Purification of copper wire drawing emulsion by application of

T he application of UF membranes with M WCO in the range of 70-100kDa results in c omplete reduction of suspended solids and very h igh retention of oil and lubricant. These m embranes allow obtaining the SDI below a v alue recommended by manufacturers of spiralw ound elements. The U F membranes demons trate good flux stability during the pretreatment o f spent copper wire drawing emulsion The o btained UF permeates are suitable for further p urification in RO process with spiral-wound e lements. An outstanding advantage of the p roposed combination of membrane processes is t he complete elimination of suspended solids in t he UF permeate as well as 99% retention of oil a nd lubricant. Purification of UF permeate in RO p rocess results in treated water which can be d irectly reused for fresh emulsion top up.