Concentration polarization model of spiral-wound membrane modules with application to batch-mode RO desalination of brackish water

T.Y. Qiu, P. A. Davies*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Batch-mode reverse osmosis (batch-RO) operation is considered a promising desalination method due to its low energy requirement compared to other RO system arrangements. To improve and predict batch-RO performance, studies on concentration polarization (CP) are carried out. The Kimura-Sourirajan mass-transfer model is applied and validated by experimentation with two different spiral-wound RO elements. Explicit analytical Sherwood correlations are derived based on experimental results. For batch-RO operation, a new genetic algorithm method is developed to estimate the Sherwood correlation parameters, taking into account the effects of variation in operating parameters. Analytical procedures are presented, then the mass transfer coefficient models are developed for different operation processes, i.e., batch-RO and continuous RO. The CP related energy loss in batch-RO operation is quantified based on the resulting relationship between feed flow rates and mass transfer coefficients. It is found that CP increases energy consumption in batch-RO by about 25% compared to the ideal case in which CP is absent. For continuous RO process, the derived Sherwood correlation predicted CP accurately. In addition, we determined the optimum feed flow rate of our batch-RO system.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)36-47
JournalDesalination
Volume368
Early online date22 Jan 2015
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 15 Jul 2015

Bibliographical note

NOTICE: this is the author’s version of a work that was accepted for publication in Desalination. Changes resulting from the publishing process, such as peer review, editing, corrections, structural formatting, and other quality control mechanisms may not be reflected in this document. Changes may have been made to this work since it was submitted for publication. A definitive version was subsequently published in Qiu, TY & Davies, PA, 'Concentration polarization model of spiral-wound membrane modules with application to batch-mode RO desalination of brackish water' Desalination, vol In Press (2015) DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.desal.2014.12.048

Keywords

  • batch-mode reverse osmosis (batch-RO)
  • concentration polarization (CP)
  • high recovery
  • mass transfer
  • solar
  • spiral-wound membrane (SWM)

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