Development of a New Hydrogel Anion Exchange Membrane for Swine Wastewater Treatment

Abstract

We developed a proprietary anion exchange membrane (AEM) for wastewater treatment as an alternative to commercial products. Following the successful development of a hydrogel cation exchange membrane on a porous ceramic support, we used the same approach to fabricate an AEM. Different positively charged monomers and conditions were tested, and all AEMs were tested for nitrate and phosphate anion removal from buffers by electrodialysis. The best AEM was tested further with real swine wastewater for phosphate removal by electrodialysis and nitrate removal in a bioelectrochemical denitrification system (BEDS). Our new AEM showed better phosphate removal compared with a commercial membrane; however, due to its low permselectivity, the migration of cations was detected while operating a two-chambered biocathode BEDS in which the membrane was utilized as a separator. After improving the permselectivity of the membrane, the performance of our proprietary AEM was comparable to that of a commercial membrane. Because of the usage of a porous ceramic support, our AEM is self-supporting, sturdy, and easy to attach to various frames, which makes the membrane better suited for harsh and corrosive environments, such as swine and other animal farms and domestic wastewater.

Phosphates Transfer in Pristine and Modified CJMA-2 Membrane during Electrodialysis Processing of NaxH(3−x)PO4 Solutions with pH from 4.5 to 9.9

“…The weakly basic fixed groups of AEMs (primary and secondary amines) enter into specific interactions with proton-containing phosphoric acid anions. These interactions seem to be similar to those [ 15 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 ], which were already discussed in the Introduction. According to the electrostatic/hydrogen bond switching model, which describes such interactions [ 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 ], proton transfer reactions contribute to the formation of a “bound species” involving the proton-containing species of oxoacids and amino groups.…”

“…Some of them [ 14 , 24 , 25 ] believe that steric hindrance is one of the main obstacles to the transport of multiply charged anions in conventional anion-exchange membranes (AEMs). Therefore, new generation AEMs were actively developed by many research teams [ 15 , 17 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 ] in recent years. Typically, these membranes have an ion exchange matrix that is less rigidly cross-linked compared to conventional membranes [ 17 , 26 , 27 ].…”

Bioelectrochemical Systems (BES) for Biomethane Production—Review

“…This leads to a well-defined nanoscale separation, which increases the conductivity to create block CEM [126]. Alternatively, the functionalized groups can be attached closely to make aggregates, resulting in densely functionalized CEMs [127]. There are several other modifications to alter the properties of the membrane [126].…”

“…There are concerns about using AEMs in the industry because of their poor conductivity and weak chemical stability. To improve these properties, new types of ionic groups and designs of polymeric architecture have been developed [126,127,130,131].…”

Synthesis of Carboxymethylcellulose–Acrylamide–Montmorillonite Composite Hydrogels for Wastewater Purification

“…It can also cause dizziness, nausea, respiratory distress, diarrhoea, vomiting, anaemia, and even neurological damage when ingested into the human body [4,5]. Traditional wastewater treatment techniques include chemical oxidation [6,7], biodegradation [8,9], adsorption [10][11][12], membrane separation [13,14], flocculation [15,16], chemical precipitation [17][18][19] and ion exchange [20,21]. Among them, adsorption method is considered as one of the most effective methods for the removal of heavy metal ions and organic dyes due to its simplicity of operation, wide range of application, cost-effectiveness and environmental friendliness.…”