Removal of AOX from waste water with mixed surfactants by MEUF

The subject of the research was treatment of industrial waste water generated in the production process during the washing of reactors (and partly also of the floor) after the production of powder and liquid detergents. This study demonstrated the removal efficiency of adsorbable organic halogens (AOX) during micellar-enhanced ultrafiltration (MEUF) in the presence of anionic and nonionic surfactants simulated in model samples and verified by testing real samples. Mechanism is based on the fact, that the surfactant monomers assemble into micelles which are large enough to be retained by the UF membrane. The hollow fibre membrane module made of polyvinylidenedifluoride (PVDF) was used. We have found that the retention of AOX on the membrane is strongly dependent on several factors: the nature and characteristic of surfactants and especially on the presence of electrolytes in waste water and that retention exceeds 80% in cases when conductivity of waste water is at least 4.0 mS/cm. The decreases in the concentration of both anionic and non-ionic surfactants exceeded 90%. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.