Abstract:
Iron and manganese are common elements in groundwater. Excessive content of both
metals in the groundwater will cause aesthetical and operational problems to human.
Oxidation, ion exchange and adsorption are some of the conventional methods used
to remove the iron and manganese in groundwater. However, these methods have
their own merits and limitations and could not remove this metal effectively. The
efficiency of iron and manganese removal from groundwater was investigated in this
research by means of asymmetric nanofiltration (NF) membrane separation
technology. DR/2500 Laboratory Spectrophotometer was used to analyze the
concentrations of samples obtained. The effects of evaporation time in the formation
of asymmetric nanofiltration membrane using a simple dry/wet phase inversion
technique were also determined. Employing the combination of solution-diffusion
model (Spiegler-Kedem equation) and steric-hindrance pore (SHP) model, the
membrane structural properties were determined and have been characterized for
different cases of the formation parameter. The experimental and modeling showed
very promising results in terms of membrane performance with interesting structural
details. The best evaporation time for the removal of iron and manganese was
determined to be in the range of 5 seconds to 7.5 seconds. The iron was found to be
90% successfully removed while the manganese was 75% removed in which these
removals were observed to comply with the WHO standard guidelines for drinking
water.
