DESALINATION OF BRACKISH WATER BY REVERSE OSMOSIS

Abstract

Reverse-Osmosis is one of the widely accepted membrane separation process due to its economical operation and better product quality. It is a pressure driVen separation process where desalted water is separated from salty solution through a semi-permeable membrane. The present study deals with fitting of some of the transport models in the reverse osmosis experimental data available in literature for cellulose-acetate type of membrane. The experimental data which are available as a function of pressure, concentration and pure water permeability constant are applied in some.of the solute transport models. The trend of the solute separation parameter (f) obtained by Kimura-Sourirajan Model and Solubility-Diffusion Model is very much in close agreement with experimental data in their nature and magnitude. Kimura-Sourirajan Model is able to explain salt rejection/ separation to a greater extent in the studied membranes. In the present study efforts have been made to modify Sieve Transport Models considering variation in the concentration of solute at the membrane surface and size of the pores. The modified model has been found to be effective in predicting the solute separation to a better extent