Experimental investigation on ion separation using a ceramic Nanofiltration membrane: influence of trans-membrane pressure and solution concentration on ion rejection

Abstract

The current research intends to conduct an experimental work to study the removal efficiency of Magnesium (Mg²⁺), Potassium (K¹⁺), Sodium (Na¹⁺), Bromide (Br^1-) and Chloride (Cl^1-) ions from different prepared solutions using a ceramic Nanofiltration (NF) membrane with a molecular weight cut-off of 1 kDa. Specifically, the solutions are prepared using double ions and triple ions and the filtration is conducted using different operating conditions of the trans-membrane pressure (TMP) and ions concentrations. In this regard, the TMP ranges between 1 to 5 bar and the ion concentration ranged between 0.01 to 1.0 M (equivalent to 1.0 to 1000 mol/m³). The results demonstrate that the highest ion rejection can be attained with the maximum applied TMP. However, this is not the case for the NaBr and KBr solutions, demonstrating the reverse action. Variable ion rejection patterns are experimentally identified in the current research, which varies between 90% to 99.7%.