Study the Potential of Biological Growth on Dead-end Hollow Fiber Membrane using Oilfield Effluent

Abstract: Oil and gas-producing countries are suffering from water resource depletion without any treatment or with technologies that have the same impact, regardless of how expensive or large a land area required. On the other hand, domestic wastewater also has many treatment technologies, and biological full cell is one of them. Using an end-of-tube hollow fiber membrane in domestic wastewater allows biological microorganisms to grout and treat the water, whereas using oil-filled water has not been studied so far. This study addresses the potential of biological growth on two different types of dead-end hollow fiber membranes by using three samples of oilfield water i.e., Membrane Aerated Biofilm Reactor OxyMem and MEMCOR® Ultrafiltration. The Membrane Bioreactor Systems are selected for the current studies and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) is used to show the biological growth on selected types of membrane to treat the oilfield wastewater. As a result, the growth in OxyMem is better which is 54% of COD removal and 55% NT removal for 55 days, whereas MEMCOR shows comparatively less growth in SEM results with 33% of COD removal and 9% NT removal during the same period. Therefore, this confirms that both types of membranes can be used to treat oilfield water in biological cells and noticed a better performance in OxyMem compared to MEMCOR

Development of a Noble Fouling-Resistant Membrane for Wastewater Treatment

Abstract: Membrane fouling is a serious matter in membrane operation that impacts the system's durability and cost. A noble fouling-resistant membrane was created to address this issue. A noble fouling-resistant membrane was made using copper oxide-graphene oxide (Cu2O-GO) and polyether sulfone. As copper has strong antimicrobial properties, the per-unit strength of graphene is the highest among the known materials in the world. The Cu2O-GO was incorporated into the polyether sulfone matrix using the phase inversion method. The effects of Cu2O-GO on the performance and antifouling properties of the membrane were investigated. The membrane structure and properties have also been characterized by using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy Dispersive X-Ray Spectroscopy (EDS), and Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). The SEM and EDX tests were carried out on the 0.1 wt %, 0.5 wt %, and 1 wt% of Cu2O membranes. Membrane performance in terms of wastewater treatment and fouling resistance of the prepared mixed matrix membranes was also studied. This project shows a new direction in the research as not many studies using Cu2O-GO has been reported worldwide

Produce starch-based bioplastic from different renewable biomass sources

Due to the adverse environmental impacts of synthetic plastics, biodegradable plastics development for both industrial and commercial applications is essential for the present scenario. In addition to the non-degradability of petroleum-based plastic and its impacts, so it is very important to find an alternative to petroleum-based plastic. Starch-based bioplastics are an excessive substitute for petroleum-based plastics due to their significant properties compared with natural sources. This research aims to formalize five new formulas of bioplastic by combining two sources of starch, extracted from various biomass sources, its properties and comparison between them. The moisture content shows 2.07% and 0.984% for samples F and B respectively and that indicates that the samples which contain a high amount of corn starch have less moisture content. The highest results of biodegradation percentages were 68.27% and 52.6% which are for samples A and D respectively, and the lowest biodegradation percentage were 34.33% and 31.29% which are for samples F and B respectively

Experimental Scrutinization on Treatment of Organic and Inorganic Effluents using Adsorption Process

Abstract: Wastewater treatment has become one of the most significant sources for irrigation and other activities in arid and semi-arid countries. Many conventional methods deal with different organic and inorganic compounds of wastewater. One of the most common is using activated carbon through an adsorption process to treat wastewater. Adsorption is used when the contaminants present in wastewater are removed using activated carbon as an adsorbent. This paper examines the results of experiments on removing organic and inorganic compounds using activated carbon prepared from waste tyres, banana trunks, tea leaves and date seeds. Moreover, studies state that activated carbon has a strong affinity for binding organic substances, even at low concentrations. Thus, it has become the premier method for treating organic-laden wastewater. This paper reveals a method to deal with contaminants in wastewater which is very effective. Various experimental tests were carried out to determine the adsorption capacity of the different activated carbon, expressed as percentage removal of Chemical Oxygen Demand, Total Suspended Solid, and Total Dissolved Solid, and the effects of pH, contact time and dosage. The surface area of the adsorbent, pore volume and an isothermal graph of the adsorbent were determined using BET (Brunauer-Emmett-Teller) Surface Area. Waste tyres (WT), date seeds (DS), tea leaves (TL) and banana trunk (BT) have 1260, 1144.52, 163.8 and 115.4 m2/g surface area with 1.62, 0.656, 0.066088 and 0.4566 cm3 of total pore volume respectively indicating the use of waste tyres as an adsorbent. The moisture and ash content percentages were also determined and it was found that the above adsorbents have 2.6%, 6.4%, 7.4% and 9% moisture content, with 3.6%, 6.2%, 6.9% and 12% ash content respectively

Implementation of FeSO4·H2O as an Eco-Friendly Coagulant for the Elimination of Organic Pollutants from Tertiary Palm Oil Mill Effluent: Process Optimization, Kinetics, and Thermodynamics Studies

The biologically treated palm oil mill effluent (POME) urges further treatment to minimize the residual pollutant concentration for safe discharge in the nearest watercourse. In the present study, the post-treatment of biologically treated POME was conducted using ferrous sulfate monohydrate (FeSO4·H2O) as a coagulant. The influence of the FeSO4·H2O coagulation of POME was determined on the elimination of biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), suspended solids (SS), and chemical oxygen demand (COD) with varying flocculation time (min), slow mixing speed (rpm), coagulant doses (g/L) and pH. The FeSO4·H2O coagulation–flocculation experimental conditions were designed following the central composite design (CCD) of experiments and optimized by employing response surface methodology (RSM) based on the optimal SS, COD, and BOD elimination from POME. The maximum BOD, SS, and COD elimination achieved were about 96%, 97%, and 98%, respectively, at the optimized experimental condition. The surface morphology and elemental composition analyses of raw FeSO4·H2O and sludge generated after coagulation revealed that the FeSO4·H2O effectively removed the colloidal and suspended particles from POME. The well-fitted kinetic model equation was the pseudo-second-order kinetic equation to describe the FeSO4·H2O coagulation–flocculation behavior. The thermodynamics properties analyses revealed that the FeSO4·H2O coagulation of POME was non-spontaneous and endothermic. The residual SS, COD, and BOD in treated POME were determined to be 28.27 ± 5 mg/L, 147 ± 3 mg/L, and 6.36 ± 0.5 mg/L, respectively, lower the recommended discharged limits as reported by the Department of Environment (DoE), Malaysia

Implementation of FeSO₄·H₂O as an Eco-Friendly Coagulant for the Elimination of Organic Pollutants from Tertiary Palm Oil Mill Effluent: Process Optimization, Kinetics, and Thermodynamics Studies

The biologically treated palm oil mill effluent (POME) urges further treatment to minimize the residual pollutant concentration for safe discharge in the nearest watercourse. In the present study, the post-treatment of biologically treated POME was conducted using ferrous sulfate monohydrate (FeSO4·H2O) as a coagulant. The influence of the FeSO4·H2O coagulation of POME was determined on the elimination of biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), suspended solids (SS), and chemical oxygen demand (COD) with varying flocculation time (min), slow mixing speed (rpm), coagulant doses (g/L) and pH. The FeSO4·H2O coagulation–flocculation experimental conditions were designed following the central composite design (CCD) of experiments and optimized by employing response surface methodology (RSM) based on the optimal SS, COD, and BOD elimination from POME. The maximum BOD, SS, and COD elimination achieved were about 96%, 97%, and 98%, respectively, at the optimized experimental condition. The surface morphology and elemental composition analyses of raw FeSO4·H2O and sludge generated after coagulation revealed that the FeSO4·H2O effectively removed the colloidal and suspended particles from POME. The well-fitted kinetic model equation was the pseudo-second-order kinetic equation to describe the FeSO4·H2O coagulation–flocculation behavior. The thermodynamics properties analyses revealed that the FeSO4·H2O coagulation of POME was non-spontaneous and endothermic. The residual SS, COD, and BOD in treated POME were determined to be 28.27 ± 5 mg/L, 147 ± 3 mg/L, and 6.36 ± 0.5 mg/L, respectively, lower the recommended discharged limits as reported by the Department of Environment (DoE), Malaysia