Date of Award
2010
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Engineering Science
Program
Chemical and Biochemical Engineering
Supervisor
Dr. Hassan G. Gomaa
Second Advisor
Dr. Madhumita B. Ray
Abstract
The removal of pharmaceuticals pollutants such as: ibuprofen (IBU) and 4-isobutylacetophenone (4-IBAP) from water was investigated on a pilot scale using a commercial hollow fibre membrane module. The effects of water and solvent flow rates (92 ml/min - 474 ml∕min) on the shell and tube side of the hollow fibre, respectively, were investigated. The pH of the aqueous phase was varied from 2 to 10. The pilot-scale experiments were conducted in batch and once
through modes. The hollow fibres were found to be very efficient in reducing the concentrations (10 ppm - 110 ppm) of the pharmaceuticals in water by approximately 90 percent within the first minute. The effect of aqueous phase pH was also studied. Ibuprofen removal w as greatly affected by pH with a near 100 percent removal at pH 2, and less than 20 percent at a pH of 10. Removal of the ibuprofen metabolite (4-isobutylacetophenone) was not affected by the pH, and average removal of approximately 96 percent was achieved at both basic and acidic pH. In the next phase of this investigation, integration of the extraction and stripping stages were carried out in one hollow fibre contactor. The organic solvent was impregnated into the pores of the membrane, which allowed the drugs to be extracted once the aqueous phase passed over the fibres and a stripping solution of weak hydrochloric acid replenished the solvent by extracting the drugs. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first successful attempt to apply such approach in a continuous pilot scale operation. The contactor offered the ability to allow both liquid phases to enter the module without contacting each other. Finally, a green solvent was also used in this investigation and it too was embedded into the pores of the membrane. The results showed that it is viable in extracting the pharmaceuticals of interest
Recommended Citation
Williams, Nicia Shaneek, "REMOVAL OF PHARMACEUTICALS FROM DRINKING WATER USING HOLLOW FIBRE MEMBRANE CONTACTOR" (2010). Digitized Theses. 4898.
https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/digitizedtheses/4898