The use of BMED for glyphosate recovery from glyphosate neutralization liquor in view of zero discharge

Abstract Alkaline glyphosate neutralization liquors containing a high salinity pose a severe environmental pollution problem by the pesticide industry. However, there is a high potential for glyphosate recovery due to the high concentration of glyphosate in the neutralization liquors. In the study, a three-compartment bipolar membrane electrodialysis (BMED) process was applied on pilot scale for the recovery of glyphosate and the production of base/acid with high concentration in view of zero discharge of wastewater. The experimental results demonstrate that BMED can remove 99.0% of NaCl from the feed solution and transform this fraction into HCl and NaOH with high concentration and purity. This is recycled for the hydrolysis reaction of the intermediate product generated by the means of the Mannich reaction of paraformaldehyde, glycine and dimethylphosphite catalyzed by triethylamine in the presence of HCl and reclamation of the triethylamine catalyst during the production process of glyphosate. The recovery of glyphosate in the feed solution was over 96%, which is acceptable for industrial production. The current efficiency for producing NaOH with a concentration of 2.0 mol L−1 is above 67% and the corresponding energy consumption is 2.97 kWh kg−1 at a current density of 60 mA cm−2. The current efficiency increases and energy consumption decreases as the current density decreases, to 87.13% and 2.37 kWh kg−1, respectively, at a current density of 30 mA cm−2. Thus, BMED has a high potential for desalination of glyphosate neutralization liquor and glyphosate recovery, aiming at zero discharge and resource recycling in industrial application.