Simulation Study of Reverse Osmosis Membrane for Seawater Desalination

Abstract

Seawater desalination can be applied in Malaysia to overcome water supply issues which majorly due to water pollution. The desalination using membrane technology highly depends on the design of the membrane, operating conditions of the process, and the feed characteristics of the seawater. The aim of this research is to identify the effect of these factors on the performance of the reverse osmosis membrane in desalinating seawater in Malaysia. The simulation study is conducted by using the IMS Design program. The reverse osmosis (RO) membrane process that consists of three membrane stages arranged in series is designed accordingly. The effect of operating temperature, feed concentration, feed pH, and membrane stages on the salt rejection and permeate flux are evaluated. As a result, an increase in temperature and feed concentration reduces the salt rejection percentage, while increasing the permeate flux. However, there is no significant effect of feed pH on the salt rejection percentage and permeate flux since the type of membrane used is able to operate in a wide pH range. Lastly, the four stages membrane increases the permeate recovery and permeate flux but reduces the percentage of salt rejection.