Using the Modified Sugarcane Bagasse Cellulose Cation Membrane as a Separator in the Electrodialysis Device for Ammonia Nitrogen Removal

Abstract

Bulk modification was applied to synthesize modified sugarcane bagasse cellulose (MSBC) cation exchange membrane using in electrodialysis device for the removal of ammonia nitrogen wastewater. The effect of MSBC mass fraction and pore forming agent in casting solution on membrane physico-chemical properties was studied. XRD showed that the crystal lattice of cellulose in membrane transformed from cellulose I to cellulose II, and the FT-IR displayed that there were no new functional groups after the membrane formation. With the increase of MSBC, the moisture content and swelling degree of the membrane decreased, but the mechanical strength increased and the IEC increased from 0.68 to 1.05 mmol/g. With the increase of pore-forming agent, the moisture content, swelling degree and increased in varying degrees, but the mechanical strength decreased, it is worth noting that ion exchange capacity (IEC) has increased from 0.31 to 1.35 mmol/g as the amount of pore agent is four times that of MSBC. The influence of initial concentration of ammonia nitrogen wastewater, voltage and electrolysis time on the removal rate of ammonia nitrogen was investigated. The results showed that the removal efficiency of ammonia nitrogen was higher when the initial concentration was 1500–2000 mg/L, and the removal rate of ammonia nitrogen can be up to 90.12% under the condition of the voltage is 10 V and the electrolysis time is 7 h. This implied that the cation exchange membranes prepared from MSBC can be produced that can be appliedin wastewater treatment.