Rejection mechanism of nanofiltration (NF) membrane for organic solutes (including alkyl phenol, bisphenol A, phthalate acid esters, phosphoric acid esters, other plastic additives, and natural hormones like 17β estradiol, etc) was examined. The experiments indicated almost complete removal of these solutes by the tight NF membranes, while the rejection obtained by the loose membranes was dependent on solute species. Compounds with flat-shaped structure like 2-H-benzothiazol and dimethyl phthalate were more permeable than other target solutes within the same molecular size range. Of the four methods of size determination used, there was no significant difference in the accuracy of prediction of rejection from the solute sizes. The size configurations of molecules have been identified to greatly influence the permeation or retention, yet the size parameter was thought to be incomplete as a single parameter in describing rejection of organic solutes. The logarithm of octanol-water partitioning coefficients of solutes appears not to be an effective parameter in modelling rejections as its contribution was only slight or minor. We obtained better correlations with structural configuration of molecules (by molecular width and length) and polarity of the molecules.
Rejection characteristics of arsenic compounds such as arsenite, dimethyl arsinic acid, and arsenate were examined regarding the effect of pH change in nanofiltration. Rejection mechanism of arsenic compounds was explained by comparing experimental rejection with calculation of the Extended Nernst-Planck model coupled with steric hindrance model. Nanofiltration membranes of the same material show similar rejection characteristics of arsenic compounds in different species. Steric hindrance and electrostatic effect in the nanofiltration membranes was well described by the model because the rejection of chloride, sulfate and arsenate ions, which exist in ionized forms at a wide pH range showed quite good agreement between model calculation and experimental result. The rejection of dimethyl arsenic acid and arsenite required the consideration of mutual interaction between membrane material and solutes as well as steric hindrance and electrostatic effect. A system with ultra low-pressure nanofiltration membrane coupled with pre-oxidation device was suggested for the treatment of arsenic in groundwater in Bangladesh.
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