innovative hybrid approaches for mining wastewater desalination: integrating membrane distillation, adsorption, and ion exchange

This research proposes a new hybrid process that incorporates direct contact membrane distillation (dcmd), adsorption, and ion exchange (ix) for efficient desalination of mining wastewater to overcome the limitation of high salinity that restricts its reuse. the integrated process consists of activated carbon adsorption, ion exchange with purolite a400 oh resin, and dcmd. the dcmd process achieved a stable water flux of 20.62 l/m²·h and an excellent ion rejection rate of more than 99.9%. freundlich and flory-huggin’s isotherms well describe the adsorption properties of significant ions. the system exhibited high recovery percentages: 43% for ca, 42% for na, and 40% for mg on activated carbon, and 85% for cl using the anionic resin. moreover, the research optimized operating conditions and discovered that decreased flow rates enhance ion adsorption. the hybrid approach offers a promising, economically viable option for sustainable water treatment in mining by enabling high water recovery and byproduct concentration.