Osmotic pressure estimation using the Pitzer equation for forward osmosis modelling
Forward osmosis (FO) has received widespread recognition in the past decade due to its potential low energy production of water. This study presents a new model analysis for predicting the water flux in FO systems when inorganic-based draw solutions are used under variable experimental conditions for using a laboratory scale cross-flow single cell unit. The new model accounts for the adverse impact of concentration polarization (both ICP and ECP) incorporating the water activity by Pitzer to calculate the bulk osmotic pressures. Using the water activity provides a better correlation of experimental data than the classical van’t Hoff equation. The nonlinear model also gave a better estimate for the structural parameter factor (S) of the membrane in its solution. Furthermore, the temperature and concentration of both the draw and feed solutions played a significant role in increasing the water flux, which could be interpreted in terms of the mass transfer coefficient representing ECP; a factor sensitive to the hydraulics of the system. The model provides greatly improved correlations for the experimental water fluxes.
Other Information
Published in: Environmental Technology
License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
See article on publisher's website: https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09593330.2019.1575476
Funding
Open Access funding provided by the Qatar National Library.
History
Language
- English
Publisher
Taylor & FrancisPublication Year
- 2019
License statement
This Item is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.Institution affiliated with
- Hamad Bin Khalifa University
- Qatar Environment and Energy Research Institute - HBKU
- College of Science and Engineering - HBKU
- Qatar University
- College of Engineering - QU
- Gas Processing Center - CENG
- Qatar Science & Technology Park
- ConocoPhillips Water Technology Ltd QSTP-B