Boric acid permeation in forward osmosis membrane processes: modeling, experiments, and implications

Jin, X., Tang, C.Y., Gu, Y., She, Q. and Qi, S. (2011) Boric acid permeation in forward osmosis membrane processes: modeling, experiments, and implications. Environmental Science and Technology, 45(6), pp. 2323-2330. (doi: 10.1021/es103771a)

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Abstract

Forward osmosis (FO) is attracting increasing interest for its potential applications in desalination. In FO, permeation of contaminants from feed solution into draw solution through the semipermeable membrane can take place simultaneously with water diffusion. Understanding the contaminants transport through and rejection by FO membrane has significant technical implications in the way to separate clean water from the diluted draw solution. In this study, a model was developed to predict boron flux in FO operation. A strong agreement between modeling results and experimental data indicates that the model developed in this study can accurately predict the boron transport through FO membranes. Furthermore, the model can guide the fabrication of improved FO membranes with decreased boron permeability and structural parameter to minimize boron flux. Both theoretical model and experimental results demonstrated that when membrane active layer was facing draw solution, boron flux was substantially greater compared to the other membrane orientation due to more severe internal concentration polarization. In this investigation, for the first time, rejection of contaminants was defined in FO processes. This is critical to compare the membrane performance between different membranes and experimental conditions.

Item Type:Articles
Status:Published
Refereed:Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:Jin, Dr Xue
Authors: Jin, X., Tang, C.Y., Gu, Y., She, Q., and Qi, S.
College/School:College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering > Infrastructure and Environment
Journal Name:Environmental Science and Technology
Journal Abbr.:EST
Publisher:American Chemical Society
ISSN:0013-936X
ISSN (Online):1520-5851
Published Online:17 February 2011

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