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.

Thesis (MScEng)--Stellenbosch University, 2011. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Desalination, by means of reverse osmosis (RO), in combination with other processes, can produce potable water at high recoveries. Antiscalants are generally used to reduce scaling on equipment surfaces and to improve water recovery during RO by slowing down the precipitation kinetics of sparingly soluble salts in the RO feed, thereby allowing concentration levels in the RO brine at several times the solubility limit of these salts. In addition, a fraction of the concentrate may be recycled back to the feed of the RO-membrane to improve the overall recovery, but only after the super saturated salts in the concentrate have been precipitated. The inhibitory character of the antiscalants (which are rejected into the concentrate stream) complicates the removal of salt from the concentrate and therefore prohibits such recycling. The focus of this study is aimed at properly understanding some of the parameters that influence the functionality or effectiveness of antiscalants used in high sulphate waters, with the purpose to override the effect of the antiscalant in the concentrate stream and force precipitation of the super saturated salts in solution. A batch crystallization technique, which considers the precipitation of calcium sulphate dehydrate (gypsum) from a solution of changing super saturation, was used to perform precipitation tests 1) on synthetically prepared solutions, super saturated with gypsum and 2) industrial concentrate, rich in sulphate (produced by concentrating acid mine drainage (AMD) by means of a lab scale RO unit). During batch crystallization, the precipitation process was observed by means of monitoring the depletion of calcium, using a calcium selective electrode (ISE). Deductions concerning the kinetics of precipitation were made from observing two kinetic variables (response variables) e.g. the induction time and the growth rate (tC80 – inferential variable). Two antiscalants have been evaluated in this study: a phosphonate based antiscalant (HYDREX) and a polyacrylate antiscalant (BULAB), at concentrations of 4 mg/l and 12 mg/l. The objective was to chemically and physically manipulate the antiscalant effectiveness, override its effect and force precipitation of gypsum by means of changing parameters in the system, such as the temperature (15°C- 25°C), pH (4-10), ferric chloride concentration (2-10 mg/l) or seeding the solution with gypsum seed at a concentration of 0-2000 mg/l. In addition, lime and a combination of gypsum and lime were also used for seeding at concentrations of 2000 mg/l. The induction time, prior to precipitation, was found to be most strongly affected by the change in seed concentration and pH at a given antiscalant concentration. Seed at a concentration of 2000 mg/l was sufficient in most cases to immediately override the effect of HYDREX and BULAB (at 4-12 mg/l) and produce ~ 0 minutes induction time. A pH of 10 increased the adsorption capacity of HYDREX and BULAB, leading to longer induction times (exceeding 24 hours in some cases). At a pH of 4 the adsorption capacity was very low for both HYDREX and BULAB (lower) leading to shorter induction times (zero to 100 minutes). It was especially in the ‘no-seed’ cases that the effect of pH on the induction time was prominent. The rate of precipitation (crystal growth rate) was increased at a temperature of 25°C, compared to 15°C (the rate increased two fold for an increase in 10°C). The addition of lime-seed, instead of gypsum, (at 2000 mg/l) produced growth rates, two times higher compared to when gypsum was used at the same conditions. In Addition, seeding with lime produced induction times (150 minutes for HYDREX and 50 minutes for BULAB) prior to precipitation, compared to zero induction time when gypsum was used at the same conditions. It was proven that an induction time could be eliminated by adding a combination of gypsum and lime both at a concentration of 2000 mg/l. with the added benefit of the higher growth rate. An increase in the calcium concentration increased the crystal growth rate in the presence of HYDREX. The presence of a high pH, however caused the effect of calcium on the growth (in the presence of BULAB) to be overshadowed. At a higher pH the growth rate of gypsum slowed down as a result of the increase in adsorption capacity of the polymer onto the crystal surface. The interaction of the antiscalant with FeCl3 seemed to be important with regard to crystal growth. Higher ferric concentrations (10 mg/l) were sufficient to limit the inhibitory effect of 12 mg/l antiscalant (HYDREX and BULAB) on the crystal growth rate. Conversely, low ferric concentration resulted in slower growth rates in the presence of an antiscalant. The best conditions (within the scope of the current study), sufficient 1) to override the inhibitory effect of antiscalants (HYDREX and BULAB) and 2) to produce rapid precipitation of gypsum, lie in the use of seeding with gypsum and lime (2000 mg/l), adding ferric chloride (10 mg/l), lowering the pH to 4 or lower (which can only be obtained when lime is not added) and setting the solution temperature to a moderate value of 25°C or higher. These ‘best’ conditions were subsequently applied to a concentrate, produced from concentrating AMD in a RO unit, and proved to be even more successful in overriding the effect of HYDREX and BULAB than in synthetic aqueous solutions. The induction times of precipitation of AMD in all cases were ~ 0 minutes, whereas the growth rate increased threefold compared to the synthetic tests. The presence of additional foreign precipitates of aluminum, calcium and magnesium as well as an increased [SO4ª-] x [Caª+] product of 3.73 (AMD concentrate) vs. 3.46 (synthetic solutions) is thought to be responsible for the increase in precipitation kinetics when only gypsum seed was used. The addition of lime caused an increase in the precipitation potential of the brine by increasing the calcium concentration. Although the addition of lime caused an increase in the pH to 12.3 (at which point the antiscalant was most effective), the increase in pH is likely to cause an increase in the natural carbonate in the water, which would stimulate CaCO3 precipitation. The CaCO3 precipitate would be responsible for the adsorption of antiscalants, reducing their efficiency. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Ontsouting by wyse van tru-osmose (TO), in samewerking met ander prosesse, kan help om drinkwater te lewer teen verhoogte herwinning. Tipies word antiskaalmiddels gebruik om bevuiling op die oppervlak van toerusting te verminder en terselfdetyd herwinning te verhoog deurdat dit die presipitasiekinetika van superversadigde soute in die TO voerwater vertraag. Dit lei daartoe dat water (superversadig met soute) deur die membraansisteem kan beweeg, sonder om bevuiling te veroorsaak. ‘n Breukdeel van die konsentraat kan herwin word na die TO voer om sodoende die algehele waterherwinning te verhoog. Dit kan egter eers gebeur nadat die soute in die konsentraat neergeslaan en verwyder is. Die inhirente ‘vertragingskarakter’ van antiskaalmiddels (wat ook in die konsentraat stroom beland) kompliseer die verwydering van sout vanuit die konsentraat en verhoed so herwinning. Die fokus van hierdie studie is daarop gemik om die parameters wat die funksionaliteit of effektiwiteit van antiskaalmiddels (wat in sulfaatryke waters gebruik word), beter te verstaan. Die doel is daarop gemik om die betrokke antiskaalmiddel se effek te kanselleer asook presipitasie van die superversadigde soute in oplossing aan te help. ‘n Lot (‘batch’) kristallisasietegniek wat die presipitasie van kalsiumsulfaatdehidraat (gips) beskou vanuit ‘n oplossing waar die konsentrasie verander soos presipitasie plaasvind, is gebruik om presipitasietoetse uit te voer 1) op oplossings wat sinteties versadig is met gips en 2) op sulfaatryke AMD (gekonsentreer met behulp van ‘n laboratoriumskaal TO eenheid). Die presipitasie proses is in elke geval waargeneem, deur die vermindering van die kalsium konsentrasie in die oplossing dop te hou, met die gebruik van ‘n kalsiumselektiewe elektrode. Afleidings rakende die kinetika van presipitasie is gemaak deur twee responsveranderlikes dop te hou: die induksietyd en die kristal groeitempo (tC80). Twee antiskaalmiddels by ‘n konsentrasies van 4 dpm (deetjies per miljoen) en 12 dpm is evalueer: ‘n fosfonaat (HYDREX) and poliakrilaat (BULAB). Die doel was om die antiskaalmiddel se werking chemies en fisies te manipuleer, hul werking teen te werk en presipitasie van gips te forseer. Die manipulasie het geskied deur die volgende parameters te verander: temperatuur (15°C-25°C), pH (4-10), FeCl3 (2-10 mg/l) of saad byvoeging (gips: 2000 mg/l). Kalsiumhidroksied (gebuste kalk) en ‘n kombinasie van gips en gebluste kalk is ook gebruik by konsentrasies van 2000 mg/l. Die induksietyd (by ‘n spesifieke antiskaalmiddel konsentrasie) is die sterkste beïnvloed deur ‘n verandering in saad konsentrasie en pH verandering. In die meeste gevalle was ‘n saad konsentrasie van 2000 mg/l voldoende om die induksie effek van beide HYDREX en BULAB te vernietig en nulminute induksietyd is verkry. ‘n pH van 10 het gelei tot die verhoging van die adsorpsiekapasiteit van HYDREX en BULAB wat gelei het tot langer induksietye (in sommige gevalle het dit 24 uur oorskry). By ‘n pH van 4 was die adsorpsie kapasiteit van beide antiskaalmiddels baie laag (laer vir BULAB) en induksie-tye is beperk tot 100 minute. Dit is veral wanneer geen saad toegevoeg is nie wat die effek van pH prominent was. Die tempo van presipitasie was verhoog by ‘n temperatuur van 25°C (2 keer hoër as by 15°C). Die byvoeging van gebluste kalk teen 2000 mg/l het ‘n kristal groeitempo, 2 keer hoër as in die teenwoordigheid van gips gelewer. Gebluste kalk saad byvoeging het egter gelei tot ‘n indukisetyd (150 minute vir HYDREX en 50 minute vir BULAB). Hierdie probleem is oorkom deur ‘n kombinasie van gips en gebluste kalk te gebuik teen ‘n konsentrasie van 2000 mg/l. Geen induksie tyd is waargeneem met die voordeel van ‘n hoër presipitasietempo (kristal groei). ‘n Verhoging van kalsium konsentrasie verhoog die kristal groei tempo in die teenwoordigheid van HYDREX. Nietemin, die invloed van pH oorskadu die invloed van kalsium op die groei tempo (in die teenwoordigheid van BULAB). By ‘n hoë pH word die kristal groei tempo vertraag as gevolg van die verhoging van die adsorpsiekapasiteit van die antiskaalmiddel. Die interaksie van FeCl3 met die antiskaalmiddel blyk van belang te wees. By hoë FeCl3 konsentrasies (10 dpm), is die werking van beide HYDREX en BULAB (12 dpm) beperk. Die ‘beste’ kondisies (verkry binne die konteks van hierdie studie), 1) om die vertragingseffek van HYDREX en BULAB teen te werk en 2) spoedige presipitasie van gips te bewerk, lê in die gebruik van saad (gips en gebluste kalk teen 2000 mg/l), die byvoeging van FeCl3 (10 mg/l), ‘n lae pH (4 of laer, wat natuurlik net tersprake is wanneer slegs gips as saad gebruik word aangesien geluste kalk die pH sal lig) asook ‘n relatiewe hoë temperatuur (25°C). Hierdie ‘beste’ kondisies is toegepas in AMD konsentraat om die effek van HYDREX en BULAB te vernietg en gips te presipiteer en die gevolg was dat dit selfs meer suksesvol was as in sintetiese oplossings. In elke geval is die induksietyd na nul minute toe verminder, terwyl die kristal groei tempo 3 maal verhoog het in vergelyking met die sintetiese toetse. Die teenwoordigheid van onsuiwerhede insluitende aluminium, kalsium, magnesium sowel as ‘n verhoging in die [SO4ª-]x[Caª+] produk (3.73 teenoor 3.46 vir sintetiese toetse), blyk verantwoordelik te wees vir die versnelling van die kinetika. Met die byvoeging van gebluste kalk is dit waarskynlik dat die verhoging van die pH (12.3) lei tot die verhoging van natuurlike karbonate in die water wat weer CaCO3 stimlueer. Die teenwoordigheid van CaCO3 kan verantwoordelik gehou word vir bykomende nukleasie en groei, sowel as die deaktivering van antiskaal effektiwiteit.

According to the Department of Water Affairs (DWAF, 2004 p.15), South Africa’s water resources are scarce and extremely limited and much of this precious resource is utilised and consumed in our industries. Treatment and re-use of effluent generated is, in some cases, preferred over use of alternate water resources (Du Plessis, 2008 p.3). The volume of effluent generated in treatment processes like ultra-filtration (UF) and reverse osmosis (RO) units is determined by the feed water quality, with high water loss through effluent generation at poor feed water quality. Current UF and RO applications require an increased UF production capacity due to the use of UF filtrate for periodic backwashing of the UF membrane units. This results in loss of water and decreases overall recovery. The need therefore exists to increase the overall recovery of product water from the raw water stream by reducing the amount of effluent generated. This would be possible to achieve by using RO brine to backwash the UF unit. The study was conducted to provide a modelling tool, assisting management to optimise the use of RO brine as backwash water on the UF system at the Medupi power station. The secondary objective of this study was the development of a modelling tool that can be used for other projects, new or existing, as a measure and indication of the usability of RO brine as backwash water on UF systems. By successfully applying this newly developed model, the viability of utilising the RO brine as backwash water for the UF was investigated. This modification would lead to utilizing smaller UF units than previously envisioned, which in turn leads to reducing capital cost with 11.07% and operating expenditure with 9.98% at the Medupi power station. This also has a positive environmental impact by reducing the amount of raw water used monthly by 10.34% (108 000 m3/month). / MIng (Development and Management Engineering), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Several health problems may be caused by excess nitrate in drinking water, the most important of which being methemoglobinemia, a potentially fatal disorder, in infants under six months of age. Many different parts of the world have been facing the problem of nitrate contaminated surface and groundwaters due in large part to excessive use of nitrate-based chemical fertilizers. In the Region of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada some groundwater sources have nitrate concentrations approaching the Health Canada and Ontario Ministry of the Environment maximum acceptable concentration (MAC) of 10 mg NO3--N/L. Finding a practical and economical way to reduce nitrate concentrations in representative groundwater in the Region of Waterloo was the overall objective of this research. To achieve this goal, nitrate removal technologies including biological denitrification, ion exchange (IX), reverse osmosis (RO), electrodialysis (ED), and chemical denitrification were reviewed and compared. IX and RO were found to be the most promising technologies for nitrate removal. They have also been approved by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) as Best Available Technologies (BAT). To investigate the feasibility of IX and RO for nitrate removal from representative groundwater in the Region of Waterloo, bench-scale experiments were conducted and compared. These technologies could be considered for application at full- or point-of-use (POU)-scale. Decision support assistance for the selection of the appropriate technology for different technical and economical conditions is provided as an outcome of this work. Two nitrate-selective ion exchange resins (Dowex™ NSR-1 and Purolite® A-520E), two non-selective resins (Purolite® A-300E and Amberlite® IRA400 Cl), and a commercially-available RO POU device (Culligan® Aqua-Cleer® model RO30), which included a particle filter and a carbon block, were tested with deionized water and real groundwater.* IX results confirmed that production time before resin exhaustion was influenced by operating conditions, specifically bed depth as would be expected. It was also confirmed that the presence of competing anions (sulfate, chloride) and alkalinity adversely affected performance, with sulfate being the main competitor for nitrate removal. The extent of these effects was quantified for the conditions tested. At the end of the runs, the non-selective resins were prone to potential nitrate displacement and release into product water and are therefore not recommended. The nitrate-selective resins did not release previously adsorbed nitrate as their capacity became exhausted. Purolite® A-520E was identified as the best alternative amongst the four resins for removing nitrate from the representative groundwater source. The RO unit removed roughly 80% of the nitrate from groundwater. Background ions didn’t appear to compete with each other for removal by RO units, so RO might be a more appropriate technology than IX for nitrate removal from waters with high concentrations of sulfate or TDS. Since RO removes other background ions as well as nitrate, the product water of RO is low in alkalinity and can potentially be corrosive, if water from a small full-scale system is pumped through a communal distribution system. Post-treatment including pH adjustment, addition of caustic soda, and/or corrosion inhibitors may be required. While the carbon block did not play a substantial role with respect to removal of nitrate in the groundwater tested, a potential issue was identified when running RO systems without the carbon block. In deionized water (and presumably in very low alkalinity real waters) it was noted that RO nitrate removal efficiency dropped substantially as the alkalinity of the influent water approached zero. With respect to the scale of application of IX and RO devices, IX can be applied at full-scale without requiring large amounts of space. However, if feed water contains high concentrations of sulfate or TDS, nitrate leakage happens sooner and regeneration would be needed at more frequent intervals. Also, chloride concentrations in IX product water might exceed aesthetic objectives (AO) and should be monitored in cases of high feed water TDS. POU IX devices are not recommended when feed water nitrate concentration is high due to potential nitrate leakage into the product water when the resin is nearing exhaustion which increases public health risk. Issues associated with RO application at full-scale are high energy demand, low recovery, high costs, need of pre-treatment (fouling control), and post-treatment (corrosion control). On the other hand, POU RO devices may be acceptable since low recovery is of less importance in a household system, and product water corrosivity is less relevant. POU RO devices are preferable to POU IX units due to their lower risk of nitrate leakage into treated water. * Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute endorsement or recommendation for use.

Several health problems may be caused by excess nitrate in drinking water, the most important of which being methemoglobinemia, a potentially fatal disorder, in infants under six months of age. Many different parts of the world have been facing the problem of nitrate contaminated surface and groundwaters due in large part to excessive use of nitrate-based chemical fertilizers. In the Region of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada some groundwater sources have nitrate concentrations approaching the Health Canada and Ontario Ministry of the Environment maximum acceptable concentration (MAC) of 10 mg NO3--N/L. Finding a practical and economical way to reduce nitrate concentrations in representative groundwater in the Region of Waterloo was the overall objective of this research. To achieve this goal, nitrate removal technologies including biological denitrification, ion exchange (IX), reverse osmosis (RO), electrodialysis (ED), and chemical denitrification were reviewed and compared. IX and RO were found to be the most promising technologies for nitrate removal. They have also been approved by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) as Best Available Technologies (BAT). To investigate the feasibility of IX and RO for nitrate removal from representative groundwater in the Region of Waterloo, bench-scale experiments were conducted and compared. These technologies could be considered for application at full- or point-of-use (POU)-scale. Decision support assistance for the selection of the appropriate technology for different technical and economical conditions is provided as an outcome of this work. Two nitrate-selective ion exchange resins (Dowex™ NSR-1 and Purolite® A-520E), two non-selective resins (Purolite® A-300E and Amberlite® IRA400 Cl), and a commercially-available RO POU device (Culligan® Aqua-Cleer® model RO30), which included a particle filter and a carbon block, were tested with deionized water and real groundwater.* IX results confirmed that production time before resin exhaustion was influenced by operating conditions, specifically bed depth as would be expected. It was also confirmed that the presence of competing anions (sulfate, chloride) and alkalinity adversely affected performance, with sulfate being the main competitor for nitrate removal. The extent of these effects was quantified for the conditions tested. At the end of the runs, the non-selective resins were prone to potential nitrate displacement and release into product water and are therefore not recommended. The nitrate-selective resins did not release previously adsorbed nitrate as their capacity became exhausted. Purolite® A-520E was identified as the best alternative amongst the four resins for removing nitrate from the representative groundwater source. The RO unit removed roughly 80% of the nitrate from groundwater. Background ions didn’t appear to compete with each other for removal by RO units, so RO might be a more appropriate technology than IX for nitrate removal from waters with high concentrations of sulfate or TDS. Since RO removes other background ions as well as nitrate, the product water of RO is low in alkalinity and can potentially be corrosive, if water from a small full-scale system is pumped through a communal distribution system. Post-treatment including pH adjustment, addition of caustic soda, and/or corrosion inhibitors may be required. While the carbon block did not play a substantial role with respect to removal of nitrate in the groundwater tested, a potential issue was identified when running RO systems without the carbon block. In deionized water (and presumably in very low alkalinity real waters) it was noted that RO nitrate removal efficiency dropped substantially as the alkalinity of the influent water approached zero. With respect to the scale of application of IX and RO devices, IX can be applied at full-scale without requiring large amounts of space. However, if feed water contains high concentrations of sulfate or TDS, nitrate leakage happens sooner and regeneration would be needed at more frequent intervals. Also, chloride concentrations in IX product water might exceed aesthetic objectives (AO) and should be monitored in cases of high feed water TDS. POU IX devices are not recommended when feed water nitrate concentration is high due to potential nitrate leakage into the product water when the resin is nearing exhaustion which increases public health risk. Issues associated with RO application at full-scale are high energy demand, low recovery, high costs, need of pre-treatment (fouling control), and post-treatment (corrosion control). On the other hand, POU RO devices may be acceptable since low recovery is of less importance in a household system, and product water corrosivity is less relevant. POU RO devices are preferable to POU IX units due to their lower risk of nitrate leakage into treated water. * Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute endorsement or recommendation for use.

According to the Department of Water Affairs (DWAF, 2004 p.15), South Africa’s water resources are scarce and extremely limited and much of this precious resource is utilised and consumed in our industries. Treatment and re-use of effluent generated is, in some cases, preferred over use of alternate water resources (Du Plessis, 2008 p.3). The volume of effluent generated in treatment processes like ultra-filtration (UF) and reverse osmosis (RO) units is determined by the feed water quality, with high water loss through effluent generation at poor feed water quality. Current UF and RO applications require an increased UF production capacity due to the use of UF filtrate for periodic backwashing of the UF membrane units. This results in loss of water and decreases overall recovery. The need therefore exists to increase the overall recovery of product water from the raw water stream by reducing the amount of effluent generated. This would be possible to achieve by using RO brine to backwash the UF unit. The study was conducted to provide a modelling tool, assisting management to optimise the use of RO brine as backwash water on the UF system at the Medupi power station. The secondary objective of this study was the development of a modelling tool that can be used for other projects, new or existing, as a measure and indication of the usability of RO brine as backwash water on UF systems. By successfully applying this newly developed model, the viability of utilising the RO brine as backwash water for the UF was investigated. This modification would lead to utilizing smaller UF units than previously envisioned, which in turn leads to reducing capital cost with 11.07% and operating expenditure with 9.98% at the Medupi power station. This also has a positive environmental impact by reducing the amount of raw water used monthly by 10.34% (108 000 m3/month). / MIng (Development and Management Engineering), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

<p>As the number of water stressed regions around the world continues to growth due to a steadily increasing demand and climate change; the use of unconventional water sources, such as, brackish or seawater, through the implementation of desalination technologies has increased significantly. Reverse osmosis has established itself as the most widespread and energy efficient desalination technology, thanks to the development of high permeability membranes, high efficient pumps, and the integration of energy recovery devices; but, it still faces important challenges, such as, high specific energy consumption compared with traditional water treatment technologies, and poses environmental threats due to its significant CO₂emissions and the need of disposal of high salinity brine.</p> <p> </p> <p>The aim of this research is to address and provide solutions for two of the major challenge areas in reverse osmosis: reduction of the energy consumption and strategies to facilitate its integration with renewable energy sources to decrease its environmental impact. </p> <p> </p> <p>In chapter 2, the modeling and design of a double-acting batch reverse osmosis system is presented. A reduced specific energy consumption compared with previously proposed configurations was found. Moreover, the new design presents solutions to practical concerns that have limited the implementation of Batch reverse osmosis processes such as high start time and downtime, and permeate contamination. On the other hand, a novel hydraulic modeling is introduced to calculate the evolution of the pressure and other important parameters during the cycle.</p> <p> </p> <p>Chapter 3 presents a novel method which allows reverse osmosis plants to vary their power usage according to the energy availability, therefore, providing demand response capabilities. The effects on the energy consumption and performance of the reverse osmosis desalination facility due to the implementation of this technique are also studied. The split-salinity demand response reverse osmosis process proposed here poses as the first approach to grant demand response capabilities to reverse osmosis plants that provides energy gains and can be applied to existing plants. </p>

Yes / Phenol and phenolic derivatives found in different industrial effluents are highly toxic and extremely harmful to human and the aquatic ecosystem. In the past, trickle bed reactor (TBR), reverse osmosis (RO) and other processes have been used to remove phenol from wastewater. However, each of these technologies has limitations in terms of the phenol concentration in the feed water and the efficiency of phenol rejection rate. In this work, an integrated hybrid TBR-RO process for removing high concentration phenol from wastewater is suggested and model-based simulation of the process is presented to evaluate the performance of the process. The models for both TBR and RO processes were independently validated against experimental data from the literature before coupling together to make the hybrid process. The results clearly show that the combined process significantly improves the rejection rate of phenol compared to that obtained via the individual processes.

Yes / The Reverse Osmosis (RO) input parameters have key roles in mass transport and performance indicators. Several studies can be found in open literature. However, an experimental research on evaluating the brackish water RO input parameters influence on the performance metrics with justifying the interference between them via a robust model has not been addressed yet. This paper aims to design, construct, and experimentally evaluate the performance of a 50 m3/d RO pilot-plant to desalinate brackish water in Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Iran. Water samples with various salinity ranging from 1000 to 5000 ppm were fed to a semi-permeable membrane under variable operating pressures from 5 to 13 bar. By evaluating permeate flux and brine flowrate, permeate and brine salinities, membrane water recovery, and salt rejection, some logical relations were derived. The results indicated that the performance of an RO unit is largely dependent on feed pressure and feed salinity. At a fixed feed concentration, an almost linear relationship was found to relate feed pressure and both permeate and brine flowrates. Statistically, it was found that 13 bar feed pressure results in a maximum salt rejection of 98.8% at a minimum permeate concentration of 12 ppm. Moreover, 73.3% reduction in permeate salinity and 30.8% increase in brine salinity are reported when feed pressure increases from 5 to 13 bar. Finally, it is concluded that the water transport coefficient is a function of feed pressure, salinity, and temperature, which is experimentally estimated to be 2.8552 L/(m2 h bar).

This study was to investigate theory and application of Osmotic Distillation (OD). OD is a new novel membrane separation process used for the concentration of aqueous solutions such as fruit juices without the application of heat. The present work was undertaken to investigate flux limitations focusing on feedside, membrane and stripper side characteristics of OD. Once the limiting areas were identified, further studies were undertaken to determine methods of minimizing those limitations without losing the quality and integrity of the liquid feed. A laboratory scale OD system was used to simulate the industrial process which takes place during the production of grape juice concentrate for the fruit juice industry. Results of a UF pretreatment study showed that the use of UF membranes with pore diameters of 0.1 fÝm or less as a pretreatment for the subsequent OD of grape juice resulted in significant increases in OD flux over that observed for juice not subjected to UF. The study of the physical properties of the feed played an important role in the explanation of the OD process. The increase in OD flux was attributed to a reduction in juice viscosity as the result of the removal of protein and other high molecular weight components. Apart from an increase in OD flux, UF pretreatment of the grape juice proved to be beneficial in other areas of the OD process. HPLC measurements showed that the normal concentration of fermentable sugars in standard 68 oBrix concentrate can be achieved at a lower Brix value in feed subjected to UF pretreatment, further reducing the need to handle highly viscous feeds. UF pretreatment also resulted in an increase in juice surface tension consequently reducing the tendency for membrane wet-out to occur. The study of the deoxygenation of the feed solution shows that the removal of dissolved gases by the pre boiling method and the perstraction with chemical reaction (PCR) method both had a positive affect on OD flux. Pre boiling the brine resulted in an indirect reduction in dissolved oxygen in the feed. Pre boiling both the feed and brine, further increased the flux. Throughout the PCR study, it was evident that stripper side mass transfer of O2 was not limited by flowrate but was limited by higher stripper concentration. However, the latter had an insignificant effect when the sulfite-oxygen reaction was catalysed. The use of a catalyst and increase in temperature gave a significant improvement in overall mass transfer coefficient. Ten types of hydrophobic microporous membranes were tested for their influence on OD flux. While the pore diameter is a considerable factor in mass transport of gases through the membrane, it was also noted that the type of membrane material used had an affect on the overall mass transfer. All top three performing membranes had pore diameters of 0.2 x 10-6 m and were made from polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). The choice of brine to use as the stripper was based on criteria that were confirmed by the brine studies performed here. The best performing stripper solutions demonstrating the greatest improvement in OD flux over the most commonly used brines, NaCl, CaCl2 and CH3COOK were aqueous solutions of potassium salts of phosphoric acid, pyrophosphoric acid and blends thereof. These salts agreed with all the required characteristics of a suitable brine, demonstrating high solubility rates, supporting the ability to lower water vapour pressure. The study of the corrosion effects of brine salts confirmed the phosphate salts are superior demonstrating some of the lowest corrosion rates and highest pH.