• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.399-405
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• 2011

In a desalination technology using RO membranes, chemical cleaning makes damage for membrane surface and membrane life be shortened. In this research cleaning technology using direct osmosis (DO) was introduced to apply it under the condition of high pH and high concentration of feed. When the high concentration of feed is injected to the concentrate side after release of operating pressure, then backward flow occurred from treated water toward concentrated for osmotic pressure. This flow reduces fouling on the membrane surface. Namely, flux of DO was monitored under pH 3, 5, 10 and 12 conditions at feed concentrations of NaCl 40,000 mg/L, 120,000 mg/L and 160,000 mg/L. As a result, DO flux in pH 12 increased about 21% than pH 3. DO cleaning was performed under the concentrate NaCl 160,000 mg/L of pH 12 during 20 minutes. Three kinds of synthetic feed water were used as concentrates. They consisted of organic, inorganic and seawater; chemicals of SiO2 (200 mg/L), humic acid (50 mg/L) sodium alginate (50 mg/L) and seawater. As a result, fluxes were recovered to 17% in organic fouling, 15% in inorganic fouling and 14% of seawater fouling after cleaning using DO under the condition of concentrate NaCl 160,000 mg/L of pH 12.

• Journal of Korean Society of Water and Wastewater
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.303-310
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• 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
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.357-361
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• 2018

Forward osmosis (FO) process has been attracting attention for its potential applications such as industrial wastewater treatment, wastewater reclamation and seawater desalination. Particularly, in terms of fouling reversibility and operating energy consumption, the FO process is assumed to be preferable to the reverse osmosis (RO) process. Despite these advantages, there is a difficulty in the empirical step due to the lack of separation and recovery techniques of the draw solution. Therefore, rather than using FO alone, recent developments of the FO process have adapted a hybrid system without draw solution separation/recovery systems, such as the FO-RO osmotic dilution system. In this study, we investigated the performance of the hollow fiber FO module according to various operating conditions. The change of permeate flow rate according to the flow rates of the draw and feed solutions in the process operation is a factor that increases the permeate flow rate, one of the performance factors in the positive osmosis process. Our results reveal that flow rates of draw and feed solutions affect the membrane performance, such as the water flux and the reverse solute flux. Moreover, use of hydraulic pressure on the feed side was shown to yield slightly higher flux than the case without applied pressure. Thus, optimizing the operating conditions is important in the hollow fiber FO system.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.8 no.5
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• pp.449-462
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• 2017

Direct treatment of municipal wastewater by forward osmosis (FO) process was evaluated in terms of water flux decline, reverse salt diffusion, pollutants rejection and concentration efficiency by using synthetic seawater as the draw solution. It was found that when operating in PRO mode (active layer facing the draw solution), although the FO membrane exhibited higher osmotic water flux, more severe flux decline and reverse salt diffusion was also observed due to the more severe fouling of pollutants in the membrane support layer and accompanied fouling enhanced concentration polarization. In addition, although the water flux decline was shown to be lower for the FO mode (active layer facing the feed solution), irreversible membrane fouling was identified in both PRO and FO modes as the water flux cannot be restored to the initial value by physical flushing, highlighting the necessity of chemical cleaning in long-term operation. During the 7 cycles of filtration conducted in the experiments, the FO membrane exhibited considerably high rejection for TOC, COD, TP and $NH_4{^+}-N$ present in the wastewater. By optimizing the volume ratio of seawater draw solution/wastewater feed solution, a concentration factor of 3.1 and 3.7 was obtained for the FO and PRO modes, respectively. The results demonstrated the validity of the FO process for direct treatment of municipal wastewater by using seawater as the draw solution, while facilitating the subsequent utilization of concentrated wastewater for bioenergy production, which may have special implications for the coastline areas.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.108-115
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• 2016

This study is to evaluate the performance of draw solutions in the water reuse of sewage discharge water using fertilizer drawn forward osmosis. Feed water used in all experiments was the effluent from secondary sedimentation tank in activated sludge process. Considering osmotic pressure, solubility, and pH, $NH_4H_2PO_4$, KCl, $KNO_3$, $NH_4Cl$, $(NH_4)_2HPO_4$, $NH_4NO_3$, $NH_4HCO_3$, and $KHCO_3$ were screened from a comprehensive lists of fertilizer. Their performances were evaluated in terms of water permeate flux and reverse solute flux. KCl showed the highest average water flux followed by $NH_4Cl$, $NH_4NO_3$, $KNO_3$, $KHCO_3$, $NH_4HCO_3$, $NH_4H_2PO_4$, and $(NH_4)_2HPO_4$. Using KCl as draw solution, the average water permeate flux was 13.49 LMH. There was no big difference in osmotic pressure between the effluent from secondary sedimentation tank and deionized water. $NH_4H_2PO_4$ showed the lowest reverse solute flux followed by $NH_4Cl$, $(NH_4)_2HPO_4$, $KNO_3$, $NH_4HCO_3$, and $NH_4NO_3$. Using $NH_4H_2PO_4$ as draw solution, the reverse solute flux was $4.96{\times}10^{-3}mmol/m^2{\cdot}sec$.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.24 no.5
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• pp.400-408
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• 2014

This study is to evaluate the performance of draw solutions in forward osmosis desalination using fertilizer as draw solution. Considering osmotic pressure, solubility, and pH, $NH_4NO_3$, $NH_4H_2PO_4$, $(NH_4)_2HPO_4$, KCl, $KNO_3$, and $KHCO_3$ were screened from a comprehensive lists of fertilizer. Their performance were evaluated in terms of pure water permeate flux, reverse solute flux, and specific reverse solute flux for nitrogen and phosphorus. KCl showed the highest pure water permeate flux among the selected fertilizers while $(NH_4)_2HPO_4$ draw solution had the lowest flux. $NH_4H_2PO_4$ showed the lowest reverse solute flux and specific reverse solute flux for nitrogen followed by $(NH_4)_2HPO_4$, $KNO_3$, and $NH_4NO_3$. Although the pure water permeate flux of $NH_4H_2PO_4$ is lower than the other draw solutions, because it contains both nitrogen and phosphorus, and have the lowest reverse solute flux and specific reverse solute flux, it is a promising candidate as draw solution for forward osmosis desalination.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.28 no.1
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• pp.45-54
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• 2018

This study is to find the optimum draw solution in fertilizer-drawn forward osmosis desalination. Considering osmotic pressure, solubility, and pH, 20 blended fertilizers were screened. Their performance were evaluated in terms of pure water permeate flux, reverse solute flux, and specific reverse solute flux for nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. The pure water permeate flux of blended fertilizers including KCl were relatively higher. The reverse solute flux and specific reverse solute flux for nitrogen of blended fertilizers containing ${NO_3}^-$ ion were relatively higher than those of the nitrate ion-free draw solution. Those for phosphorus, and potassium of blended fertilizers including $NH_4H_2PO_4$, and $KNO_3$ were relatively higher than those of the phosphorus-free, and potassium-free draw solution, respectively. The blended fertilizer of $NH_4H_2PO_4$ and KCl contains all of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium which are essential elements of fertilizer, and has the relatively high water permeation flux and the low reverse solute flux for nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. Therefore, it is the most effective draw solution for fertilizer-drawn forward osmosis desalination.

• Membrane Journal
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• v.28 no.5
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• pp.368-377
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• 2018

The n-nitrilotris(methylene) phosphonic acid (NTPA) potassium salt was synthesized as a draw solute for forward osmosis. NTPA-4K, NTPA-5K and NTPA-6K were synthesized by varying the content of KOH added to NTPA and confirmed by $^1H$-NMR and $^{13}C$-NMR. The osmotic pressure, viscosity, water flux and reverse salt flux were measured to characterize the draw solute. In the forward osmosis process when distilled water was used as a feed solution and 0.5 M of NTPA-4K, NTPA-5K and NTPA-6K were used as a draw solution, the water flux was 35.8, 38.8 and 42.2 LMH, the reverse salt flux was 5.4, 6.9 and 7.4 gMH, respectively. It was confirmed that the water flux was lower than the conventional NaCl draw solution, but the reverse salt flux was much lower. In order to recover the diluted draw solution, nanofiltration was conducted. The results showed that the draw solute could be retained by above 90%.

• Proceedings of the Membrane Society of Korea Conference
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• 1997.04b
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• pp.3-10
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• 1997

제염농축공정은 증류, 증발법을 일반적으로 사용하나, 에너지 절약차원에서 전기투석 (Electro dialysis)장치를 증발기 선단에 도입한 복합공정을 국내에서도 사용하고 있는 실정이다. 그러나, 전기투석장치는 전기적인 소모와 막의 재생, 교체처리비가 문제점이 되므로 역삼투 장치를 제염농축 공정 최선단에 도입한 복합공정을 이용할 경우 전기 투석 및 증발 복합공정에 비해 40%의 에너지 절감 효과를 기대할 수 있다. 이와 같은 장점에도 불구하고 역삼투 공정은 공급용액의 삼투압보다 큰 적용압력을 막표면에 가하여 물질분리를 수행하므로 농축공정에서 유발되는 배제액 농도의 상승은 삼투압의 증가를 일으켜 실적적용압력의 효과를 떨어뜨리게 되며 결과적으로 농축효과를 감소시키게 된다. 본 연구에서는 효과적인 염농축 공정을 위하여 막모듈 투과부에 고농도 삼투압 감소액(osmotic sink solution)을 향류식(막투과흐름을 맞받아치며 흐르는 방식)으로 유입시키는 향류식 역삼투 (counter-current reverse osmosis, CCRO) 나권형 모듈을 고안 제작하였으며, 제작된 모듈을 기존 역삼투 공정과 향류식 염삼투 공정에 적용하여 염농축도의 성능을 상호 비교하고 염농축에 관계되는 공급농도, 공급유량, 투과유량, 배제유량, 향류 유입유량, 압력구배, 삼투압차 및 농축단수 등의 인자들을 이용하여 두 공정에 대한 염농축 분리조작의 제반조건과 제작된 모듈 내의 농축관련 특성을 실험 및 수치적으로 비교, 고찰하였다.

• Journal of Korean Society of Environmental Engineers
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• v.38 no.9
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• pp.476-481
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• 2016

Pressure retarded osmosis (PRO) is a quite new technique for power generation using an osmotically driven membrane process. In the PRO process, water permeates through a semipermeable membrane from a low concentration feed solution to a high concentration draw solution due to osmotic pressure. This study carried out to evaluate the performance of the 8 in spiral wound membrane module using reverse osmosis concentrate for a draw solution and reverse osmosis permeate for a feed solution. Three different flowrates of draw and feed solution, such as 2.4 L/min, 5.0 L/min, and 10.0 L/min were used to estimate the power density and water flux under various range of hydraulic pressure differences between 5 bar and 30 bar. In addition, the effects of feed and draw solution concentration, flowrate, and mixing ratio on 8 in spiral wound PRO membrane module performance were investigated in this study. As major results, increases of the draw solution concentration lead to the improvement of power denstiy, and water flux. Also, increase of flowrate resulted in the improvement of power density and water flux. In addition, optimal mixing ratio of draw and feed solution inlet flowrate was found to be 1:1 to attain a maximum power denstiy.