Yes / The total energy consumption of many Reverse Osmosis (RO) plants has continuously improved as a result of manufacturing highly impermeable membranes in addition to implementing energy recovery devices. The total energy consumption of the RO process contributes significantly to the total cost of water treatment. Therefore any way of keeping the energy consumption to a minimum is highly desirable but continues to be a real challenge in practice. Potential areas to explore for achieving this include the possibility of optimising the module design parameters and/or the associated operating parameters. This research focuses on this precise aim by evaluating the impact of the design characteristics of membrane length, width, and feed channel height on the total energy consumption for two selected pilot-plant RO process configurations for the removal of chlorophenol from wastewater. The proposed two configurations, with and without an energy recovery device (ERD), consist of four cylindrical pressure vessels connected in series and stuffed with spiral wound membranes. A detailed steady-state model developed earlier by the authors is used here to study such impact via repetitive simulation. The results achieved confirm that the overall energy consumption can be reduced by actually increasing the membrane width with a simultaneous reduction of membrane length at constant membrane area and module volume. Energy savings of more than 60% and 54% have been achieved for the two configurations with and without ERD respectively using process optimization. The energy savings are significantly higher compared to other available similar studies from the literature.

Hollow fibre and spiral wound membrane (SWM) modules are the most common commercially available membrane modules. The latter dominate especially for RO, NF and UF and are the focus of this study. The main difficulty these types of modules face is concentration polarisation. In SWM modules, the spacer meshes that keep the membrane leaves apart also help reduce the effects of concentration polarisation. The spacer filaments act as flow obstructions, and thus encourage flow destabilisation and increase mass transfer enhancement. One of the detrimental aspects of the use of spacers is an increase of pressure losses in SWM modules. This study analyses the mechanisms that give rise to mass transfer enhancement in narrow spacer-filled channels, and investigates the relationship between flow destabilisation, energy losses and mass transfer. It shows that the regions of high mass transfer on the membrane surface correlate mainly with those regions where the fluid flow is towards the membrane. Based on the insights gained from this analysis, a series of multi-layer spacer designs are proposed and evaluated. In this thesis, a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model was used to simulate steady and unsteady flows with mass transfer in two- and three-dimensional narrow channels containing spacers. A solute with a Schmidt number of 600 dissolving from the wall and channel Reynolds numbers up to 1683 were considered. A fully-developed concentration profile boundary condition was utilised in order to reduce the computational costs of the simulations. Time averaging and Fourier analysis were performed to gain insight into the dynamics of the different flow regimes encountered, ranging from steady flow to vortex shedding behind the spacer filaments. The relationships between 3D flow effects, vortical flow, pressure drop and mass transfer enhancement were explored. Greater mass transfer enhancement was found for the 3D geometries modelled, when compared with 2D geometries, due to wall shear perpendicular to the bulk flow and streamwise vortices. Form drag was identified as the main component of energy loss for the flow conditions analysed. Implications for the design of improved spacer meshes, such as extra layers of spacer filaments to direct the bulk flow towards the membrane walls, and filament profiles to reduce form drag are discussed.

Hollow fibre and spiral wound membrane (SWM) modules are the most common commercially available membrane modules. The latter dominate especially for RO, NF and UF and are the focus of this study. The main difficulty these types of modules face is concentration polarisation. In SWM modules, the spacer meshes that keep the membrane leaves apart also help reduce the effects of concentration polarisation. The spacer filaments act as flow obstructions, and thus encourage flow destabilisation and increase mass transfer enhancement. One of the detrimental aspects of the use of spacers is an increase of pressure losses in SWM modules. This study analyses the mechanisms that give rise to mass transfer enhancement in narrow spacer-filled channels, and investigates the relationship between flow destabilisation, energy losses and mass transfer. It shows that the regions of high mass transfer on the membrane surface correlate mainly with those regions where the fluid flow is towards the membrane. Based on the insights gained from this analysis, a series of multi-layer spacer designs are proposed and evaluated. In this thesis, a Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) model was used to simulate steady and unsteady flows with mass transfer in two- and three-dimensional narrow channels containing spacers. A solute with a Schmidt number of 600 dissolving from the wall and channel Reynolds numbers up to 1683 were considered. A fully-developed concentration profile boundary condition was utilised in order to reduce the computational costs of the simulations. Time averaging and Fourier analysis were performed to gain insight into the dynamics of the different flow regimes encountered, ranging from steady flow to vortex shedding behind the spacer filaments. The relationships between 3D flow effects, vortical flow, pressure drop and mass transfer enhancement were explored. Greater mass transfer enhancement was found for the 3D geometries modelled, when compared with 2D geometries, due to wall shear perpendicular to the bulk flow and streamwise vortices. Form drag was identified as the main component of energy loss for the flow conditions analysed. Implications for the design of improved spacer meshes, such as extra layers of spacer filaments to direct the bulk flow towards the membrane walls, and filament profiles to reduce form drag are discussed.

An experimental characterisation of a pre-commercial spiral wound permeate gap membrane distillation module was carried out to test its performance at different operating conditions for the purpose of seawater desalination. The experimental setup consisted of a flat plate solar collector field indirectly coupled to the permeate gap membrane distillation module via an inertia tank. The operating parameters varied were the condenser inlet temperature (from 20 °C to 30 °C), evaporator inlet temperature (from 60 °C to 80 °C) and seawater feed flow rate (from 200 l/h to 400 l/h). Within this operational boundary, it was found that the maximum permeate/distillate flux was 4.135 l/(h∙m2) which equates to a distillate production/flow rate of close to 21.3 l/h. The maximum potential distillate production rate is expected to be significantly higher than this value though as the maximum manufacturer specified feed flow rate is 700 l/h and the maximum evaporator inlet temperature is rated at 90 °C. Both these parameters are positively related to the distillate production rate. The minimum specific thermal energy consumption was found to be 180 kWh/m3. A mathematical model of the overall system was developed, and experimentally validated, to mathematically describe the coupling of the membrane distillation module with a solar collector field. The effectiveness of internal heat recovery of the membrane distillation module was found to be an accurate and simple tool to evaluate the thermal energy demand of the distillation process at a given set of operation parameters. The mathematical model was used to further investigate the experimental findings and provide insights into the operational dynamics of the membrane distillation module. It was also used to determine some external conditions required for steady state operation, at a given distillation operating point, such as the minimum solar irradiation required for operation and the auxiliary cooling required in the solar collector loop for maintaining steady state conditions. Finally, general guidelines are provided toward better operational practices to improve the coupling of a solar thermal collector unit/field with a membrane distillation system using a storage tank or inertia tank.

No description available.

Yes / The implementation of Reverse Osmosis (RO) technology is noticeably increased to produce freshwater from brackish and seawater resources. In this work, performance analysis of a multistage multi pass medium-sized spiral wound brackish water RO (BWRO) desalination plant (1200 m³/day) of Arab Potash Company (APC) located in Jordan is evaluated using modelling and simulation. For this purpose, a mathematical model for the spiral wound RO process based on the principles of solution diffusion model is developed. The model is then used to simulate the operating conditions of low-salinity brackish water RO (BWRO) desalination plant. The results obtained are then compared against the real industrial data of BWRO desalination plant of APC which shows a high-level of consistency. Finally, the model is used to analysis the impact of the operating parameters such as salinity, pressure, temperature, and flow rate on the plant performance. The sensitivity analysis confirms that both feed flow rate and operating pressure as the critical parameters that positively affect the product salinity.

Yes / N-nitrosamine in wastewater treatment processes can contribute to several public health impacts including human carcinogens even at very low concentration. In this work, spiral-wound reverse osmosis (SWRO) process is used to remove N-nitrosamine compounds from wastewater. Effects of operating parameters of the SWRO process on the removal of N-nitrosamine, total water recovery, and specific energy consumption for a SWRO configurations are evaluated via simulation and optimisation. For this purpose, the one-dimensional distributed model developed earlier by the authors is modified by including different mass transfer coefficient correlation, temperature dependent water and solute permeability correlations and energy equations. The model is first validated by estimating a new set of model parameters using eight set of experimental data from the literature and is then used to simulate the process with and without energy recovery device to facilitate deeper insight of the effect of operating conditions on the process performance. The model is then embedded within an optimisation framework and optimisation problems to maximise N-nitrosamine rejections and to minimise specific energy consumption are formulated and solved while the operating conditions are optimized simultaneously.

Yes / Reverse Osmosis (RO) processes are readily used for removing pollutants, such as dimethylphenol from wastewater. A number of operating parameters must be controlled within the process constraints to achieve an efficient removal of such pollutants. Understanding the process dynamics is absolutely essential and is a pre-step for designing any effective controllers for any process. In this work, a detailed distributed two-dimensional dynamic (x and y dimensions and time) model for a spiral-wound RO process is developed extending the 2-D steady state model of the authors published earlier. The model is used to capture the dynamics of the RO process for the removal of dimethylphenol from wastewater. The performance of the 2-D model is compared with that obtained using 1-D dynamic model before the model is being used to investigate the performance of the RO process for a range of operating conditions.

Yes / The reverse osmosis (RO) process is one of the best desalination methods, using membranes to reject several impurities from seawater and brackish water. To systematically perceive the transport phenomena of solvent and solutes via the membrane texture, several mathematical models have been developed. To date, a large number of simulation and optimisation studies have been achieved to gauge the influence of control variables on the performance indexes, to adjust the key variables at optimum values, and to realise the optimum production indexes. This paper delivers an intensive review of the successful models of theROprocess and both simulation and optimisation studies carried out on the basis of the models developed. In general, this paper investigates the scope and limitations of the RO process, as well as proving the maturity of the associated perspective methodologies.

Reverse Osmosis (RO) is a membrane-based separation process applied in several industrial and food processing applications. In this research, performance of RO process is investigated in respect of two applications (a) wastewater treatment (b) concentration fruit juices using model-based techniques. For this purpose, a number of models (both 1 and 2-dimensional steady state and dynamic) for spiral wound RO process are developed based on Solution-Diffusion model and Irreversible Thermodynamic model. The models are validated against actual experimental data reported in the literature before being used in further simulation and optimisation studies for both wastewater treatment and fruit juice concentration. Wastewater effluents of many industrial applications contain a variety of micro-pollutants and highly-toxic compounds, which are released into a variety of water resources. Such pollutants not only disrupt the biological ecosystem, but they also pose a real threat to the water supply for human consumption and to the aquatic ecosystems. The earlier chapters of the thesis evaluate the performance of RO process in terms of removal efficiency of toxic compounds such as chlorophenol, N-nitrosamine, etc. from wastewater. The effect of several operating parameters such as feed pressure, concentration, flow rate and temperature, on the performance of RO process are evaluated. Also, suitability of a number of different RO configurations for efficient removal of toxic compounds are evaluated. For example, (a) two-stage/two-pass RO design synthesis of RO network for the removal of chlorophenol (b) multistage multi-pass RO process with and without energy recovery option for the removal of N-nitrosamine are investigated. The dynamic response of the RO process for step changes in the operating parameters is investigated for the removal of phenolic compounds. Finally, in the context of wastewater treatment, a case study with multi compounds contaminants is suggested where a multi-objective optimisation problem has achieved the optimum rejection of all the compounds and recovery rate. In respect of food processing, RO has been considered as a prominent process in fruit juice concentration due to its ability to effectively retain the flavour, sensory, aroma and nutritional characteristics and concentrate the juice. This research elucidates one example of apple juice concentration process and focuses on highlighting successful modelling and optimisation methodology. This in turn provides an efficient method of RO process for concentrating apple juice by improving the reliability and efficiency of the underlying separation and concentration process. / Ministry of High Education and Scientific Research of Iraq