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Bench-Scale Testing of Nanofiltration for Seawater Desalination |
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| Authors: | Catherine J Harrison Yann A Le Gouellec Robert C Cheng Amy E Childress |
| Affiliation: | 1Civil Designer, CFA, Inc., Reno, NV 89502; formerly, Graduate Research Assistant, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Univ. of Nevada Reno, Reno, NV 89557-0152. 2Senior Engineer, Water Quality Division Greater Cincinnati Water Works, Cincinnati, OH 45228; formerly, Director of Research, Environmental Engineering and Technology, Newport News, VA 23606. 3Deputy General Manager, Operations, Long Beach Water Department, Long Beach, CA 90807. 4Associate Professor, Dept. of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Univ. of Nevada, Reno, Mail Stop 258, Reno, NV 89557-0152 (corresponding author). E-mail: amyec@unr.edu |
| Abstract: | A dual-staged nanofiltration process is being evaluated as an alternative to reverse osmosis for seawater desalination. The primary goal of this system is to reduce energy consumption while producing potable water at an acceptable recovery rate. Investigation of this system at the bench-scale level focused on membrane surface characterization, ion rejection (including boron, bromide, and iodide rejection), and flux decline. Results from this study showed that two commercially available nanofiltration membranes can effectively desalinate seawater. Although fouling was apparent—and resulted in approximately 20% flux decline over 3 days—a critical flux was not identifiable. Operation of the system at different cross-flow velocities revealed the significance of hydrodynamic conditions on the polarization modulus, and hence on membrane performance. |
| Keywords: | Membranes Filtration Sea water Desalination Hydrodynamics Velocity |
