Desalination and lignin concentration in a lignin aqueous solution by nano-filtration process: Advanced γ-Al2O3 film-coated porous α-Al2O3 hollow fiber membrane

Xuelong Zhuang, Min Chang Shin, Byeong Jun Jeong, Jae Yeon Hwang, Young Chan Choi, Jung Hoon Park

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

5 Scopus citations

Abstract

To remove the main barrier for lignin valorization, which is the development of actual lignin separation technology, we studied the ceramic membrane nanofiltration process using a dense, ultra-thin γ-Al2O3 film-coated porous α-Al2O3 hollow fiber (γ α HF) membrane for the simultaneous separation of alkali metals (Na+, K+, etc) and concentration of lignin from an alkaline media like black liquor with success as an advanced wastewater treatment process. The γ-AlOOH sol was prepared by sol-gel method and coated by dip-coating on α-Al2O3 hollow fiber (α HF) support. After calcination at high temperature, the mean pore sizes of the α HF support and the γ α HF membrane were found to be 0.2 µm and 1.6 nm. The rejection rate performance for various salts increased in the following order: Na2SO4<MgSO4<NaCl<KCl<CaCl2<MgCl2<AlCl3. Under the best condition, the removal rate of sodium and potassium ions reached about 92% and 85%, respectively, with 19.34% of the lignin being discharged. The γ α HF membrane presents good performance stability during a five day nano-filtration process.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1588-1596
Number of pages9
JournalKorean Journal of Chemical Engineering
Volume39
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 2022

Keywords

  • Hollow Fiber Membrane
  • Ion Removal Process
  • Lignin Valorization
  • Nanofiltration Membrane
  • Wastewater Resources

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