Membrane fouling due to scale formation of inorganic salts is a serious problem limiting the
application of Reverse Osmosis (RO) technology. In this study, a rotating RO system taking advantage of
Taylor-Couette flow instabilities was investigated to control CaSO4 scale formation. Permeate flux and
the particle concentration in bulk phase were measured under various conditions to determine the degree
to which rotation of the RO membrane improves flux. In rotating RO, flux decline due to scale formation
is much slower than in non-rotating RO. This is because the precipitate formation in rotating RO is
mostly bulk crystallization, rather than surface scale formation. Vortices in rotating RO induce bulk
crystal formation and minimize scale particle deposition on the membrane surface, thereby enhancing the
permeate flux. Vortices also lower the concentration polarization that is related to surface crystal
formation. The anti-fouling effect in rotating RO increases with the rotational speed because of increased
shear and vortices. Includes 28 references, figures.
| Edition : | Vol. - No. |
| File Size : | 1
file
, 630 KB |
| Note : | This product is unavailable in Ukraine, Russia, Belarus |
| Number of Pages : | 13 |
| Published : | 03/05/2003 |
