Characterization of the fouling phenomenon in reverse osmosis
This dissertation explores the application of a bench scale reverse osmosis test cell apparatus as a research tool. This versatile system was used to explore the response of a reverse osmosis membrane to various types of feedwaters. As a result of this research, an easy, accurate experimental method for predicting the rejection in any reverse osmosis system has been developed and demonstrated. The dissertation illustrates a simple procedure to identify if a precipitating feedwater solution will foul a reverse osmosis membrane. The research also presents evidence that suggests that the common practice of increasing feed flow rates to clean a membrane may not always be an acceptable method to revive a system. In addition to this information about the RO systems, the dissertation provides insight into the environment around the membrane surface. Statistically significant information about the nature and behavior of the membrane permeation coefficient is presented. Evidence is provided to demonstrate the negative effects on membrane performance of small amounts of grease contamination from the process equipment. Insight into the resistive nature of membranes, boundary layers, and fouling deposits is also presented. Throughout the course of this research, the relationship between concentration polarization and the permeate flux is illustrated. This is done first in the traditional terms of wall concentration, and later in terms of flow resistance. This dissertation also provides an experimental demonstration of both the detachment of a boundary layer from a membrane and the resistive nature of a precipitated fouling layer in a reverse osmosis system.
- Research Organization:
- University of South Florida, Tampa, FL (USA)
- OSTI ID:
- 6668794
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: Thesis (Ph. D.)
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
MEMBRANES
BOUNDARY LAYERS
FOULING
OSMOSIS
BENCH-SCALE EXPERIMENTS
CLEANING
DEPOSITS
DESIGN
FEEDWATER
FLOW RATE
FLUID FLOW
FORECASTING
MECHANICAL PROPERTIES
PERMEABILITY
SEPARATION EQUIPMENT
DIFFUSION
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
LAYERS
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
WATER
320305* - Energy Conservation
Consumption
& Utilization- Industrial & Agricultural Processes- Industrial Waste Management