Pilot-Scale Investigation of Forward/Reverse Osmosis Hybrid System for Seawater Desalination Using Impaired Water from Steel Industry

Abstract

This paper was focused on the investigation of a forward osmosis- (FO-) reverse osmosis (RO) hybrid process to cotreat seawater and impaired water from steel industry. By using this hybrid process, seawater can be diluted before desalination, hence reducing the energy cost of desalination, and simultaneously contaminants present in the impaired water are prevented from migrating into the product water through the FO and RO membranes. The main objective of this work was to investigate on pilot-scale system the performance of the combined FO pretreatment and RO desalination hybrid system and specifically its effects on membrane fouling and overall solute rejection. Firstly, optimization of the pilot-scale FO process to obtain the most suitable and stable operating conditions for practical application was investigated. Secondly, pilot-scale RO process performance as a posttreatment to FO process was evaluated in terms of water flux and rejection. The results indicated that the salinity of seawater reduced from 35000 to 13000 mg/L after 3 hrs using FO system, while after 6 hrs it approached 10000 mg/L. Finally, FO/RO system was tested on continuous operation for 15 hrs and it was demonstrated that no pollutant was detected neither in draw solution nor in RO permeate after the end of operating time.

Preparation, characterization, and performance of PES/GO woven mixed matrix nanocomposite forward osmosis membrane for water desalination

“…The performance of the fabricated PES/GO MMW membrane was carried out using a bench-scale FO setup. 62 A membrane with a surface area of 56 cm 2 was employed for the testing, which was done in the FO mode with the shiny face (active layer) facing feed solution (DW) and the other layer facing 1 M NaCl solution as draw solution, respectively. All FO testing experiment was applied at a fixed crossflow rate of 0.857 L min −1 and room temperature.…”

Strategies in Forward Osmosis Membrane Substrate Fabrication and Modification: A Review

“…Another pilot study combined FO pretreatment and RO desalination hybrid system as an alternative to process feed waters that cannot be treated by RO. Ali et al [198] cotreated seawater and impaired water from the steel industry, wherein FO produced good results in seawater dilution, reaching a 250% dilution rate using the FO system. However, water flux in the FO process was found to decrease slightly by time due to the fouling.…”

Estado del arte: desalinización mediante tecnologías de membrana como alternativa frente al problema de escasez de agua dulce

“…Otro de los sistemas híbridos empleados en Egipto incluye una dilución del agua cruda que reduce el costo energético de funcionamiento e impide la migración de contaminantes presentes en el agua a través de las membranas. Es decir, un sistema de pretratamiento de osmosis forzada (similar a la OI, pero que no utiliza presión sino sales adecuadas para proporcionar la presión osmótica suficiente para el proceso, como carbonato amónico) y finalmente el proceso de OI [33].…”