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Recent studies report high concentrations of haloacetic acids (HAAs), a prevalent class of toxic disinfection by-products, in swimming pool water (SPW). We investigated the removal of 9 HAAs by four commercial reverse osmosis (RO) and nanofiltration (NF) membranes. Under typical SPW conditions (pH 7.5 and 50 mM ionic strength), HAA rejections were >60% for NF270 with molecular weight cut-off (MWCO) equal to 266 Da and equal or higher than 90% for XLE, NF90 and SB50 with MWCOs of 96, 118 and 152 Da, respectively, as a result of the combined effects of size exclusion and charge repulsion. We further included 7 neutral hydrophilic surrogates as molecular probes to resolve the rejection mechanisms. In the absence of strong electrostatic interaction (e.g., pH 3.5), the rejection data of HAAs and surrogates by various membranes fall onto an identical size-exclusion (SE) curve when plotted against the relative-size parameter, i.e., the ratio of molecular radius over membrane pore radius. The independence of this SE curve on molecular structures and membrane properties reveals that the relative-size parameter is a more fundamental SE descriptor compared to molecular weight. An effective molecular size with the Stokes radius accounting for size exclusion and the Debye length accounting for electrostatic interaction was further used to evaluate the rejection. The current study provides valuable insights on the rejection of trace contaminants by RO/NF membranes., (Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

We report a study to explore new materials and a new concept for temperature driven quasi-continuous desalination using hydrogels as draw agents in forward osmosis (FO). This concept is enabled by the design and preparation of thermally responsive hydrogels having a semi-interpenetrating network (semi-IPN) structure. Thermally responsive semi-IPN hydrogels were synthesized by polymerization of N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAm) in the presence of polysodium acrylate (PSA) or polyvinyl alcohol (PVA). Their functions as draw agents in FO were systematically studied and compared with hydrogels prepared from the PNIPAm homopolymer or the NIPAM-SA copolymer. While the semi-IPN hydrogels displayed the desirable balanced thermally responsive swelling and dewatering behavior, the NIPAm-SA copolymer hydrogels were found to have poor dewatering behavior, making them unsuitable for a continuous temperature driven desalination process. At 40 °C, the semi-IPN hydrogels rapidly release nearly 100% of the water absorbed during the FO drawing process carried out at room temperature. Results clearly indicate the potential of semi-IPN hydrogels as semi-solid draw agents in the FO process, in which quasi-continuous desalination could be achieved by cyclic heating and cooling within a moderate temperature change., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

This research focused on combined organic-inorganic fouling and cleaning studies of forward osmosis (FO) membranes. Various organic/inorganic model foulants such as sodium alginate, bovine serum albumin (BSA) and silica nanoparticles were applied to polyamide-polyethersulfone FO hollow fiber membranes fabricated in our laboratory. In order to understand all possible interactions, experiments were performed with a single foulant as well as combinations of foulants. Experimental results suggested that the degree of FO membrane fouling could be promoted by synergistic effect of organic foulants, the presence of divalent cations, low cross-flow velocity and high permeation drag force. The water flux of fouled FO hollow fibers could be fully restored by simple physical cleaning. It was also found that hydrodynamic regime played an important role in combined organic-inorganic fouling of FO membranes., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

This study provides a novel method to enhance boron removal in a forward osmosis (FO) process. It utilizes the reverse solute diffusion (RSD) of ions from alkaline draw solutions (DSs) and the concentration polarization of the hydroxyl ions to create a highly alkaline environment near the membrane active surface. The results show that boron rejection can be significantly enhanced by increasing the pH of NaCl DS to 12.5 in the active-layer-facing-feed-solution (AL-FS) orientation. The effect of RSD enhanced boron rejection was further promoted in the presence of concentration polarization (e.g., in the active-layer-facing-draw-solution (AL-DS) orientation). The current study opens a new dimension for controlling contaminant removal by FO using tailored DS chemistry, where the RSD-induced localized water chemistry change is taken advantage in contrast to the conventional method of chemical dosing to the bulk feed water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Thermo-responsive amphiphilic copolymers show high feasibility as FO draw solute. • Key properties of the copolymers used as draw solute strongly depend on their PEO segments. • The copolymers demonstrate a great stability after multiple cycles of regeneration. • Pluronic® L35 DS at 65% can concentrate a SWRO brine at a FO flux of 1.22 L m‒2 h‒1. • Copolymer induced fouling shows insignificant effect on FO with high-salinity feeds. Recently, thermo-responsive nonionic amphiphilic copolymers have shown a great potential as forward osmosis (FO) draw solutes for high-salinity water desalination and zero-liquid discharge (ZLD). However, the relationship between the copolymer structural properties and key characteristics as draw solutes, as well as copolymer's chemical stability after regeneration have not been much studied. In this work, we systematically investigated poly (ethylene oxide)- block -poly (propylene oxide)- block -poly (ethylene oxide) (PEO-PPO-PEO) copolymers as draw solute. The results showed that the PEO segments significantly influenced the viscosity, osmotic pressure and lowest phase separation temperature of the copolymer aqueous solutions. Among four commercial copolymers studied, Pluronic® L35 with moderate molecular weight (Mn 1,900 Da), 50% PEO, and relatively high hydrophilic-lipophilic balance (HLB) showed the best draw solution (DS) performance. It also showed great stability in physiochemical properties and draw capacity after more than ten cycles of regeneration. On the other hand, despite the fact that membrane fouling was observed due to the use of copolymer DS, the FO flux (∼1.2 L m‒2 h‒1, as similar with the virgin membrane) was not affected when high-salinity feedwater such as seawater RO brine was applied. Overall, our study has provided a more comprehensive understanding on the characteristics of nonionic amphiphilic copolymer DS and showcased the promise of copolymer-driven FO process in high-salinity water desalination and ZLD. [Display omitted]. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]