Recovery of dyes and salts from highly concentrated (dye and salt) mixed water using nano-filtration ceramic membranes

In this study, a higher concentration of (reactive dyestuff and salt) mixed water was used to verify the feasibility of separation by membrane techniques. The commercial nano filtration ceramic membrane (MWCO 200 Da) has been used in cross flow mode for separation of dyes and salts from highly concentrated mixed water solution. NF ceramic membrane presents good permeability (pure water flux 54.15 Lm(−2) h(−1), TMP 8 bar), 8% dye rejection and reduced salt rejection of NaCl (<8%) and Na(2)SO(4) (<25%). Consequently, the operation parameters (TMP, temperature) and solution environment (solution pH, salt concentration and dye concentration) have been intensively evaluated for separation efficiency in the NF ceramic membrane process. Significantly, the NF ceramic membrane has performed less rejection to chloride ions than sulphate ions due to the Donnan effect. Solution pH, concentration of salt and dye concentration have shown significant effects on ceramic membrane separation performance. In addition, pollutant removals were achieved with noteworthy values for the chemical oxygen demand for permeate solution also color difference between concentrate and permeate. In conclusion, the strong rejection of dyes by the NF ceramic membranes proves that it can be suitable alternatives for textile wastewater treatment process.