Wet Process Phosphoric Acid Purification Using Functionalized Organic Nanofiltration Membrane

The utilization of phosphoric acid in various sectors, e.g., food industry, is controlled by the authorized concentration limit of impurities. However, industrial phosphoric acid is contaminated with undesirable impurities (such as F, Al, Fe, Mg, etc.). Herein, this study aimed to evaluate the efficiency of the membrane purification process of pretreated industrial phosphoric acid using a premodified nanofiltration membrane. We demonstrated that the prior pretreatment steps for industrial phosphoric acid allowed the elimination of sulfate, fluorine and arsenic. Further purification of the obtained pretreated phosphoric acid using membrane cells reduced the concentrations of Cd, Al, Fe and rare earth elements by 94.81, 99.30, 99.63 and 96.67%, respectively. The membrane is functionalized by a deposit of a high molecular weight polycationic polymer of polyethyleneimines in order to produce a highly charged membrane surface to enhance the separation efficiency, selectivity and stability of the membrane. We found that the purification process relies on electrostatic repulsion between the functionalized membrane and highly charged ions, and the reduction rate of metals is a cation charge-dependent parameter. The laboratory and industrial pilot scale results showed that this process allows the production of food-grade phosphoric acid.