A review of polymeric membranes and processes for potable water reuse

Abstract

Conventional water resources in many regions are insufficient to meet the water needs of growing populations, thus reuse is gaining acceptance as a method of water supply augmentation. Recent advancements in membrane technology have allowed for the reclamation of municipal wastewater for the production of drinking water, i.e., potable reuse. Although public perception can be a challenge, potable reuse is often the least energy-intensive method of providing additional drinking water to water stressed regions. A variety of membranes have been developed that can remove water contaminants ranging from particles and pathogens to dissolved organic compounds and salts. Typically, potable reuse treatment plants use polymeric membranes for microfiltration or ultrafiltration in conjunction with reverse osmosis and, in some cases, nanofiltration. Membrane properties, including pore size, wettability, surface charge, roughness, thermal resistance, chemical stability, permeability, thickness and mechanical strength, vary between membranes and applications. Advancements in membrane technology including new membrane materials, coatings, and manufacturing methods, as well as emerging membrane processes such as membrane bioreactors, electrodialysis, and forward osmosis have been developed to improve selectivity, energy consumption, fouling resistance, and/or capital cost. The purpose of this review is to provide a comprehensive summary of the role of polymeric membranes in the treatment of wastewater to potable water quality and highlight recent advancements in separation processes. Beyond membranes themselves, this review covers the background and history of potable reuse, and commonly used potable reuse process chains, pretreatment steps, and advanced oxidation processes. Key trends in membrane technology include novel configurations, materials and fouling prevention techniques. Challenges still facing membrane-based potable reuse applications, including chemical and biological contaminant removal, membrane fouling, and public perception, are highlighted as areas in need of further research and development.

Nanocellulose‐Enabled Membranes for Water Purification: Perspectives

“…The principle and some common approaches that can be used to control these properties are discussed as follows. In and , the mechanical performance requirements for handling (dry strength) and operating under high pressure in an aqueous environment (wet‐strength) of conventional membranes have been well documented5–11 and will not be discussed here. However, these performance matrices will serve as benchmarks for us to develop suitable nanocellulose‐enabled membranes for various water purification applications.…”

“…Pressure‐driven membrane filtration technologies, from microfiltration (MF) for separating large particles from water to reverse osmosis (RO) for separating salt ions from water, remain one of the most energy‐efficient pathways for water purification 5. The principle of these separations is straightforward.…”

Designing an All-Carbon Membrane for Water Desalination

“…Bio-fouling of membranes can never be prevented and poses a significant problem in the RO process [6,20,40,41]. Conventional cleaning agents, which contain chlorine, not only remove bio-fouling agents, but also attack currently used polymer membranes, limiting their useful lifetime.…”

Novel thin film nanocomposite membranes incorporated with polyoxovanadate nanocluster for high water flux and antibacterial properties

“…Thus, membrane technology could be considered as one of the most powerful tools for water desalination due to its high stability, efficiency, low cost, easy operation and low energy consuming . Various types of separation membrane such as reverse osmosis membrane (RO), nanofiltration membrane, ultrafiltration membrane, microfiltration membrane and forward osmosis membrane (FO) have been developed, which among these, forward osmosis (FO) as a novel membrane technology (using natural osmotic pressure as a driving force) has many advantages including, low cost, easy cleaning, low fouling tendency and so on. It is noteworthy that high fouling tendency, low hydrophilicity and poor performance of FO membranes limited their industrial applications .…”