchets liés à l'élevage intensif ont un impact environnemental reconnu du fait de leur composition riche en en matière organique et minérale. Il apparait opportun de promouvoir des procédés de traitement permettant de maitriser l'impact environnemental de ce retour au sol, voire d'ouvrir de nouvelles valorisations au travers de la récupération d'énergie ou de l'exportation de co-produits (azotés et phosphatés notamment). Ce travail entre dans cette démarche en proposant de compléter les étapes de digestion anaérobie de ces déchets par des étapes de séparation sur membranes perm-sélectives. Les essais ont été réalisés sur unités pilotes de laboratoire en utilisant des digestats réels de diverses origines prélevés sur sites. Pour l'étape de clarification par ultrafiltration, la conduite d'une séparation en mode tangentiel est obligatoire au regard de la concentration des suspensions à traiter. La viscosité des suspensions, d'autant plus importante que la suspension est concentrée, apparait comme un paramètre déterminant pour le choix du protocole opératoire. Dans tous les cas, l'opération d'ultra-filtration (UF) permet une rétention conséquente (de 80 à 90%) de la fraction organique encore présente dans les digestats, à l'inverse, la rétention de la fraction minérale soluble est restée négligeable comme attendu. Le seuil de coupure de la membrane d'UF n'est pas apparu déterminant sur cette rétention. Malgré le mode tangentiel de séparation, l'opération de filtration induit une accumulation de composés au voisinage de la membrane qui diminue significativement la perméabilité du milieu filtrant. Cette chute de perméabilité apparaît d'autant plus importante que la suspension présente une concentration en demande chimique en oxygène (DCO) élevée. Ce critère apparaît alors comme le facteur limitant pour atteindre un facteur de concentration volumique (FCV) élevé (réduction des volumes). La surface membranaire à développer est directement liée à la perméabilité membranaire, elle-même dépendante de la concentration de la suspension à traiter donc de la nature du digestat et du FCV à atteindre. Le coût opérationnel de l'opération apparaît directement lié à l'énergie nécessaire pour assurer le mode tangentiel de filtration. Pour l'étape de concentration des sels d'intérêts, la rétention des composés minéraux solubles par osmose inverse haute pression dépasse 90% quels que soient les ions ciblés ou l'origine du digestat. A l'inverse, cette rétention est dépendante de l'ion ciblé et de l'origine du digestat pour les opérations de nano-filtration et d'osmose inverse basse pression. Dans tous les cas, la rétention de la fraction organique résiduelle est importante (>90%) permettant une décoloration du perméat très poussée (elle dépend toutefois du seuil de coupure de la membrane et du FCV choisi). La perméabilité membranaire diminue d'autant plus que la conductivité électrique (CE) de la solution à traiter est importante du fait de la pression osmotique et de l'accumulation de composés solubles au voisinage de la barrière membranaire. Cette conductivité, dépendante du digestat initial et du FCV choisi, apparaît alors comme le paramètre déterminant pour le dimensionnement de l'unité. Sur le plan énergétique, l'énergie liée à la mise sous pression des unités NF/OI est dominante par rapport à la circulation tangentielle du rétentat. Ce travail a permis de confirmer l'intérêt des séparations membranaires pour le traitement des digestats, afin d'une part, d'obtenir une eau de qualité permettant sa réutilisation ou son rejet dans le milieu naturel et d'autre part de récupérer et de concentrer des composés d'intérêt dans les différents rétentats. Ce travail a fait l'objet d'un soutien financier de l'ANR dans le cadre du programme BIOENERGIE 2010 (projet DIVA). / Intense spreading of livestock wastes are recognized to be detrimental to the environment due to their content of organic matter and mineral fraction. Then, it would appear to be necessary to promote greens treatments processes. In fact, anaerobic digestion allows the production of biogas (extremely useful source of renewable energy), whilst digestate should be a highly valuable biofertilizer This work enters in this approach by proposing to complete anaerobic digestion steps by the use of perm-selective membrane separation process. The first step is a clarification step by ultrafiltration, following by a soluble mineral concentration step by nanofiltration, low pressure and/or high pressure reverse osmosis (LPRO, HPRO). The tests were performed in a laboratory-scale pilot unit using real digestates. For clarification step, a cross-flow mode separation is obligate in view of suspended solid concentrations and viscosity which appeared as a determining factor for the choice of operative protocol. In any case, the ultra-filtration operation allows a high organic retention rate (of 80 to 90%). Conversely, soluble mineral retention remained at negligible as expected. The cut-off of ultrafiltration membrane is not a determining factor for this retention. Despite the cross-flow mode separation filtration induces a compound accumulation on the membrane which decreases significantly the permeability of filtering media. This permeability drop appears greater when suspension presents a high COD concentration. This criterion appears as a limiting factor to achieve a high volumic concentration factor (VCF). Membrane surface to develop is then directly related to the membrane permeability which depends on the digestate origin and VCF. The operational cost is linked directly to the energy required to ensure cross-flow mode. The retention of soluble mineral compounds by HPRO exceeds 90% whatever the target ions or the origine of digestate are. However, for NF and LPRO steps, this rejection depends on the target ions or the origine of digestate. In any case, organic retention is important (more than 90%) which allows significant discoloration of permeate. The, the more the electronic conductivity (EC) is, the more permeability decreases of suspension is important, due to an osmotic pressure and soluble compound accumulation on the membrane that increases with EC. This conductivity depends on initial digestate and, of course, of the chosen VCF target, which appears as decisive parameter for unit dimensioning. On the efficient energy, energy linked to separation step chosen is dominant in the absence of cross-flow mode of retentate. This work has allowed to confirm the potential interest of membrane separation to (i) obtain a final effluent: named fresh or new water and (ii) and (ii) to allow the production of liquid fertilizers.This work is financially supported by the National French Agency (Bio-Energy Program 2010, DIVA Project) and by TRIMATEC competitiveness cluster.

Différentes études ont mis en évidence que la présence d'électrolyte modifie les performances de la nanofiltration et que l'augmentation du transfert observée est majoritairement gouvernée par la modification des propriétés du soluté (interactions soluté / électrolyte). Cependant, de nombreux verrous scientifiques et techniques restent encore à lever pour promouvoir l'intégration de ces opérations à l'échelle industrielle. Dans ce contexte, le travail proposé vise à améliorer la compréhension des mécanismes de transfert en s'appuyant d'une part sur la caractérisation multi-échelle des interactions dans les systèmes soluté neutre / électrolyte et plus particulièrement l'hydratation des espèces, et d'autre part sur la recherche de corrélations entre ces propriétés et les grandeurs de transfert. Plus précisément, il s'agit de comprendre comment les ions agissent sur les propriétés d'hydratation des sucres et leur transfert à travers une membrane de nanofiltration. Dans un premier temps, les propriétés volumiques de sucres (xylose, glucose, saccharose), qui caractérisent l'hydratation des solutés à l'échelle macroscopique, déterminées pour différentes compositions ioniques (LiCl, NaCl, KCl, Na2SO4, K2SO4, CaCl2, MgCl2, MgSO4), montrent que la déshydratation des sucres est principalement gouvernée par les interactions sucre / ions, dépendantes des propriétés des ions (valence, taille). Dans un second temps, la mécanique quantique est utilisée pour décrire les propriétés d'hydratation des ions et des sucres, seuls, puis en mélange à l'échelle microscopique. Il est montré que les sucres et les ions se déshydratent et que les sucres sont d'autant plus déshydratés que le nombre d'interactions sucre / ions augmente, qui lui-même augmente avec le nombre de coordinations des ions dans l'eau. Enfin, des corrélations quantitatives sont obtenues entre les propriétés d'hydratation des espèces (nombre d'hydratation, nombre de coordinations, nombre d'interactions...) obtenues aux différentes échelles et les grandeurs caractérisant le transfert. Ainsi, à partir de ces résultats prometteurs, des travaux complémentaires devraient permettre d'améliorer la prédiction des performances de la nanofiltration pour le traitement de solutions contenant des solutés organiques en présence d'électrolyte. / Different studies have shown that the presence of electrolyte modifies the nanofiltration performances and that the increase of the neutral solute transfer is mainly governed by the modification of the solute properties (neutral solute / electrolyte interactions). However, the development of such membrane processes is still limited since it is hardly possible to predict the process performances, In this context, the aim of this work is to study the neutral solute / electrolyte interactions using a fundamental multi scale approach in order to improve the knowledge of the transfer mechanisms taking place through nanofiltration membranes. More precisely, the objective is to understand how the ions act on the hydration properties of the saccharides and their transfer through a nanofiltration membrane. Firstly, the saccharide volumetric properties (xylose, glucose, sucrose), which characterize the solute hydration at the macroscopic scale, are determined in presence of various electrolytes (LiCl, NaCl, KCl, Na2SO4, K2SO4, CaCl2, MgCl2, MgSO4). The results show that the saccharide dehydration is due to the predominance of the saccharide / ions interactions depending on the ions' properties (valence, size). Secondly, quantum mechanics is used to describe the hydration properties of ions and saccharides, alone and then in a mixture at the microscopic scale. It is shown that both saccharide and ions are dehydrated and that the saccharides are more dehydrated for increasing saccharide / ions interactions number, which in turn increases with the ion's coordination number in water. It is also shown that the species hydration properties, obtained at different scales are consistent. Finally, quantitative correlations between the species hydration properties and the saccharide mass transfer parameters are obtained. Thus, from these promising results, further work will be devoted to improve the prediction of the performance of nanofiltration for the treatment of solutions containing organic solutes in the presence of electrolyte.

Nanofiltration (NF) and ultrafiltration (UF) membranes were tested in cross-flow configuration for removal of the natural estrogenic hormone 17Beta-estradiol (E2). The NF membranes, FilmTec NF270 and NF90 and Saehan NE-70 and NE-90, showed significant adsorption of E2 during the initial stage of filtration followed by relatively high steady-state rejection. The rejection ranged from 70% for the NF270 to greater than 97% for the NF90 and NE-90. UF membranes, such as Saehan UE2010 and Sterlitech GH, showed relatively low rejection (0-20 %) at steady-state, but did show significant adsorption during the initial time period. In both NF and UF, adsorbed hormone was released into the permeate stream when the feed solution was replaced with pure water. The rate of desorption was approximately the same as that of adsorption. Similar results were observed at both high concentrations (100 microgram/L), and at lower, environmentally-relevant concentrations (100 ng/L). Fouling of membranes by natural organic matter improved rejection, as did operation at higher permeate flux and higher pH. These results indicate that the high initial rejection of hormones due to adsorption on membranes may not accurately reflect true rejection of hormones by these membranes at steady state.