O lixiviado de aterro sanitário é um efluente complexo de alta carga orgânica, composto basicamente de substâncias recalcitrantes, amônia e poluentes tóxicos. Quando descartado de forma inadequada nos corpos receptores, desempenha um papel significativo dentre os principais fatores causadores de danos ao meio ambiente. A tecnologia de separação por membranas consiste em uma alternativa atrativa no tratamento do lixiviado, pois é capaz de remover contaminantes que não são removidos por processos de tratamento convencionais. O presente estudo tem por objetivo a avaliação, em escala de bancada, do tratamento do lixiviado por processos de separação por membranas e o monitoramento de fatores de fouling e resistências nas membranas. O sistema de membrana fibra-oca de microfiltração de poli(éter-imida) foi testado a fim de promover o polimento final do tratamento do lixiviado. O resultado obtido de remoção de matéria orgânica, expressado em DQO, variou entre 14 e 43%, no entanto, esse sistema não foi eficiente na remoção de cor. Para a remoção de cor foram realizados ensaios em sistemas de osmose inversa e de eletrodiálise, no entanto, apenas o sistema de osmose inversa apresentou resultados positivos. Foi verificado que as características do lixiviado têm influencia na formação de fouling, reduzindo o fluxo de permeado e contribuindo para o aumento das resistências. O percentual médio de fouling observado foi de 53% e a resistência da membrana contribuiu com mais de 50% da resistência total do sistema. Os resultados comprovam que a implementação do sistema de membranas de microfiltração e osmose inversa, como polimento final no tratamento de lixiviado, seriam de grande valia, tanto para atender aos padrões mínimos de lançamento de efluentes previsto na legislação brasileira como para a preservação dos recursos hídricos. / Landfill leachate is a complex wastewater of high organic matter, composed basically of recalcitrant substances, ammonia and toxic pollutants. When leachate is improperly disposed in the receiving waters, it has a significant role among the main factors causing damage to the environment. The membrane separation technology is an attractive alternative in the treatment of the leachate, because it is able to remove contaminants that are not removed by conventional treatment processes. The present study aims to evaluate, using a bench scale system, leachate treatability by membrane separation processes and to monitor fouling factors and membrane resistance. The microfiltration system of hollow fiber membrane poly(ether-imide) was tested in order to promote leachate treatment. The result of organic matter removal, expressed in COD, varied between 14 and 43%, however, this system was not efficient to color removal. Tests were performed for color removal in a reverse osmosis and electrodialysis systems, however, only the reverse osmosis system showed positive results. It was found that the characteristics of leachate have influence in the fouling formation, permeate flux reducing and contributes to the resistance increase. The average percentage of fouling observed was 53% and the membrane resistance contributed more than 50% of the total resistance of the system. The results show that microfiltration and reverse osmosis systems implementation to treat the leachate would be of great importance, both to meet the minimum standards for effluent discharge as provided for in Brazilian law to the preservation of water resources.

Os efluentes contendo cádmio podem ser gerados dos por várias indústrias. A aplicação de ambas as tecnologias osmose inversa (OI) e nanofiltração (NF) para o tratamento de efluentes contendo o íon cádmio para reduzir a degradação ambiental foram estudadas no presente trabalho. Amostras sintéticas contendo o íon cádmio em várias concentrações foram preparadas e submetidas aos tratamentos por OI e NF em escala laboratorial. Assim, dividiu-se o processo de remoção em três etapas: 1- analisou-se os processos de osmose inversa e nanofiltração em termos da rejeição do íon cádmio, onde se correlacionou e avaliou os principais parâmetros de processos (concentração da solução alimentação, fluxo de permeado e pressão) e comparou-se os sistemas entre si. Nas etapas 2 e 3 avaliou-se os efeitos da salinidade utilizando os contra-íons zinco e sódio respectivamente, sobre a rejeição do íon cádmio no sistema de osmose inversa em soluções aquosas contendo misturas de sulfato de cádmio e sulfato de zinco, e sulfato de cádmio e sulfato de sódio. Mediu-se as concentrações de cádmio e zinco por espectroscopia de absorção atômica e as concentrações de sulfato e sódio por cromatografia de íons. Os resultados obtidos na primeira etapa dos experimentos mostram que a osmose inversa e nanofiltração são eficientes na remoção de cádmio, onde se obteve as taxas médias de rejeição de 92,4% e 96,6% respectivamente, sendo esses valores iguais em magnitude, tendo em vista os valores da incerteza padrão relativa associada a esses resultados. Em ambos os sitemas, os fluxos de permeado e as rejeições não sofreram influência do aumento da concentração de cádmio na solução alimentação.Na etapa 2, os resultados mostraram a diminuição da rejeição de cádmio com o aumento da concentração de sulfato de zinco na alimentação, sendo esse fenômeno atribuído a semelhança existente entre os íons Cd2+ e Zn2+ associados aos seus raios iônicos de hidratação e as energias de hidratação. Foram observadas as quedas do fluxo de permeado e das rejeições com o aumento da concentração de alimentação provavelmente devido ao efeito da polarização. Na etapa 3, a rejeição do íon cádmio não foi afetada pelo aumento da concentração de sulfato de sódio na alimentação, assim como os fluxos de permeado. Outro aspecto relacionado à rejeição é que a difusão do sódio através da membrana é favorecida frente à difusão do cádmio, sendo atribuído ao menor raio de hidratação do sódio / Effluents containing cadmium may be produced by a variety of industries. The application of the reverse osmosis and nanofiltration technologies for the treatment of effluents containing cadmium, in order to reduce environmental degradation, were studied in the present work. Synthetic samples containing the cadmium ion in different concentrations were prepared and treated by reverse osmosis and nanofiltration. The removal process was divided in three steps: 1- the reverse osmosis and nanofiltration processes were analyzed concerning the rejection of the cadmium ion, correlating and evaluating the main process parameters (feeding solution concentration, permeated flow and pressure), and comparing the systems between themselves. In steps 2 and 3, the effects of salinity in the elimination of the cadmium ion in aqueous solutions, containing a combination of cadmium sulfate and zinc sulfate, or a combination of cadmium sulfate and sodium sulfate, were assessed by the use of zinc and sodium counterions. The concentrations of cadmium and zinc were measured by atomic absorption spectroscopy, and the concentrations of sulfate and sodium were measured by ion chromatography. The results obtained in the first step of the experiments show that the reverse osmosis and the nanofiltration processes are efficient in removing cadmium, with an average rejection rate of 92,4% and 96,6%, respectively. Considering the standard relative incertitude associated to the results, the values obtained are considered of the same magnitude. In both systems, the permeated flow and the rejects were not influenced by a rise in cadmium concentration in the feeding solution. In step 2, the results showed a decrease in cadmium rejection related with a rise in the zinc sulfate concentration in the feeding solution. This phenomenon is due to the similarity between the Cd2+ and Zn2+ ions, associated to their hydration ionic radius and to their hydration energies. A decrease in the permeated flow and of the rejects related to a rise in the feeding concentration was observed and was probably due to the polarization effect. In step 3, the cadmium ion rejection was not affected by a sodium sulphate concentration rise in the feeding, as well as in the permeated flow. Another aspect related to the rejection is that, due to its smaller hydration radius, sodium has a better diffusion rate through the membrane than cadmium

O presente trabalho avaliou a capacidade do sistema de osmose inversa de bancada na remoção de glifosato, em soluções de efluente aquoso sintético, empregando membrana de poliamida. Os parâmetros empregados para esta avaliação foram a pressão, o fluxo de alimentação, o tempo de operação, o pH e a concentração de glifosato na solução de alimentação em que os mesmos foram variados de modo a se ter um comparativo entre diferentes níveis. O sistema de osmose inversa teve em todos os experimentos uma boa resposta quanto a rejeição de glifosato em que a mesma variou entre 74,2% a 98,6 %, sendo a máxima atingida em condições de pressão em 30 bar, fluxo de alimentação 1 L.min-1 e pH 11 da solução de alimentação. A resposta do sistema foi avaliada quanto ao fluxo de permeado, de rejeição percentual e concentração de glifosato no permeado. O efeito da variação de concentração sobre a rejeição de glifosato foi pouco efetiva, mas apresentou grande influência quanto à variação de concentração deste no permeado. Ainda foi avaliada a remoção do ácido aminometilfosfônico (AMPA), pelo sistema de osmose inversa, obtendo-se uma boa resposta quanto à rejeição atingindo valores em torno de 95%. Uma solução combinada de AMPA e glifosato foi preparada e processada no sistema de osmose inversa, obtendo-se resposta similar quanto à concentração de permeado e rejeição para ambos os compostos. A quantificação de AMPA e glifosato se deu por cromatografia de íons, onde esta técnica se mostrou robusta e simples para quantificar ambos os compostos em meio aquoso, em baixas concentrações / This work evaluated the capacity of the reverse osmosis system bench in removing glyphosate from aqueous effluent synthetic solutions, employing polyamide membrane. The parameters used for this evaluation were the pressure, the feed stream, operating time, pH and concentration of glyphosate in feed solution in which they were varied in so as to have one comparison between different levels. The reverse osmosis system in all experiments had a good reply regarding rejection of glyphosate in that the same ranged between 74.2% and 98.6%, with a maximum reached under conditions of pressure 30 bar, feed stream 1 liters per minute and pH 11 of the feed solution. The system response was evaluated with respect to permeate flux, rejection and percent concentration of glyphosate in permeate. The concentration variation effect about the rejection of glyphosate was little effective, but had a great influence as to variation of the concentration in permeate. Also evaluated was the removal of aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA), in the reverse osmosis system, obtaining a good response regarding rejection reaching values around 95%. A combined solution of glyphosate and AMPA was prepared and processed in reverse osmosis system, obtaining a similar response regarding the concentration of permeated and rejection for both compounds. Quantitation of glyphosate and AMPA was made by ion chromatography, where the technique was demonstrated robust and easy to quantify both compounds in aqueous at low concentrations

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / A descarga desenfreada de águas residuais no meio ambiente, ao longo dos últimos anos, vem acelerando o processo de contaminação e degradação dos corpos hídricos no mundo. Tais rejeitos apresentam elevada carga de contaminantes e de concentração de matéria orgânica o que leva a mortandade das espécies pela concorrência ao oxigênio e, em casos extremos, a aceleração dos processos de eutrofização. Pensando nisso, o presente trabalho estudou um sistema híbrido, em batelada, de tratamento de águas oleosas simuladas em laboratório pela adição de um determinado óleo lubrificante em uma solução aquosa de agentes emulsificantes e eletrólito suporte. O sistema de tratamento foi composto de duas etapas, onde na primeira avaliou-se o uso da técnica da eletrofloculação, responsável por quebrar a estabilidade das emulsões óleo/água e de uma segunda que avaliou o uso de processos de separação com membranas visando à remoção do metal adicionado ao efluente na etapa anterior. O sistema de eletrofloculação foi avaliado em relação ao uso de eletrodos de alumínio e ferro com correntes elétricas de 1A, 2A e 3A, nos modos contínuo e alternado. Os resultados apontaram um maior consumo evidente de massa de eletrodos quando do uso da corrente contínua, 4,0337g 0,0132 para o alumínio e 3,8260g 0,0181 para o ferro ao passo que o consumo foi de 2,1400g 0,0099 para o alumínio e 2,4121g 0,0127 para o ferro quando do o uso da corrente alternada. Foram alcançadas remoções máximas de 98 % 0 da DQO, 99,77 % 0,27 de remoção da cor e 100 % 0 de remoção da turbidez para o uso de corrente alternada e eletrodos de alumínio enquanto se alcançaram remoções máximas 96 % 1 da DQO, 99,46 % 0,82 de remoção da cor e também 100 % 0 de remoção da turbidez no uso de eletrodos de ferro. Na segunda etapa do estudo, a osmose inversa, o sistema utilizado atingiu rejeições de 99,53 % 0,12; 99,56 % 0,13 e de 98,87 % 0,36, para pressões respectivas de 10, 20 e 30 bar. Além disso, foram obtidos fluxos crescentes de permeado 10,87 L/h.m2 0,25; 15,67 L/h.m2 0,53; 18,49 L/h.m2 0,74 com o também aumento da pressão. Ao final do estudo alcançou-se um efluente final com baixa carga orgânica e de metais, estando o mesmo apto ao lançamento nos corpos receptores. Entretanto, mecanismos de controle, sobretudo de pH devem ser incluídos no projeto desses sistemas uma vez que esse parâmetro sofre alterações ao longo do processo / The uncontrolled discharge of wastewater into the environment over the last years has accelerated the process of contamination and degradation of water bodies in the world. These wastes contain high amounts of contaminants and concentration of organic matter which leads to the death of several species due to lack of oxygen and, in extreme cases, acceleration of eutrophication processes. In the specific case of oily wastewater, the use of techniques such as chemical coagulation, dissolved air injection, membranes, biochemical and electrochemical processes are described. However some of these processes have limitations which range from the concentration of the contaminant in the effluent, limitations in the operating conditions and even cost constraints. With this in mind, this paper has studied a hybrid system, batch process, in the treatment of oily waters simulated in the laboratory by adding a specific lubricating oil in an aqueous solution with emulsifiers and supporting electrolyte. The treatment system was consisted of two stages, which in the first was evaluated the use of the technique of electrocoagulation, which was responsible by the breaking stability of oil/water emulsions and a second stage which evaluated the use of membrane separation processes in order to remove the metal added to the effluent in the previous stage. The electrofloculation system was evaluated in relation to the use of iron and aluminum electrodes with electrical currents of 1A, 2A and 3A, in the continuous and alternate modes. The results showed a higher apparent mass consumption of electrodes when using direct current, 4,0337 g 0,0132 for aluminum and 3,8260 g 0,0181 for iron while consumption was 2,1400 g 0,0099 for aluminum, and 2,4121 0,0127 g for the iron when the use of alternating current. Removals were reached maximum 98 % 0 COD, 99,77 % 0,27 color removal and 100 % 0 turbidity removal for use alternating current and aluminum electrodes while were reached maximum 96 % 1 of COD, 99,46 % 0, 82 color removal and also 100% 0 to remove the turbidity in the use of iron electrodes. In the second study phase, reverse osmosis, the system used has reached rejections 99,53 % 0,12, 99,56 % 0,13 and 98,87 % 0,36, corresponding to pressures of 10 , 20 and 30 bar Moreover, increasing flows were obtained permeate 10,87 L/h.m2 0,25, 15,67 L/h.m2 0,53; 18,49 L/h.m2 0,74 also with the increased pressure. At the end of the study was reached final effluent with low organic load and metals, it being able to release the bodies receptors. However, control mechanisms, particularly pH should be included in the design of such systems since this parameter changes over the process

Membrane technology can be utilised for the high purification and desalination of water. However membrane filtration processes are commonly impeded by membrane fouling, which can lead to flux decline and an overall reduction in separation efficiency within the process. Therefore the aim of this research study was a comprehensive investigation of the issue of biofouling on industrial RO membranes through molecular biology techniques, characterisation of surface charge of foulant bacteria and RO membrane surface and AFM imaging and force measurements on clean and fouled membranes for the determination of adhesion force and micromechanical properties. The laboratories within Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology, South Korea and Swansea University, Wales were equipped for the scope of this research work. Research focused on the extraction of microbial DNA obtained from fouling layers on the surface of Reverse Osmosis Membranes obtained from the Fujairah Water and Power Plant, UAE. The use of the culture independent method of the molecular technique based on the 16S rDNA sequence and constructed gene libraries, was then used to determine the bacterial species that caused significant fouling on the RO membrane. Four bacterial species isolated from the fouling layer from the RO membrane were characterised in terms of electrophoretic mobility and zeta potential to determine the cell surface charge within various industrial relevant environments for the elucidation of cell adhesion mechanisms to the membrane surface. AFM images of virgin and fouled membranes were obtained and analysed to reveal the roughness of the surface which could influence fouling and the surface charge of the membranes were measured through the method of streaming potential at various industrial relevant environments to further elucidate the mechanisms of cell adhesion to the membrane surface. Force measurements were performed to reveal the adhesion force and elasticity values of virgin, process fouled and purposely fouled with the four bacterial isolates, to determine process behaviour in various environmental conditions. Through this research and future work, it is hoped that a rational strategy for economic and effective cleaning processes will be developed which will maintain efficient membrane operation and prolong membrane life, thus enabling the reduction of operating costs of such processes.

abstract: Reverse osmosis (RO) membranes are considered the most effective treatment to remove salt from water. Specifically, thin film composite (TFC) membranes are considered the gold standard for RO. Despite TFC membranes good performance, there are drawbacks to consider including: permeability-selectivity tradeoff, chlorine damage, and biofouling potential. In order to counter these drawbacks, polyamide matrixes were embedded with various nanomaterials called mixed matrix membranes (MMMs) or thin film nanocomposites (TFNs). This research investigates the use of graphene oxide (GO) and reduced graphene oxide (RGO) into the polyamide matrix of a TFC membrane. GO and RGO have the potential to alter the permeability-selectivity trade off by offering nanochannels for water molecules to sieve through, protect polyamide from trace amounts of chlorine, as well as increase the hydrophilicity of the membrane thereby reducing biofouling potential. This project focuses on the impacts of GO on the permeability selectivity tradeoff. The hypothesis of this work is that the permeability and selectivity of GO can be tuned by controlling the oxidation level of the material. To test this hypothesis, a range of GO materials were produced in the lab using different graphite oxidation methods. The synthesized GOs were characterized by X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron microscopy to show that the spacing is a function of the GO oxygen content. From these materials, two were selected due to their optimal sheet spacing between 3.4 and 7 angstroms and embedded into desalination MMM. This work reveals that the water permeability coefficient of MMM embedded with GO and RGO increased significantly; however, that the salt permeability coefficient of the membrane also increased. Future research directions are proposed to overcome this limitation. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Civil and Environmental Engineering 2017

Thesis (MTech (Chemical Engineering))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2017. / Water scarcity in South Africa (SA) and more specifically Cape Town, Western Cape, has escalated to disaster levels in 2018. Agriculture and irrigation account for 62% of SA’s accessible potable water (Thopil & Pouris, 2016), and although the agriculture sector plays a pivotal role in SA’s socio-economic development, the future of the sector is dependent on critical issues such as climate variability and population growth (Besada & Werner, 2015). Wine production in SA is an important agricultural activity, contributing great economic value to the agri-food sector. However, despite this, the wine industry is responsible for vast water consumption and the unsafe disposal of winery wastewater, which are critical issues from an environmental and economic standpoint. The ever-imminent crisis pertaining to the limited supply of fresh water from conventional water resources has necessitated the need to develop alternative water resources to supplement an increased water supply, which include the reuse of wastewater, ground water, brackish water (BW) and seawater (SW) desalination. When fresh water supplies are limited, agricultural irrigation is penalised. The reuse of agricultural wastewater as a substitution for potable water irrigation may prove beneficial in areas where water shortages are severe. Forward osmosis (FO) is a developing desalination technology that has received increased attention as a promising lower-energy desalination technology. FO technology relies on the natural osmotic process, driven by a concentration gradient as opposed to significant hydraulic pressures like reverse osmosis (RO). Water is extracted from a lower concentrated feed solution (FS) to a highly concentrated draw solution (DS). The term “lower energy” is only applicable for applications where the recovery of the DS is not required. FO technology offers several advantages. However, the lack of suitable membrane modules and DSs hinder its practical application. FO offers novelty applications in which specialised DSs are selected to serve as the final product water, most notably concentrated fertilisers for direct fertigation. The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance and compatibility of commercially available cellulose triacetate (CTA) and aquaporin biomimetic FO membranes with commonly used fertilisers for direct fertigation within the SA wine industry, using a fertiliser drawn forward osmosis (FDFO) system.

Thesis (MTech (Chemical Engineering))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2017. / Similar to the energy crisis, the critical state of the water supply in South Africa (SA) is a combination of (i) resource exhaustion and pollution; (ii) increasing demand; and (iii) poor infrastructure. Despite its importance, water is the most poorly managed resource in the world. The disposal of industrial effluents contributes greatly to the poor quality of water. The textile industry consumes great quantities of water and produces enormous volumes of wastewater which requires appropriate treatment before being released into the environment. In an attempt to address the water issues, research globally has focused on advanced technologies such as desalination to increase limited pure water resources. The need for alternative desalination methods for the production of clean water from alternative water resources, such as seawater and brackish water, has gained worldwide attention. Reverse osmosis (RO) and Nanofiltration (NF) have been used as unswerving approaches to yield freshwater. Forward osmosis (FO) is a developing membrane technology that has increased substantial attention as a possible lower-energy desalination technology. However, challenges such as suitable FO membranes, membrane fouling, concentration polarisation, and the availability of effective draw solutions (DS), limit FO technology. FO is seeking more importance in novel areas where separation and recovery of the DS is not required. The aims of this study was to: i) identify alternative water resources and evaluate their potential as suitable feed solution (FS); ii) Identify dyes and evaluate their potential as suitable draw solutions (DS) at different concentrations; iii) assess the use of aquaporin biomimetic membrane and iv) assess a FO system for the production of dye solutions. Osmotic pressure (OP) is the pressure exerted by the flow of water through semi-permeable membrane, separating two solutions with different concentrations of solute. The DS should always have OP higher than the FS in order to achieve high water flux. Three basic dyes (i.e. Maxilon Turquoise, Red and Blue) and three reactive dyes (i.e. Carmine, Olive Green and Black) were selected, based on their common use in the SA textile industry. The respective dye samples were prepared at different concentrations and dye-to-salt mass ratios ranging from 1:10 to 1:60 and assessed for OP using a freezing point osmometer. A lab-scale FO unit was used for all the studies. Feed and draw channels were circulated in a counter-current flow at a volumetric flow rate of 600 mL/min. Feed solutions(FS) included deionised water (DI) as a control, brackish water (BW), synthetic seawater (SSW) and textile wastewater (TWW) collected from two textile factories. OP of the FS (DI, BW5, SSW and SW, Factory 1 and Factory 2) was 0, 414, 2761, 2579, 1505 and 3308 kPa, respectively. Basic Blue and Reactive Black generated a higher OP compared to other selected dyes in the study and were therefore selected to be used as DS at a 1:10 dye-to-salt ratio and 0.02 M concentration. An aquaporin biomimetic FO membrane (Aquaporin, Denmark) was used for all the experiments conducted in the FO mode.

O objetivo deste trabalho foi investigar o desempenho de uma membrana comercial na remoção de um metal pesado (níquel) de efluentes sintéticos, por osmose inversa. Na primeira etapa foi realizada uma comparação com os resultados obtidos com soluções de alimentação contendo sais, como NaCl, NaNO3 e Ni(NO3)2.6 H2O, nas concentrações de 50, 100 e 200 ppm, e nas pressões de 10, 20 e 26 bar. Os resultados mostraram que a influência da concentração e da pressão aplicada ao sistema não afetaram as rejeições de forma significativa. Na segunda etapa, como os parâmetros não influíram significativamente na rejeição dos sais, optou-se, pela aplicação de uma pressão de operação de 10 bar, para avaliar a eficiência de remoção de níquel. A membrana utilizada, constituída de poliamida, modelo HR98PP e fornecida pela DOW/Filmtec, apresentou uma boa permeabilidade hidráulica. Os resultados mostraram que para todas as concentrações testadas, as rejeições de níquel ultrapassaram 96%, comprovando a boa seletividade deste tipo de membrana na rejeição do referido metal, com fluxos de permeado variando entre 4,78 e 5,55 L/h.m2 , sob pressão de operação de 10 bar. Para estudar o efeito do tamanho iônico na rejeição da membrana, o níquel foi complexado pela adição de um agente quelante na solução de alimentação. O agente escolhido foi o Na2EDTA, devido à formação de um complexo estável com o níquel e por ser um agente não prejudicial à saúde humana. Os resultados com adição de EDTA indicaram um aumento na rejeição de níquel, atingindo o índice máximo de 98,22 %, partindo-se de uma solução com 40,39 ppm de Ni2+, e confirmam que o processo de osmose inversa com a membrana HR98PP é altamente adequado para o tratamento de efluentes contendo níquel / The present work aim to investigate the performance of commercial membrane (HR98PP) at reverse osmosis process for nickel removal from synthetic effluents. The results was obtained by using salt solution of NaCl, NaNO3 and Ni(NO3)2.6 H2O at different feed concentration (50, 100 and 200 mg/L) and pressure (10, 20 and 26 bar), as drive-force of process. The membrane performance showed a good hydraulic permeability (Lp) and nickel removal at 10 bar. This condition was used to investigate the influence of EDTA, as chelate agent, on nickel rejection when a feed solution with lower Ni2+ concentration (≈ 40 mg/L) was prepared. The EDTA was chosen due to the stable complex formations and because this agent in not a prejucial element to human health and to environment. In this case, the HR98PP membrane was showed a high nickel rejection (≈ 98%), using feed solution containing 40,39 mg/L Ni2+. However, it is suitable for the wastewater nickel treatment

Os efluentes contendo cádmio podem ser gerados dos por várias indústrias. A aplicação de ambas as tecnologias osmose inversa (OI) e nanofiltração (NF) para o tratamento de efluentes contendo o íon cádmio para reduzir a degradação ambiental foram estudadas no presente trabalho. Amostras sintéticas contendo o íon cádmio em várias concentrações foram preparadas e submetidas aos tratamentos por OI e NF em escala laboratorial. Assim, dividiu-se o processo de remoção em três etapas: 1- analisou-se os processos de osmose inversa e nanofiltração em termos da rejeição do íon cádmio, onde se correlacionou e avaliou os principais parâmetros de processos (concentração da solução alimentação, fluxo de permeado e pressão) e comparou-se os sistemas entre si. Nas etapas 2 e 3 avaliou-se os efeitos da salinidade utilizando os contra-íons zinco e sódio respectivamente, sobre a rejeição do íon cádmio no sistema de osmose inversa em soluções aquosas contendo misturas de sulfato de cádmio e sulfato de zinco, e sulfato de cádmio e sulfato de sódio. Mediu-se as concentrações de cádmio e zinco por espectroscopia de absorção atômica e as concentrações de sulfato e sódio por cromatografia de íons. Os resultados obtidos na primeira etapa dos experimentos mostram que a osmose inversa e nanofiltração são eficientes na remoção de cádmio, onde se obteve as taxas médias de rejeição de 92,4% e 96,6% respectivamente, sendo esses valores iguais em magnitude, tendo em vista os valores da incerteza padrão relativa associada a esses resultados. Em ambos os sitemas, os fluxos de permeado e as rejeições não sofreram influência do aumento da concentração de cádmio na solução alimentação.Na etapa 2, os resultados mostraram a diminuição da rejeição de cádmio com o aumento da concentração de sulfato de zinco na alimentação, sendo esse fenômeno atribuído a semelhança existente entre os íons Cd2+ e Zn2+ associados aos seus raios iônicos de hidratação e as energias de hidratação. Foram observadas as quedas do fluxo de permeado e das rejeições com o aumento da concentração de alimentação provavelmente devido ao efeito da polarização. Na etapa 3, a rejeição do íon cádmio não foi afetada pelo aumento da concentração de sulfato de sódio na alimentação, assim como os fluxos de permeado. Outro aspecto relacionado à rejeição é que a difusão do sódio através da membrana é favorecida frente à difusão do cádmio, sendo atribuído ao menor raio de hidratação do sódio / Effluents containing cadmium may be produced by a variety of industries. The application of the reverse osmosis and nanofiltration technologies for the treatment of effluents containing cadmium, in order to reduce environmental degradation, were studied in the present work. Synthetic samples containing the cadmium ion in different concentrations were prepared and treated by reverse osmosis and nanofiltration. The removal process was divided in three steps: 1- the reverse osmosis and nanofiltration processes were analyzed concerning the rejection of the cadmium ion, correlating and evaluating the main process parameters (feeding solution concentration, permeated flow and pressure), and comparing the systems between themselves. In steps 2 and 3, the effects of salinity in the elimination of the cadmium ion in aqueous solutions, containing a combination of cadmium sulfate and zinc sulfate, or a combination of cadmium sulfate and sodium sulfate, were assessed by the use of zinc and sodium counterions. The concentrations of cadmium and zinc were measured by atomic absorption spectroscopy, and the concentrations of sulfate and sodium were measured by ion chromatography. The results obtained in the first step of the experiments show that the reverse osmosis and the nanofiltration processes are efficient in removing cadmium, with an average rejection rate of 92,4% and 96,6%, respectively. Considering the standard relative incertitude associated to the results, the values obtained are considered of the same magnitude. In both systems, the permeated flow and the rejects were not influenced by a rise in cadmium concentration in the feeding solution. In step 2, the results showed a decrease in cadmium rejection related with a rise in the zinc sulfate concentration in the feeding solution. This phenomenon is due to the similarity between the Cd2+ and Zn2+ ions, associated to their hydration ionic radius and to their hydration energies. A decrease in the permeated flow and of the rejects related to a rise in the feeding concentration was observed and was probably due to the polarization effect. In step 3, the cadmium ion rejection was not affected by a sodium sulphate concentration rise in the feeding, as well as in the permeated flow. Another aspect related to the rejection is that, due to its smaller hydration radius, sodium has a better diffusion rate through the membrane than cadmium