(540e) Pilot-Scale Investigation of Cellulose Triacetate Hollow Fiber Forward Osmosis Membrane for Osmotic Concentration of Real Industrial Effluent

Significant volumes of wastewater are commonly generated from the operation of oil and gas industry. The treatment and volume reduction of these effluents remain a global challenge which necessitates exploring efficient water management processes. Osmotic concentration (OC), the novel low cost application of forward osmosis (FO), has captured the attention as promising process for the treatment and volume reduction of these industrial effluents. In this presentation, the performance of OC process implemented at pilot-scale level will be outlined. This work investigates the potential of concentrating 2000 mg.L^-1 process water feed solution from gas processing facilities by the effect of 40000 mg.L^-1 synthetic seawater draw solution. A commercial cellulose triacetate based membrane of hollow fiber configuration (CTA-HF) with large surface area of 31.5 m² and highly supported structure was tested. The experimental examination demonstrated the integrity and stability of the pilot-unit through a continuous operation for 50 hours. Outcomes revealed recovering and reducing the feed volume by 75% at stable water flux trend with minimal decline through the entire duration. The CTA-HF membrane achieved water permeation quantified by 1.76 L.m^-2.h^-1 (LMH) water flux. The inevitable reverse solute flow phenomenon of FO process was determined by reverse solute flux of 292 mmol.h^-1. Lastly, despite the low fouling propensity of CTA-HF membrane, the chemical cleaning of membrane succeeded in restoring the initial flux.

Funding: This work is made possible by the support of National Priorities Research Program (NPRP) grant NPRP10-0118-170191. The statements made herein are solely the responsibilities of the authors.