Advancement in Engineering Osmosis (EO)

A special issue of Membranes (ISSN 2077-0375). This special issue belongs to the section "Membrane Processing and Engineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 July 2021) | Viewed by 4270

Special Issue Editors

Singapore Membrane Technol Ctr, Nanyang Environm & Water Res Inst, Nanyang Technol Univ, Singapore 637141, Singapore
Interests: membrane technology; wastewater treatment; desalination; osmotically driven membrane processes; membrane characterization; membrane foluling mitigation; composite membrane
The Lubrizol Corporation, Cleveland, OH 44141, USA
Interests: interfacial polymerization and NF, RO membranes; membrane assisted solvent extraction; forward osmosis; membrane separations and water treatment (membrane fabrication, characterization, and applications); bioinspired and biomimetic membranes; removal of algal toxins using membranes; surface modification of thin film and hollow fiber membranes
School of Ecology and Environment, Northwestern Polytechnical University, 1 Dongxiang Road, Chang'an District, Xi'an 710129, China
Interests: novel membrane development for water and wastewater treatment; forward Osmosis and reverse osmosis membranes in seawater desalination and water resource utilization and recovery
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Singapore Membrane Technology Centre (SMTC), Nanyang Environment and Water Research Institute (NEWRI), Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 637141, Singapore
Interests: carbon nanoarchitectonics; advanced functional nanomaterials; nanocomposite membranes; gas separation; water treatment; hollow fiber membranes
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Engineering osmosis (EO) processes include forward osmosis (FO), pressure-assisted osmosis (PAO), pressure-retarded osmosis (PRO) and integrative processes incorporating various osmotically driven processes. EO uses osmotic pressure gradient across a semi-permeable membrane to drive water molecules to permeate through the membrane and achieve separation of water from dissolved solutes.

EO is highly compelling for many complex feed solutions, including industrial water, seawater, nutrient-rich liquid streams, activated sludge, wastewater effluents, simulated wastewaters, and even nuclear wastewaters. Also, EO is versatile and can be integrated with other membrane or non-membrane technologies to reduce total energy consumption or to realize zero liquid discharge.

Despite the various benefits of EO, its successful industrial application depends largely on developing high-performance membranes, selecting right draw solutes, optimizing operating conditions, improving long term stability and validating the economic-energy competitiveness of the technology. 

This Special Issue aims to provide a comprehensive coverage on the recent developments in EO processes. The topics include, but are not limited to, membrane fabrications, novel draw solutes, system designs, fouling control, membrane transport and process modeling, up-scaling demonstrations, and (techno)economic reviews. We welcome all interested authors to submit your original articles, reviews and perspectives on any of the topics above.

Dr. Yining Wang
Dr. Miao Tian
Dr. Kunli Goh
Dr. Priyesh A. Wagh
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Membranes is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Forward osmosis (FO)
  • Pressure-retarded osmosis (PRO)
  • Pressure-assisted osmosis (PAO)
  • Membrane fabrication
  • Membrane module design
  • Novel membrane
  • Draw solutes
  • Membrane fouling
  • Transport modeling
  • Process modeling
  • (Techno)economic review

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

14 pages, 5596 KiB  
Article
Towards a High Rejection Desalination Membrane: The Confined Growth of Polyamide Nanofilm Induced by Alkyl-Capped Graphene Oxide
by Biqin Wu, Na Zhang, Mengling Zhang, Shuhao Wang, Xiaoxiao Song, Yong Zhou, Saren Qi and Congjie Gao
Membranes 2021, 11(7), 488; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/membranes11070488 - 29 Jun 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2118
Abstract
In this paper, we used an octadecylamine functionalized graphene oxide (ODA@GO) to induce the confined growth of a polyamide nanofilm in the organic and aqueous phase during interfacial polymerization (IP). The ODA@GO, fully dispersed in the organic phase, was applied as a physical [...] Read more.
In this paper, we used an octadecylamine functionalized graphene oxide (ODA@GO) to induce the confined growth of a polyamide nanofilm in the organic and aqueous phase during interfacial polymerization (IP). The ODA@GO, fully dispersed in the organic phase, was applied as a physical barrier to confine the amine diffusion and therefore limiting the IP reaction close to the interface. The morphology and crosslinking degree of the PA nanofilm could be controlled by doping different amounts of ODA@GO (therefore adjusting the diffusion resistance). At standard seawater desalination conditions (32,000 ppm NaCl, ~55 bar), the flux of the resultant thin film nanocomposite (TFN) membrane reached 59.6 L m−2 h−1, which was approximately 17% more than the virgin TFC membrane. Meanwhile, the optimal salt rejection at seawater conditions (i.e., 32,000 ppm NaCl) achieved 99.6%. Concurrently, the boron rejection rate was also elevated by 13.3% compared with the TFC membrane without confined growth. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advancement in Engineering Osmosis (EO))
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18 pages, 2656 KiB  
Article
Impact of Forward Osmosis Operating Pressure on Deformation, Efficiency and Concentration Polarisation with Novel Links to CFD
by Alexander J. Charlton, Gaetan Blandin, Greg Leslie and Pierre Le-Clech
Membranes 2021, 11(3), 161; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/membranes11030161 - 26 Feb 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1612
Abstract
Forward osmosis (FO) modules currently suffer from performance efficiency limitations due to concentration polarisation (CP), as well as pressure drops during operation. There are incentives to further reduce CP effects, as well as optimise spacer design for pressure drop improvements and mechanical support. [...] Read more.
Forward osmosis (FO) modules currently suffer from performance efficiency limitations due to concentration polarisation (CP), as well as pressure drops during operation. There are incentives to further reduce CP effects, as well as optimise spacer design for pressure drop improvements and mechanical support. In this study, the effects of applying transmembrane pressure (TMP) on FO membrane deformation and the subsequent impact on module performance was investigated by comparing experimental data to 3D computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations for three commercial FO modules. At a TMP of 1.5 bar the occlusion of the draw-channel induced by longitudinal pressure hydraulic drop was comparable for the Toray (16%) and HTI modules (12%); however, the hydraulic perimeter of the Profiera module was reduced by 46%. CFD simulation of the occluded channels indicated that a change in hydraulic perimeter due to a 62% increase in shear strain resulted in a 31% increase in the Reynolds number. This reduction in channel dimensions enhanced osmotic efficiency by reducing CP via improved draw-channel hydrodynamics, which significantly disrupted the external concentration polarization (ECP) layer. Furthermore, simulations indicated that the Reynolds number experienced only modest increases with applied TMP and that shear strain at the membrane surface was found to be the most important factor when predicting flux performance enhancement, which varied between the different modules. This work suggests that a numerical approach to assess the effects of draw-spacers on pressure drop and CP can optimize and reduce investment in the design and validation of FO module designs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advancement in Engineering Osmosis (EO))
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