Use of Micellar-Enhanced Ultrafiltration for Removal/ Recovery of Dissolved Organics and Metals from Water

从水中去除和/或回收溶解的有机物或金属的经济方法对于美国工业竞争力是必要的。此外，专门从事危险废物处理和污染控制的公司将成为美国工业增长的一个主要领域。胶束强化超滤(MEUF)是一种去除水中溶解有机物和多价金属离子的新工艺。在MEUF中，一种离子表面活性剂被添加到水中，这种表面活性剂形成称为胶束的聚集体。有机和金属物种与胶束结合或结合。然后，溶液在超滤设备中进行处理，膜孔尺寸小到足以阻止胶束和相关目标溶质的通过。其结果是得到了极其纯净的渗透液，以及用于处置或更经济地最终回收溶质的非常浓缩、低体积的保留剂。与大多数替代方法不同，MEUF可以同时去除有机物和金属。初步工作表明，一次通过过程中的浓度降低了两个数量级。减少的百分比不会随着进料溶质浓度的降低而减少，这使得该技术在将剧毒化学物质从低浓度降低到超低浓度方面特别有效。

Economical methods of removing and/or recovering dissolved organics or metals from water are necessary for US industrial competitiveness. Also, firms specializing in hazardous waste disposal and pollution control will be a major area of industrial growth in the US. Micellar-enhanced ultrafiltration (MEUF) is a new process which can remove dissolved organics and multivalent metal ions from waters. In MEUF, an ionic surfactant, which forms aggregates called micelles, is added to water. Organic and metallic species associate or bind with the micelles. The solution is then treated in an ultrafiltration device with membrane pore sizes small enough to block the passage of micelles and the associated target solutes. The result is an extremely pure permeate, and a very concentrated, low-volume retentate for disposal or much more economical ultimate recovery of the solutes. Unlike most alternative methods, MEUF can simultaneously remove both organics and metals. Reductions in concentration of two orders of magnitude in one pass have been demonstrated in preliminary work. The percentage reduction does not decrease as the feed solute concentration decreases, making this technique particularly effective in the reduction of very toxic chemicals from low concentrations to ultralow concentrations.//