Reverse-osmosis concentration

Another scheme proposed for collecting enough concentrate for animal studies is shown in Figure 1. In this scheme for concentrating 135 gal of water to a 5-gal methylene chloride concentrate, reverse osmosis is used to reduce the initial 2000-gal volume of water to 135 gal, and the CLLE is used to further concentrate the retentate to 5 gal for biological testing. The LLE portion of this scheme was simulated in a set of CLLE evaluation experiments. The concentration factor from 135 to 5 gal is 27 1, which was easily attainable with the CLLE units. The water-to-solvent ratio in the extractors was 10 1, and the additional volume reduction was achieved by solvent distillation in the distillation chambers of the CLLE units. 

Some idea of typical operation costs of desalination processes is given in Figure 4.12, plotted against the salt concentration of the water to be desalted. Although the cost data are by now a little old, the relative costs as between the various processes are still roughly right. It can be seen that, for all but the lowest concentrations, reverse osmosis is the least expensive option. 

Reverse osmosis is a high-pressure membrane separation process (20 to 100 bar) which can be used to reject dissolved inorganic salt or heavy metals. The concentrated waste material produced by membrane process should be recycled if possible but might require further treatment or disposal. 

Reverse osmosis is used for desalination of seawater, treatment of recycle water in chemical plants and separation of industrial wastes. More recently the technique has been applied to concentration and dehydrogenation of food products such as milk and fruit juices. See ultrafiltralion. 

Mixtures of trioctylamine and 2-ethylhexanol have been employed to extract 1—9% by volume acetic acid from its aqueous solutions. Reverse osmosis for acid separation has been patented and solvent membranes for concentrating acetic acid have been described (58,59). Decalin and trioctylphosphine were selected as solvents (60). Liquid—Uquid interfacial kinetics is an especially significant factor in such extractions (61). 

A newer juice concentration process, requiring minimal heat treatment, has been appHed commercially in Japan to citms juice concentration. The pulp is separated from the juice by ultrafiltration and pasteurized. The clarified juice containing the volatile flavorings is concentrated at 10°C by reverse osmosis (qv) and the concentrate and pulp are recombined to produce a 42—51 °Brix citms juice concentrate. The flavor of this concentrate has been judged superior to that of commercially available concentrate, and close to that of fresh juice (11). 

Nonporous Dense Membranes. Nonporous, dense membranes consist of a dense film through which permeants are transported by diffusion under the driving force of a pressure, concentration, or electrical potential gradient. The separation of various components of a solution is related directiy to their relative transport rate within the membrane, which is determined by their diffusivity and solubiUty ia the membrane material. An important property of nonporous, dense membranes is that even permeants of similar size may be separated when their concentration ia the membrane material (ie, their solubiUty) differs significantly. Most gas separation, pervaporation, and reverse osmosis membranes use dense membranes to perform the separation. However, these membranes usually have an asymmetric stmcture to improve the flux. 

Fig. 23. Two types of hollow-fiber modules used for gas separation, reverse osmosis, and ultrafiltration applications, (a) Shell-side feed modules are generally used for high pressure appHcations up to - 7 MPa (1000 psig). Fouling on the feed side of the membrane can be a problem with this design, and pretreatment of the feed stream to remove particulates is required, (b) Bore-side feed modules are generally used for medium pressure feed streams up to - 1 MPa (150 psig), where good flow control to minimise fouling and concentration polarization on the feed side of the membrane is desired.

The performance of reverse osmosis membranes is generaUy described by the water and salt fluxes (74,75). The water flux,/ is linked to the pressure and concentration gradients across the membrane by equation 4 ... 

The salt flux, across a reverse osmosis membrane can be described by equation 5 where is a constant and and < 2 the salt concentration differences across the membrane. 

Although the principal appHcation of reverse osmosis membranes is still desalination of brackish water or seawater to provide drinking water, a significant market is production of ultrapure water. Such water is used in steam boilers or in the electronics industry, where huge amounts of extremely pure water with a total salt concentration significantly below 1 ppm are required to wash siUcon wafers. 

Membrane Sep r tion. The separation of components ofhquid milk products can be accompHshed with semipermeable membranes by either ultrafiltration (qv) or hyperfiltration, also called reverse osmosis (qv) (30). With ultrafiltration (UF) the membrane selectively prevents the passage of large molecules such as protein. In reverse osmosis (RO) different small, low molecular weight molecules are separated. Both procedures require that pressure be maintained and that the energy needed is a cost item. The materials from which the membranes are made are similar for both processes and include cellulose acetate, poly(vinyl chloride), poly(vinyHdene diduoride), nylon, and polyamide (see AFembrane technology). Membranes are commonly used for the concentration of whey and milk for cheesemaking (31). For example, membranes with 100 and 200 p.m are used to obtain a 4 1 reduction of skimmed milk. 

Following ultrafiltration of whey, the permeate passes over a reverse osmosis (qv) membrane to separate the lactose from other components of the permeate. Reverse osmosis can be used to remove water and concentrate soHds in a dairy plant, giving a product with 18% soHds and thus decreasing the difficulty of waste disposal. Concentration of rinse water gives a product with 4—5% total soHds. Proper maintenance of the membrane allows for use up to two years. Membranes are available for use up to 100°C with pH ranges from 1 to 14 the usual temperature range is 0—50°C. 

Memhra.nes. Liquid separation via membranes, ie, reverse osmosis (qv), is used in production of pure water from seawater. The chief limit to broader use of reverse osmosis is the high pressure required as the concentration of reject rises. 

A reverse osmosis membrane acts as the semipermeable barrier to flow ia the RO process, aHowiag selective passage of a particular species, usually water, while partially or completely retaining other species, ie, solutes such as salts. Chemical potential gradients across the membrane provide the driving forces for solute and solvent transport across the membrane. The solute chemical potential gradient, —is usually expressed ia terms of concentration the water (solvent) chemical potential gradient, —Afi, is usually expressed ia terms of pressure difference across the membrane. 

Reverse osmosis processes for desalination were first appHed to brackish water, which has a lower I DS concentration than seawater. Brackish water has less than 10,000 mg/L IDS seawater contains greater than 30,000 mg/L IDS. This difference in IDS translates into a substantial difference in osmotic pressure and thus the RO operating pressure required to achieve separation. The need to process feed streams containing larger amounts of dissolved soHds led to the development of RO membranes capable of operating at pressures approaching 10.3 MFa (1500 psi). Desalination plants around the world process both brackish water and seawater (15). 

Feed characteri2ation, particularly for nondesalination appHcatioas, should be the first and foremost objective in the design of a reverse osmosis plant. This involves the determination of the type and concentration of the main solutes and foulants in the stream, temperature, pH, osmotic pressure, etc. Once the feed has been characteri2ed, a reaHstic process objective can be defined. In most cases, some level of pretreatment is needed to reduce the number and concentration of foulants present in the feed stream. Pretreatment necessitates the design of processes other than the RO module, thus the overaH process design should use the minimum pretreatment necessary to meet the process objective. Once the pretreatment steps have been determined and the final feed stream defined, the RO module can be selected. 

J. Siler, "Reverse Osmosis Membranes-Concentration Polarization and Surface Fouling Predictive Models and Experimental Verifications," dissertation. University of Kentucky, Lexington, Ky., 1987. 

Xylose is obtained from sulfite Hquors, particularly from hardwoods, such as birch, by methanol extraction of concentrates or dried sulfite lyes, ultrafiltration (qv) and reverse osmosis (qv), ion exchange, ion exclusion, or combinations of these treatments (201). Hydrogenation of xylose is carried out in aqueous solution, usually at basic pH. The Raney nickel catalyst has a loading of 2% at 125°C and 3.5 MPa (515 psi) (202,203). 

Maple symp is prepared by concentrating (evaporation or reverse osmosis) sap from the maple tree to a concentrated solution containing predominantly sucrose. Its characteristic flavor and color are formed during evaporation. Maple symp is produced from the sap of several varieties of mature maple trees, eg, the sugar maple (/icer saccharum) and black maple A.cernigrunj). 

Concentration. Tea extracts are generally concentrated under vacuum to the soHds content desired for drying. Ereeze concentration has been described (99), as has reverse osmosis (qv) (100). Preserved aroma and the solubiHzed cream fraction may be added before drying. 

The individual membrane filtration processes are defined chiefly by pore size although there is some overlap. The smallest membrane pore size is used in reverse osmosis (0.0005—0.002 microns), followed by nanofiltration (0.001—0.01 microns), ultrafHtration (0.002—0.1 microns), and microfiltration (0.1—1.0 microns). Electro dialysis uses electric current to transport ionic species across a membrane. Micro- and ultrafHtration rely on pore size for material separation, reverse osmosis on pore size and diffusion, and electro dialysis on diffusion. Separation efficiency does not reach 100% for any of these membrane processes. For example, when used to desalinate—soften water for industrial processes, the concentrated salt stream (reject) from reverse osmosis can be 20% of the total flow. These concentrated, yet stiH dilute streams, may require additional treatment or special disposal methods. 

Fig. 13. A hoUow-fibet reverse osmosis membrane element. Courtesy of DuPont Permasep. In this twin design, the feedwater is fed under pressure into a central distributor tube where half the water is forced out tadiaUy through the first, ie, left-hand, fiber bundle and thus desalted. The remaining portion of the feedwater flows through the interconnector to an annular feed tube of the second, ie, right-hand, fiber bundle. As in the first bundle, the pressurized feedwater is forced out tadiaUy and desalted. The product water flows through the hoUow fibers, coUects at each end of the element, and exits there. The concentrated brine from both bundles flows through the concentric tube in the center of the second bundle and exits the element on the right.

The pressure to be used for reverse osmosis depends on the salinity of the feedwater, the type of membrane, and the desired product purity. It ranges from about 1.5 MPa for low feed concentrations or high flux membranes, through 2.5—4 MPa for brackish waters, and to 6—8.4 MPa for seawater desalination. In desalination of brackish or sea water, typical product water fluxes through spiral-wound membranes are about 600—800 kg/m /d at a recovery ratio RR of 15% and an average salt rejection of 99.5%, where... 

Reverse Osmosis. Osmosis is the flow of solvent through a semipermeable membrane, from a dilute solution to a concentrated solution. This flow results from the driving force created by the difference in pressure between the two solutions. Osmotic pressure is the pressure that must be added to the concentrated solution side to stop the solvent flow through the membrane. Reverse osmosis is the process of reversing the flow, forcing water through a membrane from a concentrated solution to a dilute solution to produce pure water. Figure 2 illustrates the processes of osmosis and reverse osmosis. 

Fig. 2. In the osmosis process, water flows through a membrane from a dilute solution to a more concentrated solution. In reverse osmosis, appHed...

Reverse osmosis is created when sufficient pressure is appHed to the concentrated solution to overcome the osmotic pressure. This pressure is... 

Reverse Osmosis. In reverse osmosis (qv), a solution or suspension flows under pressure through a membrane the product is withdrawn on the other side. This process can treat dissolved soHds concentrations ranging from 1 mg/L to 35 g/L (14). The principal constraint is the requirement that the waste material be relatively nonfouling. Recent advances have been mosdy in membrane development, and pilot studies are required (15). Energy costs can be significant, and it is frequently necessary to pretreat influent in order to minimize fouhng. Reverse osmosis can deal with particles < 1 to 600 nm in size. 

Reverse Osmosis. A reverse osmosis (RO) process has been developed to remove alcohol from distilled spirits without affecting the sensory properties (14). It consists of passing barrel-strength whiskey through a permeable membrane at high pressure, causing the alcohol to permeate the membrane and concentrating the flavor components in the retentate. 

Operational temperatures of 4—27°C are maintained. In this process the flavor components are concentrated in the retentate. A reduced alcohol product is obtained by adding back water to give the desired flavor impact. Typical gas chromatographic results, comparing unprocessed 80° proof whiskey with reverse osmosis processed 54° proof whiskey and diluted 54° proof whiskey, indicate good congener retention in the alcohol-reduced (RO) processed whiskey (Table 7). 

The egg products are finally processed and spray-dried. Sometimes Hquid egg whites are concentrated before spray-drying by ultrafiltration (qv) or reverse osmosis procedures. Table 5 presents the effect of egg quaUty on the different egg product manufacturing processes. 

Concentration of Seawater by ED. In terms of membrane area, concentration of seawater is the second largest use. Warm seawater is concentrated by ED to 18 to 20% dissolved soHds using membranes with monovalent-ion-selective skins. The EDR process is not used. The osmotic pressure difference between about 19% NaCl solution and partially depleted seawater is about 20,000 kPa (200 atm) at 25°C, which is well beyond the range of reverse osmosis. Salt is produced from the brine by evaporation and crystallisa tion at seven plants in Japan and one each in South Korea, Taiwan, and Kuwait. A second plant is soon to be built in South Korea. None of the plants are justified on economic grounds compared to imported solar or mined salt. 

Industrial Wastes. Closely related to seawater concentration is the simultaneous concentration of industrial effluents and recycle of recovered water (see Wastes, industrial). These appHcations are expected to increase as environmental restrictions increase. Examples are the concentration of blowdown from cooling towers in power plants concentration of reverse osmosis blowdown and the processing of metal treatment wastes (11) (see... 

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