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    Nitrogen Recovery from Landfill Leachate Using Lab- and Pilot-Scale Membrane Contactors: Research into Fouling Development and Membrane Characterization Effects

    Year: 2022

    Journal: Membranes, Volume 12, SEP

    Authors: Righetto, Ilaria; Al-Juboori, Raed A.; Kaljunen, Juho Uzkurt; Huynh, Ngoc; Mikola, Anna

    Organizations: Ministry of the Environment in Finland RAKI2 project [VN/2250/2019]; Maa-ja vesitekniikan tuki r.y. (MVTT)

    Keywords: nutrient recovery; membrane contactor; landfill leachate; ammonia transfer rate; membrane fouling; tannins

    Membrane contactor technology affords great opportunities for nitrogen recovery from waste streams. This study presents a performance comparison between lab- and pilot-scale membrane contactors using landfill leachate samples. Polypropylene (PP) and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) fibers in different dimensions were compared in terms of ammonia (NH3) recovery on a lab scale using a synthetic ammonium solution. The effect of pre-treating the leachate with tannin coagulation on nitrogen recovery was also evaluated. An ammonia transfer on the lab and pilot scale was scrutinized using landfill leachate as a feed solution. It was found that PTFE fibers performed better than PP fibers. Among PTFE fibers, the most porous one (denoted as M1) had the highest NH3 flux of 19.2 g/m(2).h. Tannin pre-treatment reduced fouling and increased NH3, which in turn improved nitrogen recovery. The mass transfer coefficient of the lab-scale reactor was more than double that of the pilot reactor (1.80 x 10(-7) m/s vs. 4.45 x 10(-7) m/s). This was likely attributed to the difference in reactor design. An analysis of the membrane surface showed that the landfill leachate caused a combination of inorganic and organic fouling. Cleaning with UV and 0.01 M H2O2 was capable of removing the fouling completely and restoring the membrane characteristics.
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