Simultaneous removal of nickel and cobalt from aqueous stream by cross flow micellar enhanced ultrafiltration

Nickel and cobalt were simultaneously removed from aqueous feed using cross flow micellar enhanced ultrafiltration. Twenty kiloDalton polysulfone membrane was used and the rejection more than 99% was obtained. The effect of operating variables like inlet flow rate, inlet pressure, feed metal ions concentration, surfactant to metal ion (S/M) ratio and pH on the rejection of metal ions was investigated. Gel layer formation and concentration polarization was insignificant under the present experimental condition. Presence of salt in the aqueous feed results in drop in rejection from 99% to 88%. The distribution coefficient of solutes in the micellar phase and aqueous phase was estimated from ultrafiltration data. The loading of micelles was also estimated for both the nickel and cobalt ions which confirmed the reproducibility of the micellar enhanced ultrafiltration (MEUF) experiments.