pH and Temperature Effect on Transport Parameters of Zn Retention by NF Membrane

Abstract

The objective of our study was to take knowledge about the possible influence of various operating parameters on the performance of the membrane process through evolution of transport parameters in order to understand the mechanism which governs the separation of the zinc ions by nanofiltration. The operating parameters to be considered in this study were temperature and pH. The experiments were performed on zinc nitrate solutions prepared at 10 mg/L in Zn $^{2+}$ . The results have shown that an increase in the temperature generates a reduction in the solute retention (68% at 13°C and 23% at 36°C). The study on the pH effect have shown that the Zn ions retention decreases when the pH increases (90% at pH 2 and 60% at pH 6), while that of the nitrate ions retention increases (17% at pH 2), reached a maximum (67% at pH 4) and then decreases (56% at pH 6). These results were related to the calculation of solute transport parameters in order to know more comprehensive retention and transfer mechanism.