Application of Nanofiltration and Reverse Osmosis in Wastewater Treatment Containing Ethylene Glycol from South Pars Gas Complex Wastewater

Abstract

Today, industrial wastewater discharge has become one of the serious problems of governments. Industrial wastewater contains harmful and dangerous compounds that can endanger human health and the environment. In addition, in the oil, gas, and petrochemical industries, ethylene glycol is used for various purposes, and its removal from wastewater has become a challenge. Industries located on the shores of the Persian Gulf are one of the sources of production of this type of wastewater. In this study, the performance of Nanofiltration (NF) and Reverse Osmosis (RO) membrane processes for treatment of wastewater containing ethylene glycol (EG) from South Pars Gas Complex (SPGC) are investigated and compared. Various process parameters such as pressure, flowrate, and EG removal percentage as well as performance and characteristics of the membrane such as flux and fouling are discussed. It has been observed RO has better performance and less fouling than NF. However, the NF membrane has higher flux due to less compression. RO process achieved 80-99% and NF achieved 60-80% EG rejection during various pressure and flowrates.