Removal of phenolic compounds in water by ultrafiltration membrane treatments

The ultrafiltration (UF) of aqueous solutions containing mixtures of three phenolic compounds (gallic acid, acetovanillone, and esculetin) was studied in a tangential UF laboratory system. These substances were selected as model pollutants present in the tannic fraction of the cork processing wastewaters. The two membranes used were a polyethersulfone membrane (Biomax5K (TM)) and a regenerated cellulose membrane (Ultracel5K (TM)), both with a molecular weight cut-off (MWCO) of 5000 Da. Previous experiments for the characterization of the membranes led to values for the water hydraulic permeability of 70.3 and 18.1 L/h - m(2) - bar for the Biomax5K and Ultracel5K membranes, respectively. During the UF experiments, the permeate flow rate remained almost constant with processing time and the evolution of the pollutants concentrations varied depending on the nature of the membranes and the substances. The influence of the main operating variables (tansmembrane pressure and feed flow rate) on the permeate flux was established, and values for the apparent and intrinsic rejection coefficients were evaluated. Cork processing wastewater UF experiments were also conducted under similar operating conditions to those applied to the ultrapure water solutions. Removals of chemical oxygen demand, aromatic and tannic contents, and color were determined in these experiments, and the elimination of the three model compounds in the wastewater was also followed, with the evaluation of their apparent rejection coefficients.