Reverse Osmosis

Abstract

Recent theoretical progresses in the reverse osmosis (RO) desalination process were reviewed. The long RO channel as commonly used in desalination applications was modeled as a heterogeneous system in which the permeate velocity, crossflow velocity, and salt concentration are all variables along the membrane channel. Concentration polarization and energy consumptions in such a heterogeneous RO channel were rigorously quantified and analyzed. Examples were provided for the demonstrations or illustrations of the theoretical developments.