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Design of Experiments to Optimize Membrane Cleaning for Nanofiltration of Kraft Black Liquor

Battestini Vives, M. LU orcid ; Xiao, X. LU ; Rudolph-Schöpping, G. LU orcid and Lipnizki, F. LU orcid (2023) 13th International Congress on Membranes and Membrane Processes p.855-855
Abstract
Membrane technology has proven successful for separating, concentrating, and purifying compounds from streams in the pulp and paper industry. A key stream is kraft black liquor (KBL) from which lignin can be recovered by nanofiltration (NF). However, membrane technology has not yet been implemented on large scale for this process. One reason is the lack of efficient
understanding of membrane cleaning to prolong operation cycles and increase flux recovery. Therefore, the aim of this study is to optimize membrane cleaning of NF for the recovery of lignin from KBL.

The optimization of membrane cleaning was investigated with a Design of Experiments (DoE) approach using the software MODDE (Sartorius). A Central Composite Face... (More)
Membrane technology has proven successful for separating, concentrating, and purifying compounds from streams in the pulp and paper industry. A key stream is kraft black liquor (KBL) from which lignin can be recovered by nanofiltration (NF). However, membrane technology has not yet been implemented on large scale for this process. One reason is the lack of efficient
understanding of membrane cleaning to prolong operation cycles and increase flux recovery. Therefore, the aim of this study is to optimize membrane cleaning of NF for the recovery of lignin from KBL.

The optimization of membrane cleaning was investigated with a Design of Experiments (DoE) approach using the software MODDE (Sartorius). A Central Composite Face design with a star distance of 1 was chosen. The factors studied were: 1) temperature, 2) cleaning agent concentration (Ultrasil 110 (Ecolab)), and 3) cleaning duration. The response to evaluate cleaning success was flux recovery. A total of 19 experiments were performed at laboratory scale. Flat-sheet NF090801 membranes (SolSep BV) were fouled for three days with KBL, and subsequently cleaned following an individual combination of the three factors.

It was found that the cleaning duration had the highest impact on flux recovery. The optimal cleaning parameters found were a duration of 60 minutes with 0.8wt% Ultrasil 110 at 40ºC. Compared to the standard cleaning protocol, the optimized cleaning achieved similar flux recovery operated at a lower temperature and with a lower amount of cleaning agent. The results were supported by surface characterisation with FT-IR and SEM-EDS.

In conclusion, following a DoE approach to optimize membrane cleaning allowed to develop an optimal cleaning protocol and gave a better understanding on the interaction of the key cleaning parameters. Hereby, it was possible to reduce the overall energy demand of the process and achieve a more sustainable production.
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author
; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to conference
publication status
unpublished
subject
keywords
Membrane processes, Pulp and paper industry, Kraft black liquor, Nanofiltration, Cleaning
pages
1 pages
conference name
13th International Congress on Membranes and Membrane Processes
conference location
Chiba, Japan
conference dates
2023-07-09 - 2023-07-14
project
Process intensification of sulfate pulp production with lignin recovery by pressure-assisted forward osmosis (PAFO)
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
90ae29c0-e3d6-4e90-a15a-44822d222d3c
date added to LUP
2026-01-02 12:03:56
date last changed
2026-01-19 13:15:17
@misc{90ae29c0-e3d6-4e90-a15a-44822d222d3c,
  abstract     = {{Membrane technology has proven successful for separating, concentrating, and purifying compounds from streams in the pulp and paper industry. A key stream is kraft black liquor (KBL) from which lignin can be recovered by nanofiltration (NF). However, membrane technology has not yet been implemented on large scale for this process. One reason is the lack of efficient<br/>understanding of membrane cleaning to prolong operation cycles and increase flux recovery. Therefore, the aim of this study is to optimize membrane cleaning of NF for the recovery of lignin from KBL.<br/><br/>The optimization of membrane cleaning was investigated with a Design of Experiments (DoE) approach using the software MODDE (Sartorius). A Central Composite Face design with a star distance of 1 was chosen. The factors studied were: 1) temperature, 2) cleaning agent concentration (Ultrasil 110 (Ecolab)), and 3) cleaning duration. The response to evaluate cleaning success was flux recovery. A total of 19 experiments were performed at laboratory scale. Flat-sheet NF090801 membranes (SolSep BV) were fouled for three days with KBL, and subsequently cleaned following an individual combination of the three factors.<br/><br/>It was found that the cleaning duration had the highest impact on flux recovery. The optimal cleaning parameters found were a duration of 60 minutes with 0.8wt% Ultrasil 110 at 40ºC. Compared to the standard cleaning protocol, the optimized cleaning achieved similar flux recovery operated at a lower temperature and with a lower amount of cleaning agent. The results were supported by surface characterisation with FT-IR and SEM-EDS.<br/><br/>In conclusion, following a DoE approach to optimize membrane cleaning allowed to develop an optimal cleaning protocol and gave a better understanding on the interaction of the key cleaning parameters. Hereby, it was possible to reduce the overall energy demand of the process and achieve a more sustainable production.<br/>}},
  author       = {{Battestini Vives, M. and Xiao, X. and Rudolph-Schöpping, G. and Lipnizki, F.}},
  keywords     = {{Membrane processes; Pulp and paper industry; Kraft black liquor; Nanofiltration; Cleaning}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{07}},
  pages        = {{855--855}},
  title        = {{Design of Experiments to Optimize Membrane Cleaning for Nanofiltration of Kraft Black Liquor}},
  year         = {{2023}},
}