Adsorptive removal of nitrilotris(methylenephosphonic acid) antiscalant from membrane concentrates by iron-coated waste filtration sand

Iron-coated waste filtration sand was investigated as a low-cost adsorbent for the removal of nitrilotris(methylenephosphonic acid) (NTMP) from membrane concentrates. The adsorption of this phosphonate-based antiscalant on this material was measured and compared with two commercially available anion exchange resins and activated carbon. Comprehensive adsorption experiments were conducted in several synthetic concentrate solutions and in a concentrate collected from a full scale nano-filtration brackish water desalination plant. The effect of pH, ionic strength and the presence of competitive anions on the equilibrium adsorption were investigated. The results showed that, in contrast to the anion exchange resins, the adsorption on coated filtration sand is not suppressed at increasing ionic strength and is much less affected by the competitive anions carbonate and sulphate. The adsorption decreased slightly when the pH was raised from 7.0 to 8.0. The adsorption isotherms in the real nano-filtration concentrate, measured in the concentration interval of 5–50 mg dm −1 NTMP, showed that the maximum adsorption capacity of coated filtration sand was 4.06 mg g −1. The adsorption capacity per unit mass of the adsorbents at low NTMP concentration (12.5 mg dm −3) followed the decreasing order Amberlite IRA-410 > coated filtration sand > Amberlite IRA-900 > Norit SAE Super. This demonstrates that the use of iron-coated waste filtration sand offers a promising means for the removal of NTMP from membrane concentrates.