Impact of fouling, cleaning and faecal contamination on the separation of water from urine using thermally driven membrane separation

In this study, membrane distillation is evaluated as a technology for non-sewered sanitation, using waste heat to enable separation of clean water from urine. Whilst membrane fouling was observed for urine, wetting was not evident and product water quality met the proposed discharge standard, despite concentration of the feed. Fouling was reversible using physical cleaning, which is similar to previous membrane studies operating without pressure as the driving force. High chemical oxygen demand reduction was achieved following faecal contamination, but mass transfer was impeded and wetting occurred which compromised permeate quality, suggesting upstream intervention is demanded to limit the extent of faecal contamination

Membrane distillation for concentrated blackwater: Influence of configuration (air gap, direct contact, vacuum) on selectivity and water productivity

Water recovery from concentrated blackwater has been studied using air gap (AGMD), direct contact (DCMD) and vacuum membrane distillation (VMD) to deliver decentralised sanitation. Whilst good water quality was achieved with each configuration, differences in the rejection of volatile compounds was observed. VMD exhibited the highest rejection of volatiles, specifically ammoniacal nitrogen, of all the configurations but fouling inhibited total flux. DCMD exhibited a temperature dependent volatile rejection which resulted in poor rejection at lower feed temperatures (≤40 °C). AGMD was identified as the most promising configuration for application within decentralised sanitation, since the rejection of volatiles was consistent over a range of operating temperatures with ammonia rejection directly related to solution pH. An increase in organic colloids and particles due to faecal contamination reduced COD removal due to the induction of wetting, but was shown to be offset by adoption of a smaller pore size (0.1 μm), and when complemented with upstream solid-liquid separation within a fully integrated system, will provide a robust sanitation solution. Importantly, this work has shown that AGMD can recover water from concentrated blackwater close to international discharge and reuse regulations in a single stage process; this is significant as blackwater consists of only urine and faeces, and is thus 40 times more concentrated than municipal sewage. It is proposed that the water quality produced reflects a step change to delivering safe sanitation, and is complemented by a simple method for heat recovery integration this is similarly advantageous for resource constrained environments common to decentralised sanitation solutions

Ultrafiltration pretreatment enhances membrane distillation flux, resilience and permeate quality during water recovery from concentrated blackwater (urine/faeces)

In this study, the pretreatment of concentrated blackwater using ultrafiltration (UF) was shown to improve the permeability, selectivity and robustness of membrane distillation (MD) for application to wastewater treatment. Concentrated blackwater comprises urine and faeces, with minimal flushwater added. The faecal contribution increased the soluble organic fraction and introduced coarse and colloidal particles into the urine, which increased resistance to filtration during dead-end UF. Ultrafiltration removed the particulate and colloidal fractions (MW > 500 kDa) from the blackwater, which permitted similar permeability and robustness for MD to that observed with urine (29.9 vs 25.9 kg m−2 h−1), which comprises a lower colloidal organic concentration. Without UF pretreatment, a higher density organic layer formed on the MD surface (197 vs 70 gCOD m−2) which reduced mass transfer, and transformed the contact angle from hydrophobic to hydrophilic (144.9° to 49.8°), leading to pore wetting and a dissipation in product water quality due to breakthrough. In comparison, with UF pretreatment, MD delivered permeate water quality to standards satisfactory for discharge or reuse. This is particularly timely as the ISO standard for non-sewered sanitation has been adopted by several countries at a national level, and to date there are relatively few technologies to achieve the treatment standard. Membrane distillation provides a robust means for concentrated blackwater treatment, and since the energy required for separation is primarily heat, this advanced treatment can be delivered into areas with more fragile power networks

Tube-side mass transfer for hollow fibre membrane contactors operated in the low Graetz range

Transformation of the tube-side mass transfer coefficient derived in hollow fibre membrane contactors (HFMC) of different characteristic length scales (equivalent diameter and fibre length) has been studied when operated in the low Graetz range (Gz<10). Within the low Gz range, mass transfer is generally described by the Graetz problem (Sh=3.67) which assumes that the concentration profile comprises a constant shape over the fibre radius. In this study, it is experimentally evidenced that this assumption over predicts mass transfer within the low Graetz range. Furthermore, within the low Gz range (below 2), a proportional relationship between the experimentally determined mass transfer coefficient (Kov) and the Graetz number has been identified. For Gz numbers below 2, the experimental Sh number approached unity, which suggests that mass transfer is strongly dependent upon diffusion. However, within this diffusion controlled region of mass transfer, tube-side fluid velocity remained important. For Gz numbers above 2, Sh could be satisfactorily described by extension to the Lévêque solution, which can be ascribed to the constrained growth of the concentration boundary layer adjacent to the fibre wall. Importantly this study demonstrates that whilst mass transfer in the low Graetz range does not explicitly conform to either the Graetz problem or classical Lévêque solution, it is possible to transform the experimentally derived overall mass transfer coefficient (Kov) between characteristic length scales (dh and L). This was corroborated by comparison of the empirical relationship determined in this study (Sh=0.36Gz) with previously published studies operated in the low Gz range. This analysis provides important insight for process design when slow tube-side flows, or low Schmidt numbers (coincident with gases) constrain operation of hollow fibre membrane contactors to the low Gz range

Faeces - Urine separation via settling and displacement: Prototype tests for a novel non-sewered sanitation system

The development of novel, non-sewered sanitation systems like the Nano Membrane Toilet requires thorough investigation of processes that may seem well-understood. For example, unlike the settling of primary sludge, the separation of solids from liquids in a small-volume container at the scale of a household toilet has not been studied before. In two sets of experiments, the settling of real faeces and toilet paper in settling columns and the settling of synthetic faeces in a conical tank are investigated to understand the factors affecting the liquid quality for downstream treatment processes. Toilet paper is found to be a major inhibitor to settling of solids. While a lower overflow point results in better phase separation through displacement of liquid, a higher overflow point and frequent removal of solids may be more advantageous for the liquid qualit

A relational study of supply chain agility and firms’ performance in the services providers

The link between agile supply chain dimensions and business performance in the Iranian service industry is assessed in this study. A questionnaire covering important agility criteria identified in the literature was designed and administered to a sample of 420 managers and users of supply chain in service providers. The response rate achieved was 16%. Validity and reliability were statistically tested. Line regression analysis was also used and all tests confirm normal distribution of data. By testing the full supply chain related with agile practices, the findings indicated there was a significant connection between supply chain agility and business performance such as user satisfactions, information systems and advertisement.</p