Viability of Total Ammoniacal Nitrogen Recovery Using a Polymeric Thin-Film Composite Forward Osmosis Membrane: Determination of Ammonia Permeability Coefficient

Shahgodari, Shirin; Llorens, Joan; Labanda, Jordi

doi:10.3390/polym16131834

Open AccessArticle

Viability of Total Ammoniacal Nitrogen Recovery Using a Polymeric Thin-Film Composite Forward Osmosis Membrane: Determination of Ammonia Permeability Coefficient

by

Shirin Shahgodari

,

Joan Llorens

and

Jordi Labanda

^*

Department of Chemical Engineering and Analytical Chemistry, University of Barcelona, Martí i Franquès 1, 08028 Barcelona, Spain

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Polymers 2024, 16(13), 1834; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym16131834

Submission received: 27 May 2024 / Revised: 20 June 2024 / Accepted: 23 June 2024 / Published: 27 June 2024

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Functional Polymeric Materials for Water and Wastewater Management)

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Abstract

Total ammoniacal nitrogen (TAN) occurs in various wastewaters and its recovery is vital for environmental reasons. Forward osmosis (FO), an energy-efficient technology, extracts water from a feed solution (FS) and into a draw solution (DS). Asymmetric FO membranes consist of an active layer and a support layer, leading to internal concentration polarization (ICP). In this study, we assessed TAN recovery using a polymeric thin-film composite FO membrane by determining the permeability coefficients of NH₄⁺ and NH₃. Calculations employed the solution–diffusion model, Nernst–Planck equation, and film theory, applying the acid–base equilibrium for bulk concentration corrections. Initially, model parameters were estimated using sodium salt solutions as the DS and deionized water as the FS. The NH₄⁺ permeability coefficient was 0.45 µm/s for NH₄Cl and 0.013 µm/s for (NH₄)₂SO₄ at pH < 7. Meanwhile, the NH₃ permeability coefficient was 6.18 µm/s at pH > 9 for both ammonium salts. Polymeric FO membranes can simultaneously recover ammonia and water, achieving 15% and 35% recovery at pH 11.5, respectively.

Keywords: membrane technology; forward osmosis; nutrient recovery; modeling; ammonia permeability coefficient

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MDPI and ACS Style

Shahgodari, S.; Llorens, J.; Labanda, J. Viability of Total Ammoniacal Nitrogen Recovery Using a Polymeric Thin-Film Composite Forward Osmosis Membrane: Determination of Ammonia Permeability Coefficient. Polymers 2024, 16, 1834. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym16131834

AMA Style

Shahgodari S, Llorens J, Labanda J. Viability of Total Ammoniacal Nitrogen Recovery Using a Polymeric Thin-Film Composite Forward Osmosis Membrane: Determination of Ammonia Permeability Coefficient. Polymers. 2024; 16(13):1834. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym16131834

Chicago/Turabian Style

Shahgodari, Shirin, Joan Llorens, and Jordi Labanda. 2024. "Viability of Total Ammoniacal Nitrogen Recovery Using a Polymeric Thin-Film Composite Forward Osmosis Membrane: Determination of Ammonia Permeability Coefficient" Polymers 16, no. 13: 1834. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym16131834

APA Style

Shahgodari, S., Llorens, J., & Labanda, J. (2024). Viability of Total Ammoniacal Nitrogen Recovery Using a Polymeric Thin-Film Composite Forward Osmosis Membrane: Determination of Ammonia Permeability Coefficient. Polymers, 16(13), 1834. https://doi.org/10.3390/polym16131834

Note that from the first issue of 2016, this journal uses article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

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Viability of Total Ammoniacal Nitrogen Recovery Using a Polymeric Thin-Film Composite Forward Osmosis Membrane: Determination of Ammonia Permeability Coefficient

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