Nanofiltration of succinic acid in strong alkaline conditions

Abstract

Nanofiltration is considered to be an appropriate separation technique in the production of bio‐based materials. For the utilization of process streams from the viscose‐fiber production, understanding the separation behavior of organic compounds in highly alkaline solutions is necessary. Experiments with succinic acid in sodium hydroxide (NaOH) solutions with varying concentrations up to 5 mol L−1 were performed with the NP030 membrane from Microdyn Nadir. Furthermore, experiments with aqueous disodium succinate and solutions of sodium sulfate in sodium hydroxide were carried out. The influence of concentration ratios and temperature was studied. The Spiegler and Kedem model as well as the Pusch model were applied to fit the experimental data. Additionally, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and infrared (ATR–IR) measurements were performed to validate the chemical and thermomechanical stability of the membrane. The succinic acid retention varies with its degree of dissociation. In a fully dissociated form, the NaOH concentration shows no impact on the retention. In contrast, the retention of sulfate decreases with increasing NaOH concentration.