Transport coefficients and cadmium salt rejection in nanofiltration membrane Original Research Article

Cadmium is one of the main toxic pollutants generated by industrial activities. Many methods have been used to remove cadmium from wastewater issued from these industries. In the present study removal of cadmium Cd(II) ions from aqueous streams was investigated through a nanofiltration membrane process. The retention was studied as a function of the counter-ions, the ionic force and pH. The transport through the TFCS membrane was described by irreversible thermodynamics. The well-known Speigler-Kedem model was applied in order to determine phenomenological parameters σ and Ps respectively, the reflection coefficient of the membrane and the solute permeability of ions. The convective and diffusive parts of the mass transfer were quantified.