DesalinationofSeawaterby ReverseOsmosis

April Youn Fall 2010 Simon Fraser University November 19, 2010

PresentationOutline
Compositionofseawater Whatisreverseosmosis Pretreatmentoffeedwater Reverseosmosismembrane Posttreatmentofpermeate Futureaspectsofreverseosmosis

Water
97.5%oftheearthswaterisseawaterandthe remaining2.5%isfreshwaterfoundinglaciersand underground
Figure2:IllustrationofwateronEarth

CanWeDrinkSeawater
Figure2:ClipofHomertryingtodrinkseawater

Simpsons season 5, episode 8: Boy Scoutz n the Hood

CompositionofSeawater
TotalDissolvedSolids(TDS)areinorganicsaltsand smallamountsoforganicmatterthataredissolved inwater TheTDSisseawaterranges10,000to45,000ppm comparedtofreshwaterthatis1500ppm
Figure3:Tableofthechemical compositionandits concentrationofseawater

G Migliorini, et al., Desalination 165 (2004)289-298

Desalination
Theprocessofremovingdissolvedsaltsand othermineralsfromseawatertoobtainwater suitableforhumanandanimalconsumption, irrigationandotherindustrialuses Twodesalinationmethods:bythermalprocess (multistageflash)orbymembrane(reverse osmosis)

Osmosis
Osmosisisthespontaneoustransportofsolvent fromadilutesolutiontoaconcentratedsolution acrossanidealsemipermeablemembrane Atacertainpressure,theosmoticpressure, equilibriumisreachedandtheamountofsolvent whichpassesineachdirectionisequal
Figure4:Illustrationof osmosisandosmotic equilibrium

(N.ztrketal.,Desalination223(2008)19)

ReverseOsmosis
Figure5:IllustrationofRO

Ifthepressureisincreased abovetheosmoticpressureon thesolutionsideofmembrane, theflowisreversedandwater flowsfromtheconcentrateto thediluteside,thisiscalled reverseosmosis(RO) ROisbasedontwovariables: highfluxofwaterandhighsalt rejection Operatesatpressuresof1 10MPa
(N.ztrketal.,Desalination223(2008)19)

ReverseOsmosis
Figure6:TypicalROdesalinationplant

Itisoneofthemost efficientsystembased ontheenergyspent perm3 offreshwater producedfrom seawater Reverseosmosisrejects nearlyalldissolved compounds
ComptonEngineering,Inc,(2007)CityofPascagoulaReverseOsmosisWaterPlant, http://www.comptonengineering.com/pascagoula.html

ReverseOsmosis
Generalschematicofreverseosmosis Waterabstraction>pretreatment>membrane separationunit>posttreatment>distribution
Figure7:IllustrationofRO

SanDiegoCountyWaterAuthority,Desalination,from:http://www.sdcwa.org/desalination

WaterAbstraction
Watercanbeabstractedthroughcoastorbeachwellsor throughopenseawaterintakesystems Coastandbeachwellsprovidebetterqualitywaterdueto lowalgaeandTDScomparedtoopenseawater
Figure8:Illustrationofwater abstraction

scwd2(2008)IntakeApproaches,RetrievedNovember12,2010from: http://www.scwd2desal.org/PageProjectComponents_IntakeApproaches.php

ParticulateScreening
Thescreengetsridofsomeoftheorganic mattersuchasalgaeandotherparticulates suchaspebbles
Figure9:Illustrationofa wirescreenonawater intake

scwd2(2008)IntakeApproaches,RetrievedNovember12,2010from: http://www.scwd2desal.org/PageProjectComponents_Intake Approaches php

Pretreatment
Variouscontaminantscanharmthemembrane,leadingto irreversibledamageassociatedwithreducedrejection capabilitiesandevendestructionofthemembrane
Figure10:Illustrationofthepretreatmentofseawater

C.Fritzmannetal.,Desalination216(2007)176

Chlorination
Preventsfoulingofthemembrane(biologicaland particulate)andactsasadisinfectantforbacteria andotherbiologics Chlorineisaddedtotherawwaterassodium hypochlorite(NaOCl)orChlorinegas,(Cl2),water hydrolyzestohypochlorousacid Cl2 +H2O>HOCl+HCl NaOCl+H2O>HOCl+NaOH

pHAdjustment
Needstobedonetopreventscaling Scalingiscausedbysupersaturationofinorganic compounds(whenitexceedstheirsolubilitylevel) concentratedonthefeedsidethatprecipitateson themembranesurfaceleavingathinlayer AcidsusedareHCl andH2SO4 Ca2++HCO3 <>H+ +CaCO3 AsH+ increases,theequilibriumfavorsthelefthand side

AdditionofCoagulantsandFlocculants
Dissolvedsolidsadsorbonhydroxidesformedand colloidalmattertoagglomerate(forminamass group) IronorAluminumsaltsareused(FeCl3,Al2(SO4)3) 2FeCI3+3Ca(HCO3)2 <>2Fe(OH)3 +3CaCl2+6CO2 Sedimentationandsandfiltrationremovethe agglomeratesfromthefeedwater

Dechloriniation
DechlorinationisdonepriortoROstagebecause residualchlorineinthefeedwatertothereverse osmosiselementdamagesthemembrane(poly amides) SodiumMetabisulfite(Na2S2O5)iscommonlyused, Na2S2O5 +H2O>2NaHSO3 2NaHSO3 +2HOCl>H2SO4 +2HCl+Na2SO4

ReverseOsmosisMembrane
Figure11:Polymersusedfor reverseosmosis

Semipermeable membranesareusedto separatesolutespresent inthesolution ROmembranesfallinto twocategories: asymmetricmembranes, andthinfilmcomposite (TFC)membranes

(G.Micale(2009), SeawaterDesalinationConventionalandRenewableEnergyResources, SpringerHeidelbergDordrechtLondonNewYork

ThinFilmCompositeMembrane
Composedofathinpolymerlayeronaporous support(polysulfone)andasupportbacking (polyestercloth)
Figure12:Illustrationofthinfilmcompositemembrane

M.E.Williams,2003,ABriefReviewofReverseOsmosisMembraneTechnology,pg19

CrossLinkedAromaticPolyamides
Crosslinkedaromatic polyamidesarethemost commonlyusedpolymer Morebeneficialthan celluloseacetate Displaysstrongerresistance tobacterialdegradation Doesnothydrolyze StableunderawiderpHof4 11comparedtoapHof4 7
Figure13:Crosslinked aromaticpolyamide

J. Roh et at. J. Mater. Chem., 2002, 12, 23342338

HowisWaterSeparated?
Thewaterinpolyamidemovesby"jumps"between weaklylocalizedsites Wateroscillatesaroundlocalizedsitesuntilevents, suchasthermalfluctuations,enableanotherjump SaltdiffusioninthepolymerdependsonbothNa+ andCl tosatisfyelectroneutrality
Figure 14: Number of molecules participating in solvating of Na+ and Cl-

M.J. Kotelyanskii et al., Journal of Membrane Science 139 (1998) 1-16

WhyDechlorination isimportantfor PAmembrane

HOCl + H2O -> H3O+ + OCl HOCl acts as a Lewis acid and therefore produces Cl+ The Cl+ attacks the aromatic ring
Figure14:Reactionofchlorinewiththepolyamidemembrane

C.J.Gabelichetal., JournalofMembraneScience258(2005)6470

TDSofPermeateAfterRO
TheTDSisgreatlyreduced
Figure 15: The concentration of ions after RO

G Migliorini, et al., Desalination 165 (2004)289-298

PostTreatment
DuetolowTDSthedrinkingwascanbeunpalatable, corrosiveandunhealthy Watermustberehardened CO2 +CaCO3 +H2O>Ca(HCO3)2
Figure16:Illustrationoftheposttreatmentprocess

C.Fritzmannetal.,,Desalination216(2007)176

DisinfectionofWater
Producedwaterisfreeof bacteriaandviruses Disinfectionisnecessary toprotectconsumers frompollutionintroduced duringdistributionand storage Chlorineisatypical chemicalusedfor disinfection

From: http://www.ionizetohealth.com/

Future
ThefutureofROistoimprovemembranestoresist fouling Vancouverisfortunatetohavereadilyavailable drinkingwater(fromsnowmeltsandrainfalls)

From: http://www.rent2010.net/i/Listing892/Olympics-2010-Ocean-View-West-Vancouver-