3. Result and Discussion
Figure 3 shows the calculated permeate fluxes by DCMD
process for rubber wastewater as a function of time. The
initial permeate flux was recorded at 7.19 kg/m2.h. However,
the permeate flux was decreased rapidly to 5.05 kg/m2.h
within the first 30 min and continued to decrease until it
achieved almost stable at the end of the experiment. This
performance decline could be explained by several factors
such as concentration polarization, temperature polarization
and fouling phenomenon. As reported in Table 2, the feed
wastewater is a mixture of complicated composition,
including small amount of uncoagulated latex, serum with
substantial quantities of proteins, carbohydrates, sugars,
lipids, carotenoids, as well as inorganic and organic salts and
also includes washing water from the various processing
stages [2]. It is believed that the major reason for this severe
flux decline is due to membrane fouling.