Osmosis, membrane transport

Membranes and Osmosis. Membranes based on PEI can be used for the dehydration of organic solvents such as 2-propanol, methyl ethyl ketone, and toluene (451), and for concentrating seawater (452—454). On exposure to ultrasound waves, aqueous PEI salt solutions and brominated poly(2,6-dimethylphenylene oxide) form stable emulsions from which it is possible to cast membranes in which submicrometer capsules of the salt solution ate embedded (455). The rate of release of the salt solution can be altered by surface—active substances. In membranes, PEI can act as a proton source in the generation of a photocurrent (456). The formation of a PEI coating on ion-exchange membranes modifies the transport properties and results in permanent selectivity of the membrane (457). The electrochemical testing of salts (458) is another possible appHcation of PEI. 

Transport Models. Many mechanistic and mathematical models have been proposed to describe reverse osmosis membranes. Some of these descriptions rely on relatively simple concepts others are far more complex and require sophisticated solution techniques. Models that adequately describe the performance of RO membranes are important to the design of RO processes. Models that predict separation characteristics also minimize the number of experiments that must be performed to describe a particular system. Excellent reviews of membrane transport models and mechanisms are available (9,14,25-29). 

Membrane transport Once a membrane has formed, nutrients have to be transported across the membrane either by osmosis or actively... 

Reverse osmosis, pervaporation and polymeric gas separation membranes have a dense polymer layer with no visible pores, in which the separation occurs. These membranes show different transport rates for molecules as small as 2-5 A in diameter. The fluxes of permeants through these membranes are also much lower than through the microporous membranes. Transport is best described by the solution-diffusion model. The spaces between the polymer chains in these membranes are less than 5 A in diameter and so are within the normal range of thermal motion of the polymer chains that make up the membrane matrix. Molecules permeate the membrane through free volume elements between the polymer chains that are transient on the timescale of the diffusion processes occurring. 

Osmosis involves the transfer, by a concentration gradient, of a solvent through a membrane into a mixture of solute and solvent. The membrane is almost non-permeable to the solute. In reverse osmosis, transport of solvent in the opposite direction is effected by imposing a pressure, higher than the osmotic pressure, on the feed side. Using a non-porous membrane, reverse osmosis successfully desalts water. 

The Transport of Matter through a Membrane during Osmosis... 

The dense layer of reverse osmosis membranes transports water as if through pores, but no pores are observed in electron micrographs of the dried membranes. This Implies either that the pores are too small to be observed by electron microscopy or that they only exist in the presence of water, not in the dried polymer. 

The solution-diffusion model is currently being used by the majority of the membrane community. An excellent summary of the applicability of this model for various membrane transport phenomena is given in the classic book by Crank and Park (100]. Lonsdale applied this model for reverse osmosis transport [ 101) when the latter process emerged as an important desalination process. 

Section 6.3.3.3 studies RO in bulk flow parallel to the force configuration and describes various membrane transport considerations and flux expressions. Practical RO membranes are employed in devices with bulk feed flow perpendicular to the force configuration, as illustrated in Section 7.2.I.2. A simplified solution for a spiral-wound RO membrane is developed analytical expressions for the water flux as well as for salt rejection are obtained and illustrated through example problem solving. A total of sbt worked example problems have been provided up to Chapter 7. Chapter 9 (Figure 9.1.5) shows a RO cascade in a tapered configuration. Section 10.1.2 calculates the minimum energy required in reverse osmosis based desalination and compares it with that in evaporation. Section 11.2 covers the sequence of separation steps in a water treatment process for both desalination and ultrapure water production. The very important role played by RO in such plants is clearly illustrated. 

Another three-parameter model of reverse osmosis membrane transport of some importance is the Spiegler-Kedem model (Spiegler and Kedem, 1966). In its differential form (similar to equations (3.4.47) and (3.4.48)), the model proposes the following local flux expressions at any location z in the membrane ... 

This chapter is concluded therefore with the following statement. Although membranes with electric charges are well established in reverse osmosis and nanofiltration applications, the fundamental aspects of membrane formation and membrane transport are still in its infant stage. 

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. 

In reverse osmosis membranes, the pores are so smaH, in the range 0.5— 2 nm in diameter, that they ate within the range of the thermal motion of the polymer chains. The most widely accepted theory of reverse osmosis transport considers the membrane to have no permanent pores at aH. Reverse osmosis membranes are used to separate dissolved microsolutes, such as salt, from water. The principal appHcation of reverse osmosis is the production of drinking water from brackish groundwater or seawater. Figure 25 shows the range of appHcabHity of reverse osmosis, ultrafiltration, microfiltration, and conventional filtration. 

Fig. 25. Reverse osmosis, ultrafiltration, microfiltration, and conventional filtration are related processes differing principally in the average pore diameter of the membrane filter. Reverse osmosis membranes are so dense that discrete pores do not exist transport occurs via statistically distributed free volume areas. The relative size of different solutes removed by each class of membrane is illustrated in this schematic.

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. 

The pressure difference between the high and low pressure sides of the membrane is denoted as AP the osmotic pressure difference across the membrane is defined as Att the net driving force for water transport across the membrane is AP — (tAtt, where O is the Staverman reflection coefficient and a = 1 means 100% solute rejection. The standardized terminology recommended for use to describe pressure-driven membrane processes, including that for reverse osmosis, has been reviewed (24). 

H. Mehdizadeh, "Modeling of Transport Phenomena in Reverse Osmosis Membranes," dissertation, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ont., Canada, 1990. 

Ultrafiltration separations range from ca 1 to 100 nm. Above ca 50 nm, the process is often known as microfiltration. Transport through ultrafiltration and microfiltration membranes is described by pore-flow models. Below ca 2 nm, interactions between the membrane material and the solute and solvent become significant. That process, called reverse osmosis or hyperfiltration, is best described by solution—diffusion mechanisms. 

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