Hybrid forward osmosis-membrane distillation system: Demonstration of technical feasibility

Zohrabian, Linnet; Hankins, Nicholas P.; Field, Robert W.

doi:10.1016/j.jwpe.2019.101042

Cited by 27 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 80 publications

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“…Since direct contact MD configuration was applied, temperature polarization was severe due to the contact of hot feed side and cold permeate side to the membrane surface. However, its flux performance improved by increasing the feed temperature to reduce the effect of temperature polarization, as proven by this study as well as others [ 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 ]. Despite of the high flux obtained with the employment of high feed temperature, it is important to note that increasing feed temperature could also increase the risk of scaling and membrane-wetting attributed by oversaturation in the boundary layer for the high concentration feed solutions [ 47 ].…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 71%

The Water Flux Dynamic in a Hybrid Forward Osmosis-Membrane Distillation for Produced Water Treatment

et al. 2020

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Standalone membrane distillation (MD) and forward osmosis (FO) have been considered as promising technologies for produced water treatment. However, standalone MD is still vulnerable to membrane-wetting and scaling problems, while the standalone FO is energy-intensive, since it requires the recovery of the draw solution (DS). Thus, the idea of coupling FO and MD is proposed as a promising combination in which the MD facilitate DS recovery for FO—and FO acts as pretreatment to enhance fouling and wetting-resistance of the MD. This study was therefore conducted to investigate the effect of DS temperature on the dynamic of water flux of a hybrid FO–MD. First, the effect of the DS temperature on the standalone FO and MD was evaluated. Later, the flux dynamics of both units were evaluated when the FO and DS recovery (via MD) was run simultaneously. Results show that an increase in the temperature difference (from 20 to 60 °C) resulted in an increase of the FO and MD fluxes from 11.17 ± 3.85 to 30.17 ± 5.51 L m−2 h−1, and from 0.5 ± 0.75 to 16.08 L m−2 h−1, respectively. For the hybrid FO–MD, either MD or FO could act as the limiting process that dictates the equilibrium flux. Both the concentration and the temperature of DS affected the flux dynamic. When the FO flux was higher than MD flux, DS was diluted, and its temperature decreased; both then lowered the FO flux until reaching an equilibrium (equal FO and MD flux). When FO flux was lower than MD flux, the DS was concentrated which increased the FO flux until reaching the equilibrium. The overall results suggest the importance of temperature and concentration of solutes in the DS in affecting the water flux dynamic hybrid process.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 71%

The Water Flux Dynamic in a Hybrid Forward Osmosis-Membrane Distillation for Produced Water Treatment

et al. 2020

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“…This suggests that untreated solutions can potentially be used directly as OARO draw solution without any concern for membrane fouling. It should be noted that although no OARO internal fouling was observed in AL-FS mode, even when using a draw solution highly concentrated with organic and inorganic foulants, this might not be the case when using other draw solutions (e.g., surfactants) or when operating at lower water fluxes. Zohrabian et al found that when the foulant’s adsorptive and diffusive forces exceeded the counteracting convective forces (i.e., the permeate water flux), internal membrane fouling in FO in AL-FS mode was possible, and hence, internal membrane fouling may also be possible in OARO.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…In this case, fouling-enhanced ICP would substantially lower the OARO water flux. Depending on the chosen draw solution, internal membrane fouling in FO in AL-FS mode was found to be either significant or not and hence deserves experimental investigation in OARO. Although the permeate water flow also opposes the accumulation of foulants within the membrane substrate, a high-pressure operation is expected to significantly change the hydrodynamic conditions within the OARO draw channel.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring the Limitations of Osmotically Assisted Reverse Osmosis: Membrane Fouling and the Limiting Flux

Peters

et al. 2022

Environ. Sci. Technol.

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Osmotically assisted reverse osmosis (OARO) has shown great potential for low-cost and energy-efficient brine management. However, its performance can be significantly limited by membrane fouling. Here, we performed for the first time a comprehensive study on OARO membrane fouling, explored the associated fouling mechanisms, and evaluated fouling reversibility via simple physical cleaning strategies. First, internal membrane fouling at the draw (permeate) side was shown to be insignificant. Flux behavior in short-term operation was correlated to both the evolution of fouling and the change of internal concentration polarization. In long-term operation, membrane fouling constrained the OARO water flux to a singular, common upper limit, in terms of limiting flux, which was demonstrated to be independent of operating pressures and membrane properties. Generally, once the limiting flux was exceeded, the OARO process performance could not be improved by higher-pressure operation or by utilizing more permeable and selective membranes. Instead, different cyclic cleaning strategies were shown to be more promising alternatives for improving performance. While both surface flushing and osmotic backwashing (OB) were found to be highly effective when using pure water, a full flux recovery could not be achieved when a nonpure solution was used during OB due to severe internal clogging during OB. All in all, the presented findings provided significant implications for OARO operation and fouling control.

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“…Gypsum formation could be reduced in the MD system by having FO as first membrane barrier, which is typically operated at ambient pressure and temperature and is hence less troubled by irreversible membrane fouling. Due to this synergy between FO and MD, these systems have gained a significant research interest [39,40,41,42,43,44,45,46].…”

Section: Research Objectivementioning

confidence: 99%

Making zero-liquid discharge desalination greener: Utilising low-grade heat and vacuum membrane distillation for the regeneration of volatile draw solutes

Peters

Hankins

2021

Desalination

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Hybrid forward osmosis-membrane distillation system: Demonstration of technical feasibility

Cited by 27 publications

References 80 publications

The Water Flux Dynamic in a Hybrid Forward Osmosis-Membrane Distillation for Produced Water Treatment

The Water Flux Dynamic in a Hybrid Forward Osmosis-Membrane Distillation for Produced Water Treatment

Exploring the Limitations of Osmotically Assisted Reverse Osmosis: Membrane Fouling and the Limiting Flux

Making zero-liquid discharge desalination greener: Utilising low-grade heat and vacuum membrane distillation for the regeneration of volatile draw solutes

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