Fabrication of a pilot scale module of thin film composite hollow fiber membrane for osmotic pressure‐driven processes

Abstract

Polyamide thin film composite hollow fiber membranes have advantages in their unique structure compared to flat sheet membranes. This study examined interfacial polymerization methods for fabricating pilot scale hollow fiber membranes (membrane area: 1.2 m2, number of hollow fiber strands: 1200). For use in osmotic pressure‐driven processes, a one‐pot hydrophilic interfacial polymerization procedure was developed simultaneously to modify the surface property and synthesize polyamide thin film. With the procedure, a pilot scale module has a water flux of 13 LMH using a draw solution of 0.6M NaCl and a feed solution of distilled water through the design of the module configuration. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2018, 135, 46110.

Role of Operating Conditions in a Pilot Scale Investigation of Hollow Fiber Forward Osmosis Membrane Modules

“…For instance, lab-scale investigations of Shon et al [32] revealed that using a configuration where the DS was facing the active layer (pressure retarded osmosis (PRO) mode) reduced membrane rejection for boron in comparison to the system with the DS facing the support layer (FO mode). The effect of these configurations (PRO and FO mode) were also found to be critical by Park et al [7], as ECP becomes a key factor of membrane performance. Park et al [7] minimized the negative effects of ECP by developing an HFFO membrane with a novel interfacial polymerization (IP) process and by changing the module configuration.…”

“…The effect of these configurations (PRO and FO mode) were also found to be critical by Park et al [7], as ECP becomes a key factor of membrane performance. Park et al [7] minimized the negative effects of ECP by developing an HFFO membrane with a novel interfacial polymerization (IP) process and by changing the module configuration. The temperature is another extensively studied parameter [24,25,33,34,35,36] that affects membrane rejection and water flux.…”

“…Pressure-less operation results in a unique process with a low fouling propensity [1], a high rejection of solutes [2], and low energy consumption [3]. Osmotically driven membrane processes have been intensively studied for decades in academia, but it was not until recently that progress in commercialization of this technology has manifested through multiple industrial applications of commercial FO membranes in pilot and full-scale installations (e.g., [4,5,6,7,8,9]). Due to the relatively early stage of this technology’s development, FO membranes with diverse form factors can be found on the market.…”

“…As a result, selection of optimal process parameters [17,18,19], suitable draw solution (DS) [20], and draw recovery strategy [21] are all important to maximize the overall performance of the FO process. To date, assessments of FO membranes have not been standardized and multiple examples of the testing conditions and testing setup configurations have been reported [4,7,17,22,23,24,25,26,27]. Even more challenging is the testing and comparison of FO membranes in commercial modules.…”

Investigation on Drag Reduction Characteristics and Shell‐Side Hydrodynamics in Hollow Fiber Membrane Modules

“…As a pressure‐driven separation process, membrane‐based seawater desalination module is a crucial device of industrial processes . Yet, it suffers from the issue of energy consumption (represents >50–60% of total costs), since the separation performance cannot be significantly increased and even a small increase in separation efficiency results in great energy losses .…”