Taguchi method for optimization of wastewater treatment using reverse osmosis

A pilot study for wastewater treatment of Exir pharmaceutical Co. in Iran was conducted using a RO system with the capacity of 14.38 m3/d. A Filmtec TW30HP-4641 RO element (Thin-Film Composite Polyamide) was used in this study. The pilot plant consists of two spiral-wound RO elements. The RO train was configured in series. Trial runs at different operating pressures, temperature and concentration were conducted. The pilot results showed that rejection rate of water containing nitrate, nitrite, phosphate and sulfite using the RO membrane is about 96%. The technique of defining and investigating all possible condition in an experiment involving multiple factors is known as the design of experiments. Taguchi’s parameter design is an important tool for robust design. It offers a simple and systematic approach to optimize design for performance, quality and cost. Taguchi method was used for optimization of rejection rate. Experiments evidenced concentration of feed solution has the highest contribution in rejection of a solution containing nitrate, nitrite, sulfite and phosphate and transmembrane pressure and temperature of feed solution have a few. After setting the control factor according to Taguchi method results showed rejection about 99.9% for this case study.

کلیدواژه ها:

Reverse osmosis ، Nitrate ، Nitrite ، Sulfite ، Phosphate