When designing and building an optimal reverse osmosis (RO) desalination plant, it is important that engineers select effective membrane parameters for optimal application performance. The membrane selection can deter...When designing and building an optimal reverse osmosis (RO) desalination plant, it is important that engineers select effective membrane parameters for optimal application performance. The membrane selection can determine the success or failure of the entire desalination operation. The objective of this work is to review available membrane types and design parameters that can be selected for optimal application to yield the highest potential for plant operations. Factors such as osmotic pressure, water flux values, and membrane resistance will all be evaluated as functions of membrane parameters. The optimization of these parameters will be determined through the deployment of the solution-diffusion model devolved from the Maxwell Stephan Equation. When applying the solution-diffusion model to evaluate RO membranes, the Maxwell Stephan Equation provides mathematical analysis through which the steps for mass transfer through a RO membrane may be observed and calculated. A practical study of the use of the solution-diffusion model will be discussed. This study uses the diffusion-solution model to evaluate the effectiveness of a variety of Toray RO membranes. This practical application confirms two principal hypotheses when using the diffusion-solution model for membrane evaluation. First, there is an inverse relationship between membrane and water flux rate. Second, there is a proportional linear relationship between overall water flux rate and the applied pressure across a membrane.展开更多
Thin-film composite(TFC) reverse osmosis(RO) membranes are playing the dominating role in desalination.Tremendous efforts have been put in the studies on the polyamide selective layers. However, the effect of the subs...Thin-film composite(TFC) reverse osmosis(RO) membranes are playing the dominating role in desalination.Tremendous efforts have been put in the studies on the polyamide selective layers. However, the effect of the substrate layers is far less concerned. In this review, we summarize the works that consider the impacts of the substrates, including pore sizes, surface hydrophilicity, on the processes of interfacial polymerization and consequently on the morphologies of the active layers and on final RO performances of the composite membranes. All the works indicate that the pore sizes and surface hydrophilicity of the substrate evidently influence the RO performances of the composite membranes. Unfortunately, we find that the observations and understandings on the substrate effect are frequently varied from case to case because of the lack of substrates with uniform pores and surface chemistries. We suggest using track-etched membranes or anodized alumina membranes having relatively uniform pores and functionalizable pore walls as model substrates to elucidate the substrate effect.Moreover, we argue that homoporous membranes derived from block copolymers have the potential to be used as substrates for the large-scale production of high-performances TFC RO membranes.展开更多
In the face of human society's great requirements for health industry,and the much stricter safety and quality standards in the biomedical industry,the demand for advanced membrane separation technologies continue...In the face of human society's great requirements for health industry,and the much stricter safety and quality standards in the biomedical industry,the demand for advanced membrane separation technologies continues to rapidly grow in the world.Nanofiltration(NF)and reverse osmosis(RO)as the highefficient,low energy consumption,and environmental friendly membrane separation techniques,show great promise in the application of biomedical separation field.The chemical compositions,microstructures and surface properties of NF/RO membranes determine the separation accuracy,efficiency and operation cost in their applications.Accordingly,recent studies have focused on tuning the structures and tailoring the performance of NF/RO membranes via the design and synthesis of various advanced membrane materials,and exploring universal and convenient membrane preparation strategies,with the objective of promoting the better and faster development of NF/RO membrane separation technology in the biomedical separation field.This paper reviews the recent studies on the NF/RO membranes constructed with various materials,including the polymeric materials,different dimensional inorganic/organic nanomaterials,porous polymeric materials and metal coordination polymers,etc.Moreover,the influence of membrane chemical compositions,interior microstructures,and surface characteristics on the separation performance of NF/RO membranes,are comprehensively discussed.Subsequently,the applications of NF/RO membranes in biomedical separation field are systematically reported.Finally,the perspective for future challenges of NF/RO membrane separation techniques in this field is discussed.展开更多
Fouling phenomenon is considered among the major reasons that cause significant increase of operating cost of desalination plants equipped with reverse osmosis(RO)membranes.This phenomenon is studied in the present wo...Fouling phenomenon is considered among the major reasons that cause significant increase of operating cost of desalination plants equipped with reverse osmosis(RO)membranes.This phenomenon is studied in the present work in the case of RO polyamide aromatic membranes using model seawater containing inorganic salts and colloidal compounds.Different solubility conditions of CaCO3 and CaSO4 were applied to study RO performances with and without colloid presence.During experiments,the membrane permeate fluxes were continuously monitored.Moreover,studies of chemical composition,structure,and morphology of the materials deposited on the membrane surface were conducted using energy dispersive microanalysis(EDS)X-ray diffraction and scanning electronic microscopy(SEM).Results show that in conditions of calcium carbonate oversaturation there is a reduction in the permeate flow of 11.2%due to fouling of the membrane by the precipitation of this compound.While in the same conditions of calcium sulphate oversaturation the reduction of the flow is 5%,so we can conclude that in conditions of oversaturation of both salts,calcium carbonate produces a greater fouling of the membrane that in its view causes greater decrease in the flow of permeate.All this based on the results of the test with both salts in oversaturated conditions.Resulting in the formation of calcite and gypsum crystals onto the membranes as XRD analyses stated.Additional presence of colloidal silica in those conditions intensifies strongly the fouling,leading until to 24.1%of permeate flux decrease.展开更多
Enhancing the water permeation while maintaining high salt rejection of existing reverse osmosis(RO)membranes remains a considerable challenge.Herein,we proposed to introduce polymer of intrinsic microporosity,PIM-1,i...Enhancing the water permeation while maintaining high salt rejection of existing reverse osmosis(RO)membranes remains a considerable challenge.Herein,we proposed to introduce polymer of intrinsic microporosity,PIM-1,into the selective layer of reverse osmosis membranes to break the trade-off effect between permeability and selectivity.A water-soluble a-LPIM-1 of low-molecular-weight and hydroxyl terminals was synthesized.These designed characteristics endowed it with high solubility and reactivity.Then it was mixed with m-phenylenediamine and together served as aqueous monomer to react with organic monomer of trimesoyl chloride via interfacial polymerization.The characterization results exhibited that more“nodule”rather than“leaf”structure formed on RO membrane surface,which indicated that the introduction of the high free-volume of a-LPIM-1 with three dimensional twisted and folded structure into the selective layer effectively caused the frustrated packing between polymer chains.In virtue of this effect,even with reduced surface roughness and unchanged layer thickness,the water permeability of prepared reverse osmosis membranes increased 2.1 times to 62.8 L·m^(-2)·h^(-1) with acceptable Na Cl rejection of 97.6%.This attempt developed a new strategy to break the trade-off effect faced by traditional polyamide reverse osmosis membranes.展开更多
Pressure-driven reverse osmosis membrane has important application in seawater desalination.Inspired by the structure of aquaporin,we established and studied the mechanism of the structure of multilayer graphene with ...Pressure-driven reverse osmosis membrane has important application in seawater desalination.Inspired by the structure of aquaporin,we established and studied the mechanism of the structure of multilayer graphene with tapered channels as reverse osmosis.The water flux of multilayer graphene with tapered channels was about 20%higher than that of parallel graphene channel.The flow resistance model was established,and the relationship between flow resistance and opening angles was clarified.The relationship between flow resistance and outlet size was also described.By means of molecular dynamics simulation,slip coefficients of multilayer graphene with tapered channel were obtained and verified by the contact angle of water.Results show that the permeability of graphene with tapered channel is about three orders of magnitude higher than that of commercial reverse osmosis membrane and the desalination rate is 100%.Temperature difference between the two sides of the tapered channel will promote the water flux positively.展开更多
Freshwater scarcity is a critical challenge that human society has to face in the 21st century.Desalination of seawater by reverse osmosis(RO)membranes was regarded as the most promising technology to overcome the cha...Freshwater scarcity is a critical challenge that human society has to face in the 21st century.Desalination of seawater by reverse osmosis(RO)membranes was regarded as the most promising technology to overcome the challenge given that plenty of potential fresh water resources in oceans.However,the requirements for high desalination efficiency in terms of permeation flux and rejection rate become the bottle-neck which needs to be broken down by developing novel RO membranes with new structure and composition.Cellulose acetate RO membranes exhibited long durability,chlorine resistance,and outstanding desalination efficiency that are worthy of being recalled to address the current shortcomings brought by polyamide RO membranes.In terms of performance enhancement,it is also important to use new ideas and to develop new strategies to modify cellulose acetate RO membranes in response to those complex challenges.Therefore,we focused on the state of the art cellulose acetate RO membranes and discussed the strategies on membrane structural manipulation adjusted by either phase separation or additives,which offered anti-fouling,anti-bacterial,anti-chlorine,durability,and thermo-mechanical properties to the modified membranes associated with the desalination performance,i.e.,permeation flux and rejection rate.The relationship between membrane structure and desalination efficiency was investigated and established to guide the development of cellulose acetate RO membranes for desalination.展开更多
This article examines the influence of seawater temperature and total dissolved solids (TDS) on reverse osmosis (RO) desalination in the Arabian Gulf region, with a focus on the impact of climate change. The study hig...This article examines the influence of seawater temperature and total dissolved solids (TDS) on reverse osmosis (RO) desalination in the Arabian Gulf region, with a focus on the impact of climate change. The study highlights the changes in seawater temperature and TDS levels over the years and discusses their effects on the efficiency and productivity of RO desalination plants. It emphasizes the importance of monitoring TDS levels and controlling seawater temperature to optimize water production. The article also suggests various solutions, including intensive pre-treatment, development of high-performance membranes, exploration of alternative water sources, and regulation of discharges into the Gulf, to ensure sustainable water supply in the face of rising TDS levels and seawater temperature. Further research and comprehensive monitoring are recommended to understand the implications of these findings and develop effective strategies for the management of marine resources in the Arabian Gulf.展开更多
Improving the performance of reverse osmosis membranes remains great challenge to ensure excellent NaCl rejection while maintaining high water permeability and chlorine resistance. Herein, temperature-responsive intel...Improving the performance of reverse osmosis membranes remains great challenge to ensure excellent NaCl rejection while maintaining high water permeability and chlorine resistance. Herein, temperature-responsive intelligent nanocontainers are designed and constructed to improve water permeability and chlorine resistance of polyamide membranes. The nanocontainer is synthesized by layer-by-layer self-assembly with silver nanoparticles as the core, sodium alginate and chitosan as the repair materials, and polyvinyl alcohol as the shell. When the polyamide layer is damaged by chlorine attack, the polyvinyl alcohol shell layer dissolves under temperature stimulation of 37 ℃, releasing inner sodium alginate and chitosan to repair broken amide bonds. The polyvinyl alcohol shell responds to temperature in line with actual operating environment, which can effectively synchronize the chlorination of membranes with temperature response and release inner materials to achieve self-healing properties. With adding temperature-responsive intelligent nanocontainers, the NaCl rejection of thin film composite membrane decreased by 15.64%, while that of thin film nanocomposite membrane decreased by only 8.35% after 9 chlorination cycles. Effective repair treatment and outstanding chlorine resistance as well as satisfactory stability suggest that temperature-responsive intelligent nanocontainer has great potential as membrane-doping material for the targeted repair of polyamide reverse osmosis membranes.展开更多
A substantial amount of Earth’s water is inadequate for human consumption while local demand is outstripping traditional supplies in many world regions;thereby,brackish and seawater treatment has become a prerequisit...A substantial amount of Earth’s water is inadequate for human consumption while local demand is outstripping traditional supplies in many world regions;thereby,brackish and seawater treatment has become a prerequisite.This investigation suggested a complete design of an RO-based desalination filter with a multilayer biomimetic membrane.The study demonstrated a comprehensive method for experimentally fabricating a proprietary biomaterial-based multilayer nano-porous membrane.This analysis revealed that Silk Nano-Fibril(SNF)and Hydroxyapatite(HAP)extracted from Bombyx Mori silkworm cocoons may be utilized to manufacture highly methodical multilayer membranes by incorporating protein-self-assembly and in-situ-bio-mineralization.Membrane’s aquaporin layer containing lipid-bilayers has rapid water permeability and high efficacy at eliminating salt ions and contaminants.The 4µm thick SNF/HAP membrane showed a considerable decrease in salinity,with a salt rejection of 93.33%.The proposed membrane had a saline water permeability of 6.58 LMH/bar,almost 61.09%higher than conventional TFC membranes.Hydrophobic barrier and spiral-wrapped filter architecture of the membrane enable low fouling and self-cleaning properties.The schematic filter design and biomimetic fabrication of the SNF/HAP membrane have formulated a conceptual framework that might direct to the broad-scale,low-cost RO water purification filters,increasing the efficiency of water desalination and boosting the effectiveness of water treatment technologies to reduce potable water scarcity.展开更多
The increasing applications of seawater desalination technology have led to the wide usage of polyamide reverse osmosis membranes,resulting in a large number of wasted reverse osmosis membranes.In this work,the base n...The increasing applications of seawater desalination technology have led to the wide usage of polyamide reverse osmosis membranes,resulting in a large number of wasted reverse osmosis membranes.In this work,the base nonwoven layer of the wasted reverse osmosis membrane was successfully modified into the hydrophobic membrane via surface deposition strategy including TiO_(2) and 1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorooctyltrichlorosilane(PFOTS),respectively.Various techniques were applied to characterize the obtained membranes,which were then used to separate the oil–water system.The optimally modified membrane displayed good hydrophobicity with a contact angle of 135.2°±0.3°,and its oil–water separation performance was as high as 97.8%.After 20 recycle tests,the oil–water separation performance remained more than 96%,which was attributed to the film adhesion of the anchored TiO_(2) and PFOTS layer on the surface.This work might provide a new avenue for recycling the wasted reverse osmosis membrane used in oily wastewater purification.展开更多
Tanneries reusing wastewater by combination of conventional and advanced Reverse Osmosis (RO) treatment technologies were assessed for technical and economic viabilities. Conventional treatment methods such as neutral...Tanneries reusing wastewater by combination of conventional and advanced Reverse Osmosis (RO) treatment technologies were assessed for technical and economic viabilities. Conventional treatment methods such as neutralization, clari-flocculation and biological processes are followed to clean the effluents before feeding to RO membrane modules. The characteristics of untreated composite effluents such as pH, biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), total suspended solids (TSS), total dissolved solids (TDS), and total chromium were in the range of 4.00-4.60, 680-3600 mg/L, 1698-7546 mg/L, 980-1480 mg/L, 4200-14500 mg/L, and 26.4-190 mg/L, respectively. Inorganic ions like Ca2+, Na+, Cl– and SO42– were found more in the wastewaters. Conventional treatments significantly removed the organic pollutants however failed to remove dissolved inorganic salts. Membrane technology removed the salts as well as remaining organic pollutants and the product water is reused in the process. The studied tanneries (5 numbers) have achieved 93-98%, 92-99% and 91-96% removal of TDS, sodium and chloride, respectively. Seventy to eighty five percentage of wastewater was recovered and recycled in the industrial processes. The rejects are subject to either solar evaporation system or Multiple Effect Evaporation (MEE) technology. The resulting salts are collected in polythene bags and disposed into scientifically managed secured land fill (SLF) site. The cost of wastewater treatment for operation and maintenances of RO including the pre-treatments (conventional methods) is INR 100-110 m-3.展开更多
The reverse osmosis （RO） separation of aqueous organic solutions, such as alcohols, amines, aldehydes, acids,ketones, and esters etc., by PAA （polyacrylic acid）/PSF （polysulfone） composite membrane has been stud...The reverse osmosis （RO） separation of aqueous organic solutions, such as alcohols, amines, aldehydes, acids,ketones, and esters etc., by PAA （polyacrylic acid）/PSF （polysulfone） composite membrane has been studied. It was foundthat the separation results for aliphatic alcohols, amines and aldehydes are satisfactory, the solute rejection （R<sub>a</sub>） and thevolume fluxes of solutions （J<sub>v</sub>） for 1000 ppm ethanol, ethylamine and ethyl aldehyde are 66.2%, 61.0%, 84.0% and 0.90×10<sup>-6</sup>, 0.35×10<sup>-6</sup>, 0.40×10<sup>-6</sup> m<sup>3</sup>/m<sup>2</sup>·s, respectively, at 5.0 MPa and 30℃. R<sub>a</sub> increased with increasing molecular weights ofalcohols, amines and aldehydes, and the R<sub>a</sub> for n-amyl alcohol, n-butylamine and n-butyl aldehyde reached 94.3%, 88.6%and 96.0%, respectively. Satisfactory separation results （R<sub>a</sub>】70%） for ketones, esters, phenols and polyols have beenobtained with the PAA/PSF composite membrane. The effect of operating pressure on the properties of reverse osmosis hasalso been investigated. Analysis of experimental data with Spiegler-Kedem’s transport model has been carried out and themembrane constants such as reflection coefficient σ, solute and hydraulic permeabilities ω and L<sub>p</sub> for several organic soluteshave been obtained.展开更多
Humic acid has been considered as one of the most significant sources in feed water causing organic fouling of reverse osmosis (RO) membranes, but the relationship between the fouling behavior of humic acid and the ch...Humic acid has been considered as one of the most significant sources in feed water causing organic fouling of reverse osmosis (RO) membranes, but the relationship between the fouling behavior of humic acid and the change of its molecular structure has not been well developed yet. In this study, the RO membrane fouling behavior of humic acid was studied systematically with ozonation as a pretreatment method to control RO membrane fouling. Furthermore, the effect of ozone on the structure ofhumic acid was also explored to reveal the mechanisms. Humic acid alone (10-90 mg/L, in deionized water) was found not to cause obvious RO membrane fouling in 45-h operation. However, the presence of Ca^2+ aggravated significantly the RO membrane fouling caused by humic acid, with significant flux reduction and denser fouling layer on RO membrane, as it was observed by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and atomic force microscope (AFM). However, after the pretreatment by ozone, the influence of Ca^2+ was almost eliminated. Further analysis revealed that the addition of Ca^2+ increased the particle size of humic acid solution significantly, while ozonation reduced the SUVA254, particle size and molecular weight of the complexes of humic acid and Ca^2+(HA-Ca^2+ complexes). According to these results and literature, the bridge effect of Ca^2+ aggregating humic acid molecules and the cleavage effect of ozone breaking HA-Ca^2+ complexes were summarized. The change of the structure of humic acid under the effect of Ca^2+ and ozone is closely related to the change of its membrane fouling behavior.展开更多
Mesoporous silica nanoparticles(MSN),with higher water permeability than NaA zeolite,were used to fabricate thin-film nanocomposite(TFN)reverse osmosis(RO)membranes.However,only aminoalkyl-modified MSN and low-pressur...Mesoporous silica nanoparticles(MSN),with higher water permeability than NaA zeolite,were used to fabricate thin-film nanocomposite(TFN)reverse osmosis(RO)membranes.However,only aminoalkyl-modified MSN and low-pressure(less than 2.1 MPa)RO membrane were investigated.In this study,aminophenyl-modified MSN(AMSN)were synthesized and used to fabricate high-pressure(5.52 MPa)RO membranes.With the increasing of AMSN dosage,the crosslinking degree of the aromatic polyamide decreased,while the hydrophilicity of the membranes increased.The membrane morphology was maintained to show a ridge-and-valley structure,with only a slight increase in membrane surface roughness.At the optimum conditions(AMSN dosage of 0.25 g/L),when compared with the pure polyamide RO membrane,the water flux of the TFN RO membrane(55.67 L/m^2/h)was increased by about 21.6%,while NaCl rejection(98.97%)was slightly decreased by only 0.29%.However,the water flux of the membranes was much lower than expected.We considered that the enhancement of RO membrane permeability is attributed to the reduction of the effective thickness of the PA layer.展开更多
Polyamide thin film composite membranes have dominated current reverse osmosis market on account of their excellent separation performances compared to the integrally skinned counterparts.Despite their very promising ...Polyamide thin film composite membranes have dominated current reverse osmosis market on account of their excellent separation performances compared to the integrally skinned counterparts.Despite their very promising separation performance,chlorine-induced degradation resulted from the susceptibility of polyamide toward chlorine attack has been regarded as the Achilles’s heel of polyamide thin film composite.The free chlorine species present during chlorine treatment can impair membrane performance through chlorination and depolymerization of the polyamide selective layer.From material point of view,a chemically stable membrane is crucial for the sustainable application of membrane separation process as it warrants a longer membrane lifespan and reduces the cost involved in membrane replacement.Various strategies,particularly those involved membrane material optimization and surface modifications,have been established to address this issue.This review discusses membrane degradation by free chlorine attack and its correlation with the surface chemistry of polyamide.The advancement in the development of chlorine resistant polyamide thin film composite membranes is reviewed based on the state-of-the-art surface modifications and tailoring approaches which include the in situ and postfabrication membrane modifications using a broad range of functional materials.The challenges and future directions in this field are also highlighted.展开更多
Certain areas in Senegal have a serious problem of high fluoride and salinity in underground water because of soil properties. This water currently used for drink has a bad taste on consumption and caused diseases lik...Certain areas in Senegal have a serious problem of high fluoride and salinity in underground water because of soil properties. This water currently used for drink has a bad taste on consumption and caused diseases like dental fluorosis and skeletal fluorosis. A membrane filtration plant constructed by Pall Corporation was improved through nanofiltration (NF) and Low Pressure Reverse Osmosis (LPRO). Both NF and LPRO membranes were shown applicable for salinity and fluoride ions removal from brackish and high fluorinated drinking water in a remote community. The NF membrane has given a fluorine retention rate varying between 63.3% and 71% while the LPRO membrane allow to reach 97 to 98.9% for fluorine rejection. Highest salinity rejection rates expressed through conductivity measurements are around 46% and 97% for respectively NF and LPRO.展开更多
A reliable and rapid laboratory procedure was developed for rapid screening of reverse osmosis(RO) membrane anti-scalants and compared with existing laboratory methods. This laboratory procedure consists of two parts ...A reliable and rapid laboratory procedure was developed for rapid screening of reverse osmosis(RO) membrane anti-scalants and compared with existing laboratory methods. This laboratory procedure consists of two parts according to the characteristics of screening RO membrane anti-scalants: preliminary screening of anti-scalants by static method and further by dynamic methods based on the result of static method. Conductivity method, critical pH method and turbidity method were selected as the methods for preliminary screening of RO anti-scalants, and drainage gradient method and dose gradient method were chosen as the dynamic methods for further screening RO anti-scalants.展开更多
Reverse osmosis(RO)membrane process has been extensively used for leachate treatment both in incineration plants and landfills.However,operation and maintenance costs caused by membrane pollution limit the wide applic...Reverse osmosis(RO)membrane process has been extensively used for leachate treatment both in incineration plants and landfills.However,operation and maintenance costs caused by membrane pollution limit the wide application of RO membrane.In order to further understand membrane fouling,this study analyzes the influent,effluent,concentrated liquid pollutants and membrane fouling of typical waste incineration plants and landfills in Chongqing,a city in the west of China based on the comparison of three-dimensional excitation and emission matrix fluorescence(3DEEM)and nanometer particle size.In addition,this paper discusses the change law of chemical oxygen demand(COD)and main pollutants in membrane fouling in the disc tube reverse osmosis(DTRO)system in a single operation cycle,analyzes the main components of membrane fouling,and draws the accumulation of RO membrane pollutants,in order to provide a reference for understanding the composition,formation and control of membrane fouling.展开更多
文摘When designing and building an optimal reverse osmosis (RO) desalination plant, it is important that engineers select effective membrane parameters for optimal application performance. The membrane selection can determine the success or failure of the entire desalination operation. The objective of this work is to review available membrane types and design parameters that can be selected for optimal application to yield the highest potential for plant operations. Factors such as osmotic pressure, water flux values, and membrane resistance will all be evaluated as functions of membrane parameters. The optimization of these parameters will be determined through the deployment of the solution-diffusion model devolved from the Maxwell Stephan Equation. When applying the solution-diffusion model to evaluate RO membranes, the Maxwell Stephan Equation provides mathematical analysis through which the steps for mass transfer through a RO membrane may be observed and calculated. A practical study of the use of the solution-diffusion model will be discussed. This study uses the diffusion-solution model to evaluate the effectiveness of a variety of Toray RO membranes. This practical application confirms two principal hypotheses when using the diffusion-solution model for membrane evaluation. First, there is an inverse relationship between membrane and water flux rate. Second, there is a proportional linear relationship between overall water flux rate and the applied pressure across a membrane.
基金Supported by the National Basic Research Program of China(2015CB655301)the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province(BK20150063)the Project of Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions(PAPD)
文摘Thin-film composite(TFC) reverse osmosis(RO) membranes are playing the dominating role in desalination.Tremendous efforts have been put in the studies on the polyamide selective layers. However, the effect of the substrate layers is far less concerned. In this review, we summarize the works that consider the impacts of the substrates, including pore sizes, surface hydrophilicity, on the processes of interfacial polymerization and consequently on the morphologies of the active layers and on final RO performances of the composite membranes. All the works indicate that the pore sizes and surface hydrophilicity of the substrate evidently influence the RO performances of the composite membranes. Unfortunately, we find that the observations and understandings on the substrate effect are frequently varied from case to case because of the lack of substrates with uniform pores and surface chemistries. We suggest using track-etched membranes or anodized alumina membranes having relatively uniform pores and functionalizable pore walls as model substrates to elucidate the substrate effect.Moreover, we argue that homoporous membranes derived from block copolymers have the potential to be used as substrates for the large-scale production of high-performances TFC RO membranes.
基金financially supported by the Provincial Key Research and Development Program of Zhejiang Province(2021C01173)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(21975221 and 21776252)。
文摘In the face of human society's great requirements for health industry,and the much stricter safety and quality standards in the biomedical industry,the demand for advanced membrane separation technologies continues to rapidly grow in the world.Nanofiltration(NF)and reverse osmosis(RO)as the highefficient,low energy consumption,and environmental friendly membrane separation techniques,show great promise in the application of biomedical separation field.The chemical compositions,microstructures and surface properties of NF/RO membranes determine the separation accuracy,efficiency and operation cost in their applications.Accordingly,recent studies have focused on tuning the structures and tailoring the performance of NF/RO membranes via the design and synthesis of various advanced membrane materials,and exploring universal and convenient membrane preparation strategies,with the objective of promoting the better and faster development of NF/RO membrane separation technology in the biomedical separation field.This paper reviews the recent studies on the NF/RO membranes constructed with various materials,including the polymeric materials,different dimensional inorganic/organic nanomaterials,porous polymeric materials and metal coordination polymers,etc.Moreover,the influence of membrane chemical compositions,interior microstructures,and surface characteristics on the separation performance of NF/RO membranes,are comprehensively discussed.Subsequently,the applications of NF/RO membranes in biomedical separation field are systematically reported.Finally,the perspective for future challenges of NF/RO membrane separation techniques in this field is discussed.
基金funded by the Project AM11/04 of the Junta de Andalucía(Spain)。
文摘Fouling phenomenon is considered among the major reasons that cause significant increase of operating cost of desalination plants equipped with reverse osmosis(RO)membranes.This phenomenon is studied in the present work in the case of RO polyamide aromatic membranes using model seawater containing inorganic salts and colloidal compounds.Different solubility conditions of CaCO3 and CaSO4 were applied to study RO performances with and without colloid presence.During experiments,the membrane permeate fluxes were continuously monitored.Moreover,studies of chemical composition,structure,and morphology of the materials deposited on the membrane surface were conducted using energy dispersive microanalysis(EDS)X-ray diffraction and scanning electronic microscopy(SEM).Results show that in conditions of calcium carbonate oversaturation there is a reduction in the permeate flow of 11.2%due to fouling of the membrane by the precipitation of this compound.While in the same conditions of calcium sulphate oversaturation the reduction of the flow is 5%,so we can conclude that in conditions of oversaturation of both salts,calcium carbonate produces a greater fouling of the membrane that in its view causes greater decrease in the flow of permeate.All this based on the results of the test with both salts in oversaturated conditions.Resulting in the formation of calcite and gypsum crystals onto the membranes as XRD analyses stated.Additional presence of colloidal silica in those conditions intensifies strongly the fouling,leading until to 24.1%of permeate flux decrease.
基金Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China （20476096, 20776133）, Zhejiang Provincial Bureau of Science ＆ Technology （2005C33040） and Bureau of Education （Key Discipline of Environmental Engineering 56310503014）.
基金supported by Zhejiang Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China (LZ20B060001)National Natural Science Foundation of China (22008208&21908192)China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2019TQ0276)。
文摘Enhancing the water permeation while maintaining high salt rejection of existing reverse osmosis(RO)membranes remains a considerable challenge.Herein,we proposed to introduce polymer of intrinsic microporosity,PIM-1,into the selective layer of reverse osmosis membranes to break the trade-off effect between permeability and selectivity.A water-soluble a-LPIM-1 of low-molecular-weight and hydroxyl terminals was synthesized.These designed characteristics endowed it with high solubility and reactivity.Then it was mixed with m-phenylenediamine and together served as aqueous monomer to react with organic monomer of trimesoyl chloride via interfacial polymerization.The characterization results exhibited that more“nodule”rather than“leaf”structure formed on RO membrane surface,which indicated that the introduction of the high free-volume of a-LPIM-1 with three dimensional twisted and folded structure into the selective layer effectively caused the frustrated packing between polymer chains.In virtue of this effect,even with reduced surface roughness and unchanged layer thickness,the water permeability of prepared reverse osmosis membranes increased 2.1 times to 62.8 L·m^(-2)·h^(-1) with acceptable Na Cl rejection of 97.6%.This attempt developed a new strategy to break the trade-off effect faced by traditional polyamide reverse osmosis membranes.
基金the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.51706157)Applied Basic Research Foundation of Guangdong Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area(No.2020B1515120011)。
文摘Pressure-driven reverse osmosis membrane has important application in seawater desalination.Inspired by the structure of aquaporin,we established and studied the mechanism of the structure of multilayer graphene with tapered channels as reverse osmosis.The water flux of multilayer graphene with tapered channels was about 20%higher than that of parallel graphene channel.The flow resistance model was established,and the relationship between flow resistance and opening angles was clarified.The relationship between flow resistance and outlet size was also described.By means of molecular dynamics simulation,slip coefficients of multilayer graphene with tapered channel were obtained and verified by the contact angle of water.Results show that the permeability of graphene with tapered channel is about three orders of magnitude higher than that of commercial reverse osmosis membrane and the desalination rate is 100%.Temperature difference between the two sides of the tapered channel will promote the water flux positively.
基金the National Natural Science Foundation of China(51673011).
文摘Freshwater scarcity is a critical challenge that human society has to face in the 21st century.Desalination of seawater by reverse osmosis(RO)membranes was regarded as the most promising technology to overcome the challenge given that plenty of potential fresh water resources in oceans.However,the requirements for high desalination efficiency in terms of permeation flux and rejection rate become the bottle-neck which needs to be broken down by developing novel RO membranes with new structure and composition.Cellulose acetate RO membranes exhibited long durability,chlorine resistance,and outstanding desalination efficiency that are worthy of being recalled to address the current shortcomings brought by polyamide RO membranes.In terms of performance enhancement,it is also important to use new ideas and to develop new strategies to modify cellulose acetate RO membranes in response to those complex challenges.Therefore,we focused on the state of the art cellulose acetate RO membranes and discussed the strategies on membrane structural manipulation adjusted by either phase separation or additives,which offered anti-fouling,anti-bacterial,anti-chlorine,durability,and thermo-mechanical properties to the modified membranes associated with the desalination performance,i.e.,permeation flux and rejection rate.The relationship between membrane structure and desalination efficiency was investigated and established to guide the development of cellulose acetate RO membranes for desalination.
文摘This article examines the influence of seawater temperature and total dissolved solids (TDS) on reverse osmosis (RO) desalination in the Arabian Gulf region, with a focus on the impact of climate change. The study highlights the changes in seawater temperature and TDS levels over the years and discusses their effects on the efficiency and productivity of RO desalination plants. It emphasizes the importance of monitoring TDS levels and controlling seawater temperature to optimize water production. The article also suggests various solutions, including intensive pre-treatment, development of high-performance membranes, exploration of alternative water sources, and regulation of discharges into the Gulf, to ensure sustainable water supply in the face of rising TDS levels and seawater temperature. Further research and comprehensive monitoring are recommended to understand the implications of these findings and develop effective strategies for the management of marine resources in the Arabian Gulf.
基金This work was partially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos.21776147,21606140,61604086,21905153 and 51472174)the Postdoc Applied Research Project Funding of Qingdao(Grant No.04000669)+3 种基金the International Science&Technology Cooperation Program of China(Grant No.2014DFA60150)the Department of Science and Technology of Shandong Province(Grant Nos.ZR2018BB066 and 2016GGX104010)the Qingdao Municipal Science and Technology Bureau(Grant No.19-6-1-91-nsh)the Department of Education of Shandong Province(Grant Nos.J16LA14 and J17KA013).Also,Dong Lifeng thanks financial support from the Malmstrom Endowed Fund at Hamline University.
文摘Improving the performance of reverse osmosis membranes remains great challenge to ensure excellent NaCl rejection while maintaining high water permeability and chlorine resistance. Herein, temperature-responsive intelligent nanocontainers are designed and constructed to improve water permeability and chlorine resistance of polyamide membranes. The nanocontainer is synthesized by layer-by-layer self-assembly with silver nanoparticles as the core, sodium alginate and chitosan as the repair materials, and polyvinyl alcohol as the shell. When the polyamide layer is damaged by chlorine attack, the polyvinyl alcohol shell layer dissolves under temperature stimulation of 37 ℃, releasing inner sodium alginate and chitosan to repair broken amide bonds. The polyvinyl alcohol shell responds to temperature in line with actual operating environment, which can effectively synchronize the chlorination of membranes with temperature response and release inner materials to achieve self-healing properties. With adding temperature-responsive intelligent nanocontainers, the NaCl rejection of thin film composite membrane decreased by 15.64%, while that of thin film nanocomposite membrane decreased by only 8.35% after 9 chlorination cycles. Effective repair treatment and outstanding chlorine resistance as well as satisfactory stability suggest that temperature-responsive intelligent nanocontainer has great potential as membrane-doping material for the targeted repair of polyamide reverse osmosis membranes.
文摘A substantial amount of Earth’s water is inadequate for human consumption while local demand is outstripping traditional supplies in many world regions;thereby,brackish and seawater treatment has become a prerequisite.This investigation suggested a complete design of an RO-based desalination filter with a multilayer biomimetic membrane.The study demonstrated a comprehensive method for experimentally fabricating a proprietary biomaterial-based multilayer nano-porous membrane.This analysis revealed that Silk Nano-Fibril(SNF)and Hydroxyapatite(HAP)extracted from Bombyx Mori silkworm cocoons may be utilized to manufacture highly methodical multilayer membranes by incorporating protein-self-assembly and in-situ-bio-mineralization.Membrane’s aquaporin layer containing lipid-bilayers has rapid water permeability and high efficacy at eliminating salt ions and contaminants.The 4µm thick SNF/HAP membrane showed a considerable decrease in salinity,with a salt rejection of 93.33%.The proposed membrane had a saline water permeability of 6.58 LMH/bar,almost 61.09%higher than conventional TFC membranes.Hydrophobic barrier and spiral-wrapped filter architecture of the membrane enable low fouling and self-cleaning properties.The schematic filter design and biomimetic fabrication of the SNF/HAP membrane have formulated a conceptual framework that might direct to the broad-scale,low-cost RO water purification filters,increasing the efficiency of water desalination and boosting the effectiveness of water treatment technologies to reduce potable water scarcity.
基金We gratefully acknowledge the financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.21576205)the Tianjin Natural Science Foundation(Grant No.18JCTPJC48600)the Training Project of Innovation Team of Colleges and Universities in Tianjin(GrantNo.TD13-5020).
文摘The increasing applications of seawater desalination technology have led to the wide usage of polyamide reverse osmosis membranes,resulting in a large number of wasted reverse osmosis membranes.In this work,the base nonwoven layer of the wasted reverse osmosis membrane was successfully modified into the hydrophobic membrane via surface deposition strategy including TiO_(2) and 1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorooctyltrichlorosilane(PFOTS),respectively.Various techniques were applied to characterize the obtained membranes,which were then used to separate the oil–water system.The optimally modified membrane displayed good hydrophobicity with a contact angle of 135.2°±0.3°,and its oil–water separation performance was as high as 97.8%.After 20 recycle tests,the oil–water separation performance remained more than 96%,which was attributed to the film adhesion of the anchored TiO_(2) and PFOTS layer on the surface.This work might provide a new avenue for recycling the wasted reverse osmosis membrane used in oily wastewater purification.
文摘Tanneries reusing wastewater by combination of conventional and advanced Reverse Osmosis (RO) treatment technologies were assessed for technical and economic viabilities. Conventional treatment methods such as neutralization, clari-flocculation and biological processes are followed to clean the effluents before feeding to RO membrane modules. The characteristics of untreated composite effluents such as pH, biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), total suspended solids (TSS), total dissolved solids (TDS), and total chromium were in the range of 4.00-4.60, 680-3600 mg/L, 1698-7546 mg/L, 980-1480 mg/L, 4200-14500 mg/L, and 26.4-190 mg/L, respectively. Inorganic ions like Ca2+, Na+, Cl– and SO42– were found more in the wastewaters. Conventional treatments significantly removed the organic pollutants however failed to remove dissolved inorganic salts. Membrane technology removed the salts as well as remaining organic pollutants and the product water is reused in the process. The studied tanneries (5 numbers) have achieved 93-98%, 92-99% and 91-96% removal of TDS, sodium and chloride, respectively. Seventy to eighty five percentage of wastewater was recovered and recycled in the industrial processes. The rejects are subject to either solar evaporation system or Multiple Effect Evaporation (MEE) technology. The resulting salts are collected in polythene bags and disposed into scientifically managed secured land fill (SLF) site. The cost of wastewater treatment for operation and maintenances of RO including the pre-treatments (conventional methods) is INR 100-110 m-3.
文摘The reverse osmosis （RO） separation of aqueous organic solutions, such as alcohols, amines, aldehydes, acids,ketones, and esters etc., by PAA （polyacrylic acid）/PSF （polysulfone） composite membrane has been studied. It was foundthat the separation results for aliphatic alcohols, amines and aldehydes are satisfactory, the solute rejection （R<sub>a</sub>） and thevolume fluxes of solutions （J<sub>v</sub>） for 1000 ppm ethanol, ethylamine and ethyl aldehyde are 66.2%, 61.0%, 84.0% and 0.90×10<sup>-6</sup>, 0.35×10<sup>-6</sup>, 0.40×10<sup>-6</sup> m<sup>3</sup>/m<sup>2</sup>·s, respectively, at 5.0 MPa and 30℃. R<sub>a</sub> increased with increasing molecular weights ofalcohols, amines and aldehydes, and the R<sub>a</sub> for n-amyl alcohol, n-butylamine and n-butyl aldehyde reached 94.3%, 88.6%and 96.0%, respectively. Satisfactory separation results （R<sub>a</sub>】70%） for ketones, esters, phenols and polyols have beenobtained with the PAA/PSF composite membrane. The effect of operating pressure on the properties of reverse osmosis hasalso been investigated. Analysis of experimental data with Spiegler-Kedem’s transport model has been carried out and themembrane constants such as reflection coefficient σ, solute and hydraulic permeabilities ω and L<sub>p</sub> for several organic soluteshave been obtained.
基金funded by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (Grant No. 2016YFE0118800)Key Program of the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No.51738005).
文摘Humic acid has been considered as one of the most significant sources in feed water causing organic fouling of reverse osmosis (RO) membranes, but the relationship between the fouling behavior of humic acid and the change of its molecular structure has not been well developed yet. In this study, the RO membrane fouling behavior of humic acid was studied systematically with ozonation as a pretreatment method to control RO membrane fouling. Furthermore, the effect of ozone on the structure ofhumic acid was also explored to reveal the mechanisms. Humic acid alone (10-90 mg/L, in deionized water) was found not to cause obvious RO membrane fouling in 45-h operation. However, the presence of Ca^2+ aggravated significantly the RO membrane fouling caused by humic acid, with significant flux reduction and denser fouling layer on RO membrane, as it was observed by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and atomic force microscope (AFM). However, after the pretreatment by ozone, the influence of Ca^2+ was almost eliminated. Further analysis revealed that the addition of Ca^2+ increased the particle size of humic acid solution significantly, while ozonation reduced the SUVA254, particle size and molecular weight of the complexes of humic acid and Ca^2+(HA-Ca^2+ complexes). According to these results and literature, the bridge effect of Ca^2+ aggregating humic acid molecules and the cleavage effect of ozone breaking HA-Ca^2+ complexes were summarized. The change of the structure of humic acid under the effect of Ca^2+ and ozone is closely related to the change of its membrane fouling behavior.
基金This work is supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China(Grant Nos.2017YFC0403903,2017YFC0403901 and 2018YFC0408002)the Special Fund for Basic Scientific Research Business of Central Public Research Institutes(No.KJBYWF-2017-T12 and K-JBYWF-2018-HZ01)the Young Taishan Scholars Program of Shandong Province.
文摘Mesoporous silica nanoparticles(MSN),with higher water permeability than NaA zeolite,were used to fabricate thin-film nanocomposite(TFN)reverse osmosis(RO)membranes.However,only aminoalkyl-modified MSN and low-pressure(less than 2.1 MPa)RO membrane were investigated.In this study,aminophenyl-modified MSN(AMSN)were synthesized and used to fabricate high-pressure(5.52 MPa)RO membranes.With the increasing of AMSN dosage,the crosslinking degree of the aromatic polyamide decreased,while the hydrophilicity of the membranes increased.The membrane morphology was maintained to show a ridge-and-valley structure,with only a slight increase in membrane surface roughness.At the optimum conditions(AMSN dosage of 0.25 g/L),when compared with the pure polyamide RO membrane,the water flux of the TFN RO membrane(55.67 L/m^2/h)was increased by about 21.6%,while NaCl rejection(98.97%)was slightly decreased by only 0.29%.However,the water flux of the membranes was much lower than expected.We considered that the enhancement of RO membrane permeability is attributed to the reduction of the effective thickness of the PA layer.
基金support provided by the Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia under Malaysia Research University Network Grant(Grant No.4L862)the research support provided by Universiti Teknologi Malaysia.
文摘Polyamide thin film composite membranes have dominated current reverse osmosis market on account of their excellent separation performances compared to the integrally skinned counterparts.Despite their very promising separation performance,chlorine-induced degradation resulted from the susceptibility of polyamide toward chlorine attack has been regarded as the Achilles’s heel of polyamide thin film composite.The free chlorine species present during chlorine treatment can impair membrane performance through chlorination and depolymerization of the polyamide selective layer.From material point of view,a chemically stable membrane is crucial for the sustainable application of membrane separation process as it warrants a longer membrane lifespan and reduces the cost involved in membrane replacement.Various strategies,particularly those involved membrane material optimization and surface modifications,have been established to address this issue.This review discusses membrane degradation by free chlorine attack and its correlation with the surface chemistry of polyamide.The advancement in the development of chlorine resistant polyamide thin film composite membranes is reviewed based on the state-of-the-art surface modifications and tailoring approaches which include the in situ and postfabrication membrane modifications using a broad range of functional materials.The challenges and future directions in this field are also highlighted.
文摘Certain areas in Senegal have a serious problem of high fluoride and salinity in underground water because of soil properties. This water currently used for drink has a bad taste on consumption and caused diseases like dental fluorosis and skeletal fluorosis. A membrane filtration plant constructed by Pall Corporation was improved through nanofiltration (NF) and Low Pressure Reverse Osmosis (LPRO). Both NF and LPRO membranes were shown applicable for salinity and fluoride ions removal from brackish and high fluorinated drinking water in a remote community. The NF membrane has given a fluorine retention rate varying between 63.3% and 71% while the LPRO membrane allow to reach 97 to 98.9% for fluorine rejection. Highest salinity rejection rates expressed through conductivity measurements are around 46% and 97% for respectively NF and LPRO.
文摘A reliable and rapid laboratory procedure was developed for rapid screening of reverse osmosis(RO) membrane anti-scalants and compared with existing laboratory methods. This laboratory procedure consists of two parts according to the characteristics of screening RO membrane anti-scalants: preliminary screening of anti-scalants by static method and further by dynamic methods based on the result of static method. Conductivity method, critical pH method and turbidity method were selected as the methods for preliminary screening of RO anti-scalants, and drainage gradient method and dose gradient method were chosen as the dynamic methods for further screening RO anti-scalants.
文摘Reverse osmosis(RO)membrane process has been extensively used for leachate treatment both in incineration plants and landfills.However,operation and maintenance costs caused by membrane pollution limit the wide application of RO membrane.In order to further understand membrane fouling,this study analyzes the influent,effluent,concentrated liquid pollutants and membrane fouling of typical waste incineration plants and landfills in Chongqing,a city in the west of China based on the comparison of three-dimensional excitation and emission matrix fluorescence(3DEEM)and nanometer particle size.In addition,this paper discusses the change law of chemical oxygen demand(COD)and main pollutants in membrane fouling in the disc tube reverse osmosis(DTRO)system in a single operation cycle,analyzes the main components of membrane fouling,and draws the accumulation of RO membrane pollutants,in order to provide a reference for understanding the composition,formation and control of membrane fouling.
