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Seawater Reverse Osmosis Desalination

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 January 2021) | Viewed by 52411

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Special Issue Editor

Dr. Masaru Kurihara

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Guest Editor

Toray Industries, Inc., 3-2-1 Sonoyama, Otsu, Shiga 520-0842, Japan
Interests: seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO); low-pressure seawater reverse osmosis membrane; mega-ton water system; brine conversion two-stage RO seawater desalination system; low-pressure multistage system (LMS); energy recovery device (ERD); pressure-retarded osmosis (PRO); pressure-retarded osmosis membrane; renewable solar energy; brine management and disposable option; green desalination

Special Issue Information

Dear colleagues,

Rising water demands and diminishing water supplies are exacerbating water scarcity in most world regions. Conventional approaches relying on rainfall and river runoff in water-scarce areas are no longer sufficient to meet human demands. As such, unconventional water resources, such as desalinated water, are expected to play a key role in narrowing the water demand-supply gap. Since the 1960s, there have been two main methods in the global market of desalination technology: distillation and reverse osmosis. While the competition between the two over the decades has been fierce, today, seawater desalination with reverse osmosis (SWRO) has managed to overtake distillation as the main or only technology across the world.

As a direct result of global trends, especially in Middle Eastern countries, super large plants—i.e., mega-SWRO plants (mega-ton per day size)—are required. The requirements for sustainable SWRO desalination as green desalination for the 21 century are to establish (1) energy saving, (2) a low environmental impact, (3) reliable plant operation, and a (4) low water production cost.

In this context, this Special Issue welcomes full research articles and review manuscripts that will make considerable contributions in the following topics:

Energy resources: renewable solar energy, energy recovery device;
Seawater RO systems: advanced low-pressure poly amide membrane, hybrid polyamide membrane, advanced SWRO system, two-stage SWRO system, forward osmosis and SWRO;
Innovation and development in the brine management and disposal options: green desalination, no chemical plant operation, bio fouling monitoring technology, pressure retarded osmosis and SWRO, high pressure resistant RO membrane (HPRO), membrane distillation, forward osmosis.

Dr. Masaru Kurihara
Guest Editor

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Published Papers (10 papers)

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Editorial

Jump to: Research, Review

3 pages, 159 KiB

Open AccessEditorial

Seawater Reverse Osmosis Desalination

by Masaru Kurihara

Membranes 2021, 11(4), 243; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes11040243 - 29 Mar 2021

Cited by 21 | Viewed by 4719

Abstract

In finalizing this Special Issue “Seawater Reverse Osmosis Desalination”, I would like to express our sincere appreciation to the authors for their contribution of articles and reviews [...] Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Seawater Reverse Osmosis Desalination)

Research

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22 pages, 3935 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Comparison of Pressure-Retarded Osmosis Performance between Pilot-Scale Cellulose Triacetate Hollow-Fiber and Polyamide Spiral-Wound Membrane Modules

by Yuriko Kakihana, Nora Jullok, Masafumi Shibuya, Yuki Ikebe and Mitsuru Higa

Membranes 2021, 11(3), 177; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes11030177 - 28 Feb 2021

Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2658

Abstract

Pressure-retarded osmosis (PRO) has recently received attention because of its ability to generate power via an osmotic pressure gradient between two solutions with different salinities: high- and low-salinity water sources. In this study, PRO performance, using the two pilot-scale PRO membrane modules with different configurations—five-inch cellulose triacetate hollow-fiber membrane module (CTA-HF) and eight-inch polyamide spiral-wound membrane modules (PA-SW)—was evaluated by changing the draw solution (DS) concentration, applied hydrostatic pressure difference, and the flow rates of DS and feed solution (FS), to obtain the optimum operating conditions in PRO configuration. The maximum power density per unit membrane area of PA-SW at 0.6 M NaCl was 1.40 W/m² and 2.03-fold higher than that of CTA-HF, due to the higher water permeability coefficient of PA-SW. In contrast, the maximum power density per unit volume of CTA-SW at 0.6 M NaCl was 4.67 kW/m³ and 6.87-fold higher than that of PA-SW. The value of CTA-HF increased to 13.61 kW/m³ at 1.2 M NaCl and was 12.0-fold higher than that of PA-SW because of the higher packing density of CTA-HF. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Seawater Reverse Osmosis Desalination)

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15 pages, 1439 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Assessing Pretreatment Effectiveness for Particulate, Organic and Biological Fouling in a Full-Scale SWRO Desalination Plant

by Almotasembellah Abushaban, Sergio G. Salinas-Rodriguez, Delia Pastorelli, Jan C. Schippers, Subhanjan Mondal, Said Goueli and Maria D. Kennedy

Membranes 2021, 11(3), 167; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes11030167 - 27 Feb 2021

Cited by 17 | Viewed by 5717

Abstract

In this study, the removal of particulate, organic and biological fouling potential was investigated in the two-stage dual media filtration (DMF) pretreatment of a full-scale seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) desalination plant. Moreover, the removal of fouling potential in two-stage DMF (DMF pretreatment) was compared with the removal in two-stage DMF installed after dissolved air floatation (DAF) (DAF-DMF pretreatment). For this purpose, the silt density index (SDI), modified fouling index (MFI), bacterial growth potential (BGP), organic fractions and microbial adenosine triphosphate (ATP) were monitored in the pretreatment processes of two full-scale SWRO plants. Particulate fouling potential was well controlled through the two stages of DMF with significant removal of SDI15 (>80%), MFI0.45 (94%) and microbial ATP (>95%). However, lower removal of biological/organic fouling potential (24–41%) was observed due to frequent chlorination (weekly) of the pretreatment, resulting in low biological activity in the DMFs. Therefore, neutralizing chlorine before media filtration is advised, rather than after, as is the current practice in many full-scale SWRO plants. Comparing overall removal in the DAF-DMF pretreatment to that of the DMF pretreatment showed that DAF improved the removal of biological/organic fouling potential, in which the removal of BGP and biopolymers increased by 40% and 16%, respectively. Overall, monitoring ATP and BGP during the pretreatment processes, particularly in DMF, would be beneficial to enhance biological degradation and lower biofouling potential in SWRO feed water. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Seawater Reverse Osmosis Desalination)

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13 pages, 4305 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Reliable Sea Water Ro Operation with High Water Recovery and No-Chlorine/No-Sbs Dosing in Arabian Gulf, Saudi Arabia

by Hiroki Miyakawa, Mohammed Maghram Al Shaiae, Troy N. Green, Yohito Ito, Yuichi Sugawara, Makoto Onishi, Yoshinari Fusaoka, Mohammed Farooque Ayumantakath and Ahmed Saleh Al Amoudi

Membranes 2021, 11(2), 141; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes11020141 - 17 Feb 2021

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 3714

Abstract

For providing advanced desalination the combination of the improvement of water recovery ratio in the reverse osmosis (RO) process and the No-Chlorine/No-Sodium Bisulfite (SBS) Dosing process was studied. In order to prevent membrane fouling even in high recovery water operations, an advanced two-stage design was implemented to (1) control the permeate flux through the RO membrane module, (2) optimize the system to reduce contaminant build-up and (3) eliminate the use of chlorine and SBS, which can accelerate membrane fouling. The system was evaluated by monitoring the biofouling and the microorganisms proliferation on the membrane surface based on membrane biofilm formation rate (mBFR). The pilot plant was operated in the condition of a water recovery rate of 55%. As a result, the system was operated for longer than four months without membrane cleaning (clean in place; CIP) and the possibility of operation for seven months without CIP was confirmed by the extrapolation of the pressure values. In addition, the mBFR is a reliable tool for water quality assessment, based on a comparison between the fouling tendency estimated from the mBFR and the actual membrane surface condition from autopsy study and the effectiveness No-Chlorine/No-SBS Dosing process was verified from mBFR of pretreated seawater. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Seawater Reverse Osmosis Desalination)

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15 pages, 2342 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Measuring Biofouling Potential in SWRO Plants with a Flow-Cytometry-Based Bacterial Growth Potential Method

by Nirajan Dhakal, Sergio G. Salinas-Rodriguez, Joshua Ampah, Jan C. Schippers and Maria D. Kennedy

Membranes 2021, 11(2), 76; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes11020076 - 20 Jan 2021

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 3636

Abstract

Measuring the bacterial growth potential of seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) feed water is an issue that is receiving growing attention. This study developed and demonstrated the applicability of the flow-cytometry (FCM)-based bacterial growth potential (BGP) method to assess the biofouling potential in SWRO systems using natural microbial consortium. This method is relatively fast (2–3 days) compared to conventional bioassays. The effect of the potential introduction of nutrients during measurement has been studied thoroughly to achieve the lowest measure value of about 45,000 cells/mL, which is equivalent to about (10 µg-C glucose/L). The BGP method was applied in two full-scale SWRO plants that included (i) dissolved air flotation (DAF) and ultra-filtration (UF); (ii) dual-media filtration (DMF) and cartridge filter (CF), which were compared with the cleaning frequency of the plants. A significant reduction (54%) in BGP was observed through DAF–UF as pre-treatment (with 0.5 mg Fe³⁺/L), while there was a 40% reduction by DMF–CF (with 0.8 mg Fe³⁺/L). In terms of the absolute number, the SWRO feed water after DAF–UF supports 1.5 × 10⁶ cells/mL, which is 1.25 times higher than after DMF–CF. This corresponds to the higher cleaning-in-place (CIP) frequency of SWRO with DAF–UF compared to DMF–CF as pre-treatment, indicating that the BGP method has an added value in monitoring the biofouling potential in SWRO systems. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Seawater Reverse Osmosis Desalination)

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14 pages, 3830 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Commercial Pressure Retarded Osmosis Systems for Seawater Desalination Plants

by Ryo Makabe, Tetsuro Ueyama, Hideyuki Sakai and Akihiko Tanioka

Membranes 2021, 11(1), 69; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes11010069 - 19 Jan 2021

Cited by 18 | Viewed by 5284

Abstract

The development of renewable energy technologies is of global importance. To realize a sustainable society, fossil-resource-independent technologies, such as solar- and wind-power generation, should be widely adopted. Pressure retarded osmosis (PRO) is one such potential renewable energy technology. PRO requires salt water and fresh water, both of which can be found at seawater desalination plants. The total power generation capacity of PRO, using concentrated seawater and fresh water, is 3 GW. A large amount of energy is required for seawater desalination; therefore, the introduction of renewable energy should be prioritized. Kyowakiden Industry Co., Ltd., has been working on introducing PRO to seawater desalination plants since 2001 and is attracting attention for its ongoing PRO pilot plant with a scale of 460 m³/d, using concentrated seawater and treated sewage water. In this study, we evaluated the feasibility of introducing PRO in existing desalination plants. The feasibility was examined based on technology, operation, and economy. Based on the number of seawater desalination plants in each country and the electricity charges, it was determined whether the introduction of PRO would be viable. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Seawater Reverse Osmosis Desalination)

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15 pages, 1533 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Monitoring Biofouling Potential Using ATP-Based Bacterial Growth Potential in SWRO Pre-Treatment of a Full-Scale Plant

by Almotasembellah Abushaban, Sergio G. Salinas-Rodriguez, Moses Kapala, Delia Pastorelli, Jan C. Schippers, Subhanjan Mondal, Said Goueli and Maria D. Kennedy

Membranes 2020, 10(11), 360; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes10110360 - 21 Nov 2020

Cited by 16 | Viewed by 5262

Abstract

Several potential growth methods have been developed to monitor biological/organic fouling potential in seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO), but to date the correlation between these methods and biofouling of SWRO has not been demonstrated. In this research, the relation between a new adenosine triphosphate (ATP)-based bacterial growth potential (BGP) test of SWRO feed water and SWRO membrane performance is investigated. For this purpose, the pre-treatment of a full-scale SWRO plant including dissolved air flotation (DAF) and two stage dual media filtration (DMF) was monitored for 5 months using BGP, orthophosphate, organic fractions by liquid chromatography coupled with organic carbon detection (LC-OCD), silt density index (SDI), and modified fouling index (MFI). Results showed that particulate fouling potential was well controlled through the SWRO pre-treatment as the measured SDI and MFI in the SWRO feed water were below the recommended values. DAF in combination with coagulation (1–5 mg-Fe³⁺/L) consistently achieved 70% removal of orthophosphate, 50% removal of BGP, 25% removal of biopolymers, and 10% removal of humic substances. Higher BGP (100–950 µg-C/L) in the SWRO feed water corresponded to a higher normalized pressure drop in the SWRO, suggesting the applicability of using BGP as a biofouling indicator in SWRO systems. However, to validate this conclusion, more SWRO plants with different pre-treatment systems need to be monitored for longer periods of time. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Seawater Reverse Osmosis Desalination)

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Review

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18 pages, 12534 KiB

Open AccessReview

Progress and Perspectives of Desalination in China

by Guoling Ruan, Min Wang, Zihan An, Guorong Xu, Yunhong Ge and Heli Zhao

Membranes 2021, 11(3), 206; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes11030206 - 15 Mar 2021

Cited by 20 | Viewed by 6056

Abstract

In recent decades, the ever-growing demands for clean water in households and industries have urged researchers to take every possible step to deal with the global water crisis. Seawater desalination has turned out to be the most promising and efficient way to provide clean water. Owing to the advancement of synthetic chemistries and technologies, great success has been achieved in the desalination and utilization of seawater worldwide. China, with the world’s largest population, has pushed the development of desalination and multipurpose utilization of seawater further in respect of materials, technologies and services, etc. This review reports recent progress of desalination technologies accomplished in China, from the viewpoints of facilities and equipment, collaborations, technologies, applications, research abilities, services, and standard systems. Inspired by the Fourteenth Five-year Plan, it also proposes future perspectives of desalination in China. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Seawater Reverse Osmosis Desalination)

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29 pages, 8152 KiB

Open AccessReview

Cellulose Triacetate (CTA) Hollow-Fiber (HF) Membranes for Sustainable Seawater Desalination: A Review

by Takahito Nakao, Yuki Miura, Kenji Furuichi and Masahiro Yasukawa

Membranes 2021, 11(3), 183; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes11030183 - 8 Mar 2021

Cited by 20 | Viewed by 6131

Abstract

Cellulose triacetate (CTA)-based hollow fiber (HF) membrane is one of the commercially successful semipermeable membranes that has had a long progress since the time the excellent semi-permeable feature of cellulose-based polymers was found in 1957. Because of the reliable and excellent performances, especially for drinking water production from seawater, CTA-HFs have been widely used as reverse osmosis (RO) membranes, especially in arid regions. In this review, recent developments and research trends on CTA-HF membranes for seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) plants were presented. A flux analytical model, an optimization strategy for chlorine injection without losing salt rejection performance, and a module of current high performance CTA RO membranes along with its plant operation data were updated in this paper. Furthermore, a newly developed CTA-HF membrane for brine concentration (BC) application (called BC membrane) was also addressed. Finally, RO/BC hybrid operation was introduced as an effective SWRO desalination technique that enables minimizing the volume of brine disposal from the RO plant by increasing the recovery ratio and the subsequent amount of produced freshwater, without an additional energy input. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Seawater Reverse Osmosis Desalination)

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20 pages, 4037 KiB

Open AccessReview

Advanced Technologies for Stabilization and High Performance of Seawater RO Membrane Desalination Plants

by Hiroo Takabatake, Masahide Taniguchi and Masaru Kurihara

Membranes 2021, 11(2), 138; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes11020138 - 16 Feb 2021

Cited by 27 | Viewed by 7234

Abstract

Seawater desalination plants that use reverse osmosis (RO) membranes have become a core part of social infrastructure, and should be designed to meet the needs of product water quality and production capacity, while considering various environmental factors such as the seawater quality, temperature and geographical features. Furthermore, stable operation while overcoming various problems should be achieved alongside the increasing demands for energy saving and cost reduction. As no universal plant apparatus and operation technology meets these various requirements, the plants need to be customized for individual solutions. This paper reviews and summarizes the proven technologies, including their advantages/disadvantages, and points to cutting-edge technologies related to the design and operation maintenance of seawater intake, pre-treatment and the RO desalination process. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Seawater Reverse Osmosis Desalination)

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