Search Menu
DOE PAGES title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information
Search Scholarly Publications

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

Abstract

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 complexmore » feed waters.« less

Authors:
 [1];  [1];  [1]
+ Show Author Affiliations
  1. Univ. of Texas, Austin, TX (United States)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Univ. of Texas, Austin, TX (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
OSTI Identifier:
1852965
Alternate Identifier(s):
OSTI ID: 1702337
Grant/Contract Number:  
SC0019272
Resource Type:
Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Desalination
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 491; Journal Issue: C; Journal ID: ISSN 0011-9164
Publisher:
Elsevier
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
42 ENGINEERING; 54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES; hybrid membrane processes; small, neutral solutes; speciation; calcium carbonate; alginate

Citation Formats

Landsman, Matthew R., Lawler, Desmond F., and Katz, Lynn E. Application of electrodialysis pretreatment to enhance boron removal and reduce fouling during desalination by nanofiltration/reverse osmosis. United States: N. p., 2020. Web. doi:10.1016/j.desal.2020.114563.
Copy to clipboard
Landsman, Matthew R., Lawler, Desmond F., & Katz, Lynn E. Application of electrodialysis pretreatment to enhance boron removal and reduce fouling during desalination by nanofiltration/reverse osmosis. United States. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.desal.2020.114563
Copy to clipboard
Landsman, Matthew R., Lawler, Desmond F., and Katz, Lynn E. Tue . "Application of electrodialysis pretreatment to enhance boron removal and reduce fouling during desalination by nanofiltration/reverse osmosis". United States. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.desal.2020.114563. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1852965.
Copy to clipboard
@article{osti_1852965,
title = {Application of electrodialysis pretreatment to enhance boron removal and reduce fouling during desalination by nanofiltration/reverse osmosis},
author = {Landsman, Matthew R. and Lawler, Desmond F. and Katz, Lynn E.},
abstractNote = {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.},
doi = {10.1016/j.desal.2020.114563},
journal = {Desalination},
number = C,
volume = 491,
place = {United States},
year = {Tue Jun 30 00:00:00 EDT 2020},
month = {Tue Jun 30 00:00:00 EDT 2020}
}
Copy to clipboard
Journal Article:
Free Publicly Available Full Text
Publisher's Version of Record
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.desal.2020.114563
Copyright Statement
Other availability
Search WorldCat Search WorldCat to find libraries that may hold this journal
Save / Share:
Export Metadata
Save to My Library
You must Sign In or Create an Account in order to save documents to your library.

Works referenced in this record:

Studies on borate esters 1
journal, January 1984

Electrodialytic treatment of boron-containing wastewater
journal, February 2007

Chemical and physical aspects of natural organic matter (NOM) fouling of nanofiltration membranes
journal, September 1997

Enhanced or reduced concentration polarization by membrane fouling in seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) processes
journal, October 2009

The thermodynamics of aqueous borate solutions. II. Mixtures of boric acid with calcium or magnesium borate and chloride
journal, May 1988

  • Simonson, J. M.; Roy, R. N.; Mrad, D.
  • Journal of Solution Chemistry, Vol. 17, Issue 5
  • DOI: 10.1007/BF00647311

Treatment of produced water from an oilfield and selected coal mines in the Illinois Basin
journal, November 2016

  • Dastgheib, Seyed A.; Knutson, Chad; Yang, Yaning
  • International Journal of Greenhouse Gas Control, Vol. 54
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.ijggc.2016.05.002

Boron behavior during desalination of sea and underground water by electrodialysis
journal, November 1999

Evolving beyond the thermal age of separation processes: Membranes can lead the way
journal, January 2004

Role of Specific Ion Interactions in Seawater RO Membrane Fouling by Alginic Acid
journal, April 2009

  • Jin, Xue; Huang, Xiaofei; Hoek, Eric M. V.
  • Environmental Science & Technology, Vol. 43, Issue 10
  • DOI: 10.1021/es8036498

Composite reverse osmosis and nanofiltration membranes
journal, August 1993

Boron removal and zeta potential of RO membranes: impact of pH and salinity
journal, February 2012

Hyperbranched grafting enabling simultaneous enhancement of the boric acid uptake and the adsorption rate of a complexing membrane
journal, January 2016

  • Meng, Jianqiang; Cao, Jingjing; Xu, Ruisong
  • Journal of Materials Chemistry A, Vol. 4, Issue 30
  • DOI: 10.1039/C6TA02348G

The Effect of Sodium Chloride upon the Ionization of Boric Acid at Various Temperatures 1
journal, August 1943

  • Owen, Benton Brooks; King, Edward J.
  • Journal of the American Chemical Society, Vol. 65, Issue 8
  • DOI: 10.1021/ja01248a046

Fouling and cleaning of RO membranes fouled by mixtures of organic foulants simulating wastewater effluent
journal, July 2011

The ionization of boric acid in NaCl, NaCaCl and NaMgCl solutions at 25°C
journal, January 1986

Equilibrium Studies of Polyanions. II. Polyborates in NaClO4 Medium.
journal, January 1957

The scaling potential of barium sulphate in reverse osmosis systems
journal, March 2002

  • Boerlage, Siobhan F. E.; Kennedy, Maria D.; Bremere, Ingrida
  • Journal of Membrane Science, Vol. 197, Issue 1-2
  • DOI: 10.1016/S0376-7388(01)00654-8

The Critical Need for Increased Selectivity, Not Increased Water Permeability, for Desalination Membranes
journal, March 2016

  • Werber, Jay R.; Deshmukh, Akshay; Elimelech, Menachem
  • Environmental Science & Technology Letters, Vol. 3, Issue 4
  • DOI: 10.1021/acs.estlett.6b00050

Synergistic behavior between silica and alginate: Novel approach for removing silica scale from RO membranes
journal, January 2010

Fit-for-purpose block polymer membranes molecularly engineered for water treatment
journal, April 2018

  • Zhang, Yizhou; Almodovar-Arbelo, Noelia E.; Weidman, Jacob L.
  • npj Clean Water, Vol. 1, Issue 1
  • DOI: 10.1038/s41545-018-0002-1

Effects of acid–base cleaning procedure on structure and properties of anion-exchange membranes used in electrodialysis
journal, June 2016

Brine Reuse in Ion-Exchange Softening: Salt Discharge, Hardness Leakage, and Capacity Tradeoffs
journal, June 2012

Enhancing boron rejection on electrically conducting reverse osmosis membranes through local electrochemical pH modification
journal, February 2020

Coupling effects of feed solution pH and ionic strength on the rejection of boron by NF/RO membranes
journal, April 2011

  • Tu, Kha L.; Nghiem, Long D.; Chivas, Allan R.
  • Chemical Engineering Journal, Vol. 168, Issue 2
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.cej.2011.01.101

Characterization of polymeric nanofiltration membranes for systematic analysis of membrane performance
journal, July 2006

Phenomenological Theory of Ion Solvation. Effective Radii of Hydrated Ions
journal, September 1959

  • Nightingale, E. R.
  • The Journal of Physical Chemistry, Vol. 63, Issue 9, p. 1381-1387
  • DOI: 10.1021/j150579a011

Effect of pressure on the dissociation constant of boric acid in water and seawater
journal, January 2012

  • Millero, Frank J.; Ward, Gary K.; Surdo, Antonio Lo
  • Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, Vol. 76
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.gca.2011.10.024

Evolution of anion-exchange membrane properties in a full scale electrodialysis stack
journal, November 2013

Recent developments on ion-exchange membranes and electro-membrane processes
journal, February 2006

  • Nagarale, R. K.; Gohil, G. S.; Shahi, Vinod K.
  • Advances in Colloid and Interface Science, Vol. 119, Issue 2-3
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.cis.2005.09.005

Influence of biofouling on boron removal by nanofiltration and reverse osmosis membranes
journal, June 2008

Boron removal by electrodialysis with anion-exchange membranes
journal, April 2006

Removal of drugs of abuse from municipal wastewater using reverse osmosis membranes
journal, September 2010

  • Boleda, Ma Rosa; Majamaa, Katariina; Aerts, Peter
  • Desalination and Water Treatment, Vol. 21, Issue 1-3
  • DOI: 10.5004/dwt.2010.1294

Scale formation and control in high pressure membrane water treatment systems: A review
journal, November 2011

Convective transport of boron through a brackish water reverse osmosis membrane
journal, October 2013

On the cost of electrodialysis for the desalination of high salinity feeds
journal, December 2014

The thermodynamics of aqueous borate solutions I. Mixtures of boric acid with sodium or potassium borate and chloride
journal, October 1987

  • Simonson, J. M.; Roy, R. N.; Roy, L. N.
  • Journal of Solution Chemistry, Vol. 16, Issue 10
  • DOI: 10.1007/BF00650749

Biological interactions between polysaccharides and divalent cations: The egg-box model
journal, May 1973

Defect-free highly selective polyamide thin-film composite membranes for desalination and boron removal
journal, May 2019

Factors affecting the rejection of organic solutes during NF/RO treatment—a literature review
journal, July 2004

Electrodialysis, a mature technology with a multitude of new applications
journal, December 2010

Relating Nanofiltration Membrane Performance to Membrane Charge (Electrokinetic) Characteristics
journal, September 2000

  • Childress, Amy E.; Elimelech, Menachem
  • Environmental Science & Technology, Vol. 34, Issue 17
  • DOI: 10.1021/es0008620

Saving energy with an optimized two-stage reverse osmosis system
journal, January 2017

  • Wei, Quantum J.; McGovern, Ronan K.; Lienhard V., John H.
  • Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology, Vol. 3, Issue 4
  • DOI: 10.1039/C7EW00069C

Fouling of an anion exchange membrane in the electrodialysis desalination process in the presence of organic foulants
journal, March 2009

Interaction of boron with humic acid and natural organic matter: Experiments and modeling
journal, June 2019

Implication of zeta potential at different salinities on boron removal by RO membranes
journal, April 2010

High efficiency electrodialysis reversal of concentrated calcium sulfate and calcium carbonate solutions
journal, February 2007

Boron removal from saline water: A comprehensive review
journal, June 2011

Temperature Jump Rate Studies of Polyborate Formation in Aqueous Boric Acid 1
journal, May 1964

  • Anderson, J. L.; Eyring, E. M.; Whittaker, M. P.
  • The Journal of Physical Chemistry, Vol. 68, Issue 5
  • DOI: 10.1021/j100787a027

Modeling multicomponent ion transport to investigate selective ion removal in electrodialysis
journal, January 2020

Fouling of reverse osmosis membranes by hydrophilic organic matter: implications for water reuse
journal, February 2006

Removal of boron, fluoride and nitrate by electrodialysis in the presence of organic matter
journal, May 2009

Separation characteristics of cations and natural organic matter in electrodialysis
journal, November 2020

Effects of membrane fouling and scaling on boron rejection by nanofiltration and reverse osmosis membranes
journal, September 2011

Reverse Osmosis Desalting of Inland Brackish Water of High Gypsum Scaling Propensity: Kinetics and Mitigation of Membrane Mineral Scaling
journal, June 2008

  • Rahardianto, Anditya; McCool, Brian C.; Cohen, Yoram
  • Environmental Science & Technology, Vol. 42, Issue 12
  • DOI: 10.1021/es702463a

New insights into membrane fouling by alginate: Impacts of ionic strength in presence of calcium ions
journal, May 2020

Effects of alginic acid from marine algae on calcium carbonate electrodeposited coating
journal, September 2005

Fouling on ion-exchange membranes: Classification, characterization and strategies of prevention and control
journal, March 2016

Toward Improved Boron Removal in RO by Membrane Modification: Feasibility and Challenges
journal, April 2011

  • Bernstein, Roy; Belfer, Sofia; Freger, Viatcheslav
  • Environmental Science & Technology, Vol. 45, Issue 8
  • DOI: 10.1021/es103991u

The impact of ionic strength and background electrolyte on pH measurements in metal ion adsorption experiments
journal, September 2006

  • Wiesner, Andrew D.; Katz, Lynn E.; Chen, Chia-Chen
  • Journal of Colloid and Interface Science, Vol. 301, Issue 1
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.jcis.2006.05.011

Studies on ion exchange membranes with permselectivity for specific ions in electrodialysis
journal, August 1994

Membrane fouling in electrodialysis: a model and experiments
journal, February 1973

Effect of crossflow testing conditions, including feed pH and continuous feed filtration, on commercial reverse osmosis membrane performance
journal, December 2009

  • Van Wagner, Elizabeth M.; Sagle, Alyson C.; Sharma, Mukul M.
  • Journal of Membrane Science, Vol. 345, Issue 1-2
  • DOI: 10.1016/j.memsci.2009.08.033

Fouling of reverse osmosis and nanofiltration membranes by humic acid—Effects of solution composition and hydrodynamic conditions
journal, March 2007

Boron in Produced Water: Challenges and Improvements: A Comprehensive Review
journal, February 2012

  • Ezechi, Ezerie Henry; Isa, Mohamed Hasnain; Kutty, Shamsul Rahman Bin M.
  • Journal of Applied Sciences, Vol. 12, Issue 5
  • DOI: 10.3923/jas.2012.402.415

Analysis of parameters affecting boron permeation through reverse osmosis membranes
journal, November 2004

Thermodynamics of the dissociation of boric acid in synthetic seawater from 273.15 to 318.15 K
journal, May 1990

Effect of pH and ionic strength on boron removal by RO membranes
journal, September 2009

Full-scale simulation of seawater reverse osmosis desalination processes for boron removal: Effect of membrane fouling
journal, August 2012

Microstructure Determines Water and Salt Permeation in Commercial Ion-Exchange Membranes
journal, October 2018

  • Kingsbury, R. S.; Zhu, S.; Flotron, S.
  • ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, Vol. 10, Issue 46
  • DOI: 10.1021/acsami.8b14494
    Sort by:
    [ × clear filter / sort ]

    Similar Records in DOE PAGES and OSTI.GOV collections: