• Membrane Journal
• /
• v.32 no.6
• /
• pp.390-400
• /
• 2022

Nanofiltration (NF) membranes are more popular than reverse osmosis (RO) membranes as they can be operated at much lower pressures for applications in treatment of wastewater from industries like food processing and pharmaceutical as well as municipal sewage water. The separation mechanism in case of NF membranes is based on solution diffusion as well as sieving, for which the crosslinking density of the thin film of the composite membrane is less then RO membrane. Unlike ceramic membranes, membrane fouling is one of the chronic problems that occur during the nanofiltration process in polymeric membranes. Membrane cleaning is done to get rid of reversible as well as irreversible fouling by treatment with sodium hypochlorite. Compared to polymeric membranes, ceramic membranes show higher stability against these agents. In this review different types of ceramic membrane applied wastewater treatment by NF process are discussed.

• The KSFM Journal of Fluid Machinery
• /
• v.16 no.1
• /
• pp.61-65
• /
• 2013

Water is an integral part of energy production because it is used directly in many power generation systems such as hydroelectric power plants and thermoelectric power plants. Water is also used extensively in energy-resource extraction, oil, natural gas, and alternative fuels refining and processing. Recently, osmotic power systems using seawater and freshwater has been also investigated to produce electricity in a sustainable way. This study focused on the use of RO and PRO for the mutual conversion of water and energy. This system allows the production of water from seawater if there is not enough water. It can also generate electricity from salinity gradient of brine water and fresh water if there is not enough energy. To demonstrate the feasibility of this technology, a set of laboratory-scale experiments were carried out using a specially-designed RO/PRO system. The efficiency of energy conversion was theoretically estimated based on the results from the experiments. The results indicated that water and energy could be easily converted using a single device. Nevertheless, a lack of optimum membrane for this purpose was identified as a major barrier for practical application.

• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
• /
• v.30 no.3
• /
• pp.299-312
• /
• 2016

The main objective of this paper is to develop computer simulation program for performance evaluation and cost estimation of a reverse osmosis (RO) and pressure-retarded osmosis (PRO) hybrid process to propose guidelines for its economic competitiveness use in the field. A solution-diffusion model modified with film theory and a simple cost model was applied to the simulation program. Using the simulation program, the effects of various factors, including the Operating conditions, membrane properties, and cost parameters on the RO and RO-PRO hybrid process performance and cost were examined. The simulation results showed that the RO-PRO hybrid process can be economically competitive with the RO process when electricity cost is more than 0.2 $/kWh, the PRO membrane cost is same as RO membrane cost, the power density is more than $8W/m^2$ and PRO recovery is same as 1/(1-RO recovery).

• Proceedings of the Korea Committee for Ocean Resources and Engineering Conference
• /
• 2004.11a
• /
• pp.7-12
• /
• 2004

Desalination system of revers osmosis(RO) membrane has been proven to be the most economical not only for the desalination of water containing salts, but also for the concentration of solute. RO membranes were traditionally made of inorganic polymers such. as cellulose acetate(CA), Polyamide(PA). To retain more minerals in deep ocean water, a new hybrid membrane composed of tourmaline film as organic material onto inorganic layer of CA polymer in asymmetric structure was developed for RO membrane process. The performance tests were carried out in the permeability of pure water and the rejection of NaCl solution to evaluate the adaptability for DOW desalination. The results of these basic tests show possibility to apply the new hybrid RO membrane for the desalination with function control.

• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
• /
• v.31 no.4
• /
• pp.303-310
• /
• 2017

Pressure retarded osmosis(PRO) has attracted much attention as potential technology to reduce the overall energy consumption for reverse osmosis(RO) desalination. The RO/PRO hybrid process is considered as the most logical next step for future desalination. The PRO process aims to harness the osmotic energy difference of two aqueous solutions separated by a semipermeable membrane. By using the concentrated water(RO brine) discharged from existing RO plants, the PRO process can effectively exploit a greater salinity gradient to reduce the energy cost of processing concentrated water. However, in order to use RO brine as the draw solution, PRO membrane must have high water flux and enough mechanical strength to withstand the high operational pressure. This study investigates the development of a thin film composite PRO membrane and spiral wound module for high power density. Also, the influence of membrane backing layer on the overall power density was studied using the characteristic factors of PRO membranes. Finally, the performance test of an 8-inch spiral wound module was carried out under various operating conditions(i.e. hydraulic pressure, flow rate, temperature). As the flow rate and temperature increased under the same hydraulic pressure, the PRO performance increased due to the growth of water permeability coefficient and osmotic pressure. For a high performance PRO system, in order to optimize the operating conditions, it is highly recommended that the flow pressure be minimized while the flow rate is maintained at a high level.

• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
• /
• v.30 no.6
• /
• pp.755-764
• /
• 2016

Pressure retarded osmosis (PRO) processes can be implemented on a number of water types, using different technologies and achieving various power outcomes. In this study, Sewage facility effluent was used for feed solution of PRO and synthetic NaCl water for draw solution. This study was conducted to investigate effect of water quality of pretreatment on power density and flux decline in PRO process. The results show that organic and particulate foulants have to be removed for more stable operation. Flourescence technique with EEM enables to investigate the chemical properties of aquatic organic matter by extracting spectral information. Humic/fulvic matters and soluble microbial by-products were analyzed as the most affecting factors on the PRO performance. As a result of analyzing the whole system based on the energy consumption of the unit process, specific energy consumption(SEC) of the applicable technology for PRO pre-treatment should be about $0.2kWh/m^3$ or less.

• Membrane Journal
• /
• v.28 no.1
• /
• pp.75-82
• /
• 2018

Forward osmosis (FO) desalination system has been highlighted to improve the energy efficiency and drive down the carbon footprint of current reverse osmosis (RO) desalination technology. To improve the trade-off between water flux and salt rejection of thin film composite (TFC) desalination membrane, thin film nanocomposite membranes (TFN), in which nanomaterials as a filler are embeded within a polymeric matrix, are being explored to tailor the separation performance and add new functionality to membranes for water purification applications. The objective of this article is to develop a graphene nanocomposite membrane with high performance of water selective permeability (high water flux, high salt rejection, and low reverse solute diffusion) as a next-generation FO desalination membrane. For advances in fabrication of graphene oxide (GO) membranes, layer-by-layer (LBL) technique was used to control the desirable structure, alignment, and chemical functionality that can lead to ultrahigh-permeability membranes due to highly selective transport of water molecules. In this study, the GO nanocomposite membrane fabricated by LBL dip coating method showed high water flux ($J_w/{\Delta}{\pi}=2.51LMH/bar$), water selectivity ($J_w/J_s=8.3L/g$), and salt rejection (99.5%) as well as high stability in aqueous solution and under FO operation condition.

• Membrane Journal
• /
• v.26 no.4
• /
• pp.281-290
• /
• 2016

Thin film composite (TFC) polyamide membranes were prepared on polysulfone (PSF) supports for forward osmosis (FO) applications. To understand the influence of polarity and porosity of support layer on the formation of polyamide structure and the final FO performance, clathochelate metal complex (MC) contained PSF supports were prepared via the phase inversion process from various PSF casting solutions containing 0.1-0.5 wt% of MC in dimethyl formamide (DMF) solvent (18 wt%). A crosslinked aromatic polyamide layer was then fabricated on top of each support to form a TFC membrane. For the porous PSF supports prepared with relatively low concentration casting solutions (12 wt%), the PET film was removed after phase inversion and crosslinked aromatic polyamide layer was then fabricated. The tested sample from PSF (18 wt%)/MC (0.5 wt%) casting solution presented outstanding FO performance, almost similar water flux (9.99 LMH) with lower reverse salt flux (RSF, 0.77 GMH) compared to commercial HTI FO membrane(10.97 LMH of flux and 2.2 GMH of RSF). By addition of MC in casting solution, the thickness of the active layer in FO membranes was reduced, however, the increased RSF value was obtained.

• Membrane Journal
• /
• v.26 no.5
• /
• pp.391-400
• /
• 2016

In this work, novel thin film composite (TFC) forward osmosis (FO) membranes are developed via interfacial polymerization on the polysulfone (PS) substrate, using TEOS as the a sol-gel reagent to form hydrophilic interlayer polymer between PS and polyamide (PA). The PS substrate was cast on a very thin polyester nonwoven to reduce membrane resistance. With the incorporation of TEOS (tetraethoxy silane) polymer in the interface between PS and PA, the formed TFC FO membrane exhibits better hydrophilicity and improved water flux, and therefore superior membrane performance. By changing the polymerization sequence of PA interfacial polymerization and TEOS sol-gel condensation, the surface properties and performance of FO membranes are changed significantly. The permeability of FO membranes were estimated using the bench-scale FO test equipment. The distribution of the polysiloxane on composite membrane and morphology are also studied with FE-SEM and EDAX. The PS_PA_TEOS membrane showed highly enhanced water flux (79.2 LMH) but reverse salt flux (RSF) value (7.10 GMH) also increased. However, the flux of PS_TEOS_PA membrane increased moderately (54.1 LMH) without increasing RSF value (1.60 GMH) compare with PS_PA membrane.

• Applied Chemistry for Engineering
• /
• v.30 no.1
• /
• pp.122-131
• /
• 2019

In order to reuse and concentrate the sewage, a forward osmosis using fertilizer as draw solution was applied. Sewage-1, which is the supernatant after settling for 30 minutes for the primary settling basin influent, and Sewage-2, which is the supernatant after settling for 30 minutes for the effluent, and Sewage-3, which is the filtrate filtered through a $1{\mu}m$ cartridge filter for the effluent were tested. Eight draw solutions of $NH_4H_2PO_4$, KCl, $KNO_3$, $NH_4Cl$, $(NH_4)_2HPO_4$, $NH_4NO_3$, $NH_4HCO_3$, and $KHCO_3$ were used in consideration of osmotic pressure, solubility and pH. In the case of Sewage-3, the permeate flux was almost similar to that of the discharge water of the sewage treatment plant, and was larger than that of Sewage-1 and Sewage-2. $NH_4H_2PO_4$ was the smallest, and $NH_4NO_3$ was the largest in the specific reverse solute flux. $NH_4H_2PO_4$ was found to be most useful for the reuse and concentration of sewage because it contains nitrogen and phosphorus, which are the major components of fertilizer, as well as low specific reverse solute flux. When $NH_4H_2PO_4$ was used as the draw solution, the concentration factor after 24 hours for Sewage-3 was 1.72.