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Title: X-ray Scattering Studies of Reverse Osmosis Materials

Abstract

Scarcity of freshwater is becoming a world crisis. In a recent annual risk report, the World Economic Forum lists it in their greatest global risk category. Currently, about four billion people live under conditions of severe water scarcity for at least one month out of the year [1]. Increasing water use efficiency is thus essential. However, this alone will not be able to provide adequate drinking water to meet the world’s needs. The process of preparing drinking water from seawater and brackish water involves many stages, the final and most expensive of which is typically reverse osmosis (RO). Reverse osmosis processes operate by forcing water across a semi-permeable membrane by applying a pressure greater than the osmotic pressure of the feed solution (seawater, Π ≈ 28 bar = 400 psi), thereby separating the water from any dissolved ions and impurities (rejection > 99%). The flux of water through the membrane is directly proportional to the amount of pressure applied above the osmotic pressure; however, the energy consumption is related to the total pressure. According to the American Membrane Technology Association, the amount of energy required to desalinate seawater with current technologies is 2.5 to 3.5 kWh/m3 of water. RO materialsmore » have been tuned, modified, and optimized extensively since their initial discovery through an Edisonian approach. Despite immense technological progress [2, 3], many basic scientific questions remain on the molecular structure of RO membranes. Overall, in this report, we demonstrate that synchrotron X-ray scattering methods offer the possibility of improving our fundamental understanding of RO materials.« less

Authors:
 [1];  [1];  [1];  [2];  [3];  [3];  [4]
+ Show Author Affiliations
  1. Stony Brook Univ., NY (United States)
  2. Univ. Autonoma de San Luis Potosi (Mexico)
  3. National Inst. of Standards and Technology (NIST), Gaithersburg, MD (United States)
  4. Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES); National Science Foundation (NSF)
OSTI Identifier:
1716750
Report Number(s):
BNL-220591-2020-JAAM
Journal ID: ISSN 0894-0886
Grant/Contract Number:  
SC0012704; DMR-1808690
Resource Type:
Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Synchrotron Radiation News
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 33; Journal Issue: 4; Journal ID: ISSN 0894-0886
Publisher:
Taylor & Francis
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE

Citation Formats

Fu, Q., Verma, N., Hsiao, B. S., Medellin-Rodriguez, F., Beaucage, P. A., Stafford, C. M., and Ocko, Benjamin. X-ray Scattering Studies of Reverse Osmosis Materials. United States: N. p., 2020. Web. doi:10.1080/08940886.2020.1784700.
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Fu, Q., Verma, N., Hsiao, B. S., Medellin-Rodriguez, F., Beaucage, P. A., Stafford, C. M., & Ocko, Benjamin. X-ray Scattering Studies of Reverse Osmosis Materials. United States. https://doi.org/10.1080/08940886.2020.1784700
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Fu, Q., Verma, N., Hsiao, B. S., Medellin-Rodriguez, F., Beaucage, P. A., Stafford, C. M., and Ocko, Benjamin. Tue . "X-ray Scattering Studies of Reverse Osmosis Materials". United States. https://doi.org/10.1080/08940886.2020.1784700. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1716750.
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@article{osti_1716750,
title = {X-ray Scattering Studies of Reverse Osmosis Materials},
author = {Fu, Q. and Verma, N. and Hsiao, B. S. and Medellin-Rodriguez, F. and Beaucage, P. A. and Stafford, C. M. and Ocko, Benjamin},
abstractNote = {Scarcity of freshwater is becoming a world crisis. In a recent annual risk report, the World Economic Forum lists it in their greatest global risk category. Currently, about four billion people live under conditions of severe water scarcity for at least one month out of the year [1]. Increasing water use efficiency is thus essential. However, this alone will not be able to provide adequate drinking water to meet the world’s needs. The process of preparing drinking water from seawater and brackish water involves many stages, the final and most expensive of which is typically reverse osmosis (RO). Reverse osmosis processes operate by forcing water across a semi-permeable membrane by applying a pressure greater than the osmotic pressure of the feed solution (seawater, Π ≈ 28 bar = 400 psi), thereby separating the water from any dissolved ions and impurities (rejection > 99%). The flux of water through the membrane is directly proportional to the amount of pressure applied above the osmotic pressure; however, the energy consumption is related to the total pressure. According to the American Membrane Technology Association, the amount of energy required to desalinate seawater with current technologies is 2.5 to 3.5 kWh/m3 of water. RO materials have been tuned, modified, and optimized extensively since their initial discovery through an Edisonian approach. Despite immense technological progress [2, 3], many basic scientific questions remain on the molecular structure of RO membranes. Overall, in this report, we demonstrate that synchrotron X-ray scattering methods offer the possibility of improving our fundamental understanding of RO materials.},
doi = {10.1080/08940886.2020.1784700},
journal = {Synchrotron Radiation News},
number = 4,
volume = 33,
place = {United States},
year = {Tue Aug 25 00:00:00 EDT 2020},
month = {Tue Aug 25 00:00:00 EDT 2020}
}
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Publisher's Version of Record
https://doi.org/10.1080/08940886.2020.1784700
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Works referenced in this record:

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