Application of electrodialysis pretreatment to enhance boron removal and reduce fouling during desalination by nanofiltration/reverse osmosis

Landsman, Matthew R.; Lawler, Desmond F.; Katz, Lynn E.

doi:10.1016/j.desal.2020.114563

Application of electrodialysis pretreatment to enhance boron removal and reduce fouling during desalination by nanofiltration/reverse osmosis

Journal Article · Tue Jun 30 00:00:00 EDT 2020 · Desalination

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.desal.2020.114563· OSTI ID:1852965

Landsman, Matthew R. ^[1]; Lawler, Desmond F. ^[2]; Katz, Lynn E. ^[2]

Univ. of Texas, Austin, TX (United States); Univ. of Texas, Austin, TX (United States)
Univ. of Texas, Austin, TX (United States)

we report membranes have emerged as promising technologies for treatment of non-traditional waters, but fouling and poor rejection of small, neutral solutes (e.g., boric acid) impede their further implementation for water purification. Boron rejection is increased by raising the pH to convert boric acid to borate ion, but this change often leads to calcite supersaturation. This study investigated the use of a hybrid electrodialysis-nanofiltration/reverse osmosis (ED-NF/RO) system to reduce fouling from calcite precipitation and calcium-polysaccharide sorption to NF/RO membranes. Also, the study examined the potential of the hybrid process to increase permeate flux and boron rejection during NF/RO of synthetic saline water. ED pretreatment reduced calcite oversaturation and reduced flux decline during NF/RO. Low alginate concentrations (25 mg/L) limited NF/RO fouling, but high concentrations (100 mg/L) appeared to promote calcite scaling. ED pretreatment reduced the osmotic pressure of the NF/RO feed water, enabling lower operating pressures or greater permeate water fluxes. Boron rejection during NF/RO increased with ED pretreatment, probably due to stronger electrostatic repulsion and an increase in the fraction of total boron present as B(OH)4- following ED. This hybrid ED-NF/RO system shows promise as a novel approach to enhancing the performance of current membrane systems for treating complex feed waters.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Univ. of Texas, Austin, TX (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)

Grant/Contract Number:: SC0019272

OSTI ID:: 1852965

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1702337

Journal Information:: Desalination, Journal Name: Desalination Journal Issue: C Vol. 491; ISSN 0011-9164

Publisher:: ElsevierCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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42 ENGINEERING
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Application of electrodialysis pretreatment to enhance boron removal and reduce fouling during desalination by nanofiltration/reverse osmosis

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