Reverse osmosis energy requirements

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. 

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 In reverse osmosis (qv), a solution or suspension flows under pressure through a membrane the product is withdrawn on the other side.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. 

The task of synthesizing an optimal RON can be stated as follows For a given feed flowrate, Qf. and a feed concentration, Cp. it is desired to synthesize a minimum cost system of reverse osmosis modules, booster pumps and energy-recovery turbines Chat can separate the feed into two streams an environmentally acceptable permeate and a retentate (reject) stream in which the undesired species is concentrated. The permeate stream must meet two requirements ... 

The successful development of asymmetric cellulose acetate membranes by Loeb and Sourirajan in the early sixties, at the University of California, Los Angeles, has been primarily responsible for the rapid development of Reverse Osmosis (RO) technology for brack sh/sea water desalination. Reverse Osmosis approaches a reversible process when the pressure barely exceeds the osmotic pressure and hence the energy costs are quite low. Theenergy requirement to purify one litre of water by RO is only O.OO3 KW as against 0,7 KV required just to supply the vaporisation energy to change the phase of one litre of water from liquid to vapour by evaporation. Thus RO has an inherent capability to convert brackish water to potable water at economic cost and thus contribute effectively to the health and prosperity of all humanity. 

Ultrafiltration can be utilized to separate the emulsion and dissolved oil from water. The specific ultrafiltration membrane polymer and pore-size requirement are determined by the oil chemistry however/ the oil can typically be concentrated up to 60 - 80%, and in some cases, incinerated to recover energy in the form of heat. The permeate stream may be pure enough to be re-used, or may require treatment with reverse osmosis prior to re-use. 

Reverse osmosis performs a separation without a phase change. Thus, the energy requirements are low. Typical energy consumption is 6 to 7 kWh/m2 of product water in seawater desalination. Reverse osmosis, of course, is not only used in desalination, but also for producing high-pressure boiler feedwater, bacteria-free water, and ultrapure water for rinsing electronic components—because of its properties for rejecting colloidal matter, particle and bacteria. 

So far only the energy requirement for a process in the form of work has been considered. Freezing, vapor compression, and reverse osmosis processes are examples of processes that require a work input. There are, however, other important processes, such as multiple-effect evaporation and flash evaporation, for which the energy input is in the form of heat. How does one relate the energy requirement of these processes to the minimum work of separation One method is to convert the heat requirement to a work equivalent by means of the Carnot cycle. If T is the absolute temperature of the heat source and T0 the heat-sink temperature, then one can use the familiar relation... 

Important processes such as reverse osmosis, the various ionic membrane processes, and flash evaporation have not been discussed here. For a more comprehensive treatment of the subject of minimum energy requirements, reference is made to the report by Murphy (8). 

Reverse osmosis is a process whereby seawater can be purified by passing the water molecules through a semipermeable membrane. What is the minimum amount of work that must be done to obtain 1.0 L of pure water by reverse osmosis, starting with seawater that is 0.7M NaCl Compare this work with the energy required to vaporize the water in a distillation process. 

Because of the low energy requirements of separations by reverse osmosis, much attention has been devoted to other separations of aqueous solutions, at least on a laboratory scale, for instance, or ethanol/water. Membranes have been found that are moderately effective, but the main obstacle to the process is the very... 

In practice, pressure differences significantly greater than FI are used to effect osmotic separations. For example, seawater lias an osmotic pressure of about 25 bar, but working pressures of 50 to 80 bar are employed to enhance tlie rate of recoveiy of fresh water. A feature of such separations is tliat tliey require mechanical power only, for pumping the solution to an appropriate pressure level. Tliis contrasts with distillation schemes, where steam is tlie usual source of energy. A brief overview of reverse osmosis is given by Perry and Green.- ... 

In water production, reverse osmosis requires less than 50% of the energy required by multistage flash distillation (8 to 10.6 kWh for freshwater for a capacity of 19- 10- m-Vd). 

Membrane separation is a relatively new and fast-growing field in supramolecular chemistry. It is not only an important process in biological systems, but becomes a large-scale industrial activity. For industrial applications, many synthetic membranes have been developed. Important conventional membrane technologies are microfiltration, ultrafiltration, electro- and hemodialysis, reverse osmosis, and gas separations. The main advantages are the high separation factors that can be achieved under mild conditions and the low energy requirements. 

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