• Membrane Journal
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.28-40
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• 2002

The primary objective of this study is to elucidate the contribution of the electrostatic and molecula structural properties of an active layer of the thin film compsite (TFC) membranes to fouling tendency. The studies of surface morphology and surface charge were very effective in understanding fouling behaviors of the reverse osmosis (RO) membranes which were the thin film composite type of ployamide. Results of microscopic morphology analyzed by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and surface charge analyzed by electrokinetic analyzer (EKA) showed important factors affecting the fouling of RO membranes. The active layer of the composite membrane possessing realtively neutral streaming charge and less roughness provided a RO membrane with slowly decreasing flux.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.8 no.6
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• pp.613-623
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• 2017

We report the novel thin film composite RO membrane modified by graphene oxide. The thin film composite RO membrane was exposed to 2000 mg/l sodium hypochloride; thereafter it was subjected to different graphene oxide concentration ranging from 50 mg/l to 1000 mg/l in water. The resultant membrane was crosslinked with 5000 mg/l N-hydroxysuccinimide. The performance of different membranes were analysed by solute rejection and water-flux measurement. It was found that 100 mg/l graphene oxide exposure followed by 5000 mg/l N-hydroxysuccinimide treatment resulted in the membrane with the highest solute rejection of 97.78% and water-flux of 4.64 Liter per sqm per hour per bar g. The membranes were characterized by contact angle for hydrophilicity, scanning electron micrographs for surface morphology, energy dispersive X-Ray for chemical composition of the surface, Atomic force microscope for surface roughness, ATR-FTIR for chemical structure identification. It was found that the graphene oxide modified membrane increases the salt rejection performance after exposure to high-fouling water containing albumin. Highly hydrophilic, antifouling surface formation with the nanomaterial led to the improved membrane performance. Moreover, the protocol of incorporating nanomaterial by this post-treatment is simple and can be applied to any RO membrane after it is manufactured.

• Proceedings of the Membrane Society of Korea Conference
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• 1998.09a
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• pp.1-30
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• 1998

1. RO History 2. Asymmetric Membranes by Phase Inversion 3. Thin Film Composite (TFC) Membrane 4. Structure and Property Relationship of TFC Membrane 5. Membrane Materials 6. Tranport Mechanism(Model) 7. Membrane Characters in Separation Process 8. Concentration Polarization and Fouling Phenomenon 9. RO Membrane Module Configuration and System Design 10. Futrue Trend in RO Industry

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.10 no.5
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• pp.381-385
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• 2019

Surface modification is very efficient and scalable approach to achieve improved membrane performance. We treated Reverse Osmosis Thin Film Composite (TFC RO) membrane with various concentrations of Polyethylene Glycol (PEG), a hydrophilic polymer after activation with sodium hypochlorite. This treatment resulted in an increment of the water flux by 43% and the salt rejection by 2.36% for the 3000 mg/l PEG-treated membrane. Further, these PEG-treated membranes were exposed to a mixture of 3000 mg/l PEG and 1000 mg/l sodium hypochlorite for 1 hour. Further modification of this membrane by PEG and sodium hypochlorite mixture increased the water permeance up to 133% when compared with the virgin TFC RO membrane. We characterized the treated membranes to understand the changes in wettability by contact angle analysis, changes in surface morphology and roughness by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and atomic force microscope (AFM) analysis.

• Membrane and Water Treatment
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.225-244
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• 2017

A novel thin-film nanocomposite (TFN) reverse osmosis (RO)/non-woven fabric (NWF) membrane was prepared by adding zinc oxide (ZnO) nanospheres ($30{\pm}10nm$) during the interfacial polymerization process of m-phenylenediamine (MPD) and trimesoyl chloride (TMC) on self-made polysulfone (PSF) membrane/polyester (PET) non-woven fabric support. The improved performance of TFN RO membrane was verified in terms of water contact angle (WCA), water flux, salt rejection, antifouling properties and chlorine resistance. The results showed that the WCA value of TFN RO surface had a continuous decrease with the increasing of ZnO content in MPD aqueous solution. The water flux of composite TFN RO membranes acquired a remarkable increase with a stable high solute rejection (94.5 %) in $1g{\cdot}L^{-1}$ NaCl aqueous solution under the optimized addition amount of ZnO (1 wt%). The continuous testing of membrane separation performance after the immersion in sodium hypochlorite solution indicated that the introduction of ZnO nanospheres also dramatically enhanced the antifouling properties and the chlorine resistance of composite RO membranes.

• Proceedings of the Membrane Society of Korea Conference
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• 2004.05b
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• pp.82-85
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• 2004

Flux-enhancement mechanism of thin-film-composite (TFC) membranes for the reverse comosis (RO) process was newly explained by positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy (PALS) that has been found to be applied for detecting molecular vacancies or pores having sizes that are equivalent to salt or hydrate ions in RO membrane.(omitted)

• 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.34 no.2
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• pp.127-137
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• 2020

In this study, a MWCNT(multi-wall carbon nanotube) was added to polysulfone(PSf) support layer to improve flux of TFC(thin film composite) RO(reverse osmosis) membrane. Two different kinds of MWCNT were used. Surfaces of some MWCNTs were modified hydrophilically through acid treatment, while those of other MWCNTs were modified through heat treatment to maintain their hydrophobicity. MWCNT/PSf support layer was prepared by adding PSf to the NMP mixed solvent containing 0.1 wt% MWCNTs using a phase inversion method. The surface porosity of the MWCNT/PSf support increased by 42~46% while its surface pore size being maintained. The TFC RO membrane made of MWCNT/PSf support layer showed a 20% flux increase while its salt rejection characteristics is sustained. In addition, the MWCNT/PSf support layer has better mechanical stability than the PSf support layer, there resulting in an increased resistance of flux reduction due to physical pressure.

• Proceedings of the Membrane Society of Korea Conference
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• 1991.04a
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• pp.9-9
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• 1991

This paper will begin by describing osmosis and how reverse osmosis works. It will show how osmotic pressure affects reverse osmosis operations. It uill explain salt rejection, membrane flux, and recovery rates and the affect that salt built up has on membrane performance. It wil 1 explain the limitations of RO performance and why pretreatment is important. It will describe the two basic types of membrane, asymmetric and thin-film composite and explain the difference between these types plus compare cellulose acetate types to aromatic polyamide type membranes. It will discuss operating efficiences as it compares to feedwater pressure, concentration, temperature and pH. Finally, it will discuss the differences between tubular, plate and frame, hollow fiber and spiral wound element design. It will be a paper that talks about the basics of RO systems and should give a person who is unfamiliar with RO a basic introduction to this type of separation technology.

• Journal of Industrial and Engineering Chemistry
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• v.67
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• pp.52-71
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• 2018

RO membranes, the core elements for RO process formed using polyamide, have found prominent space in membrane technology. RO membranes with better application perspective could be achieved by precise controlling the kinetics of IP reaction and surface modification strategy. Despite huge progresses, great challenges still exist in trade-off between flux, rejections and fouling. More works are necessary to enhance the performance and stability of RO membranes via surface modification. Further insights into the use of natural monomers are necessary. It is anticipated that this article can provide clues for further in-depth evaluation and research in exploring more advanced RO membranes.