Author: Marc Sauchelli Toran

Mass Transport and Fouling of Novel TFC Forward Osmosis Membranes

Forward osmosis (FO) is known to be particularly efficient at treating impaired water sources with a high fouling potential. In the context of water reuse FO is being introduced as a robust pre-treatment process, usually as a first barrier prior to a reverse osmosis (RO) step. The commercialisation of FO however hinges on the development higher permeability membranes and a recent breakthrough came with the introduction of thin-film composite (TFC) membranes. While promising state-of-the-art TFC membranes have been successfully fabricated and tested at the pilot-scale, their performance in FO is yet to be determined by comprehensive characterisation under the changed, elevated transmembrane water flux conditions. In this thesis mass transport through novel TFC membranes was initially studied and modelled using two FO-only characterisation methods. Alginate fouling in novel TFC membranes was then examined under different driving forces.

Author:Marc Sauchelli Toran
Supervisor:Dr Ignasi Rodriguez-Roda and Dr Wolfgang Gernjak (ICRA)
Year:2019
University:University of Girona
Evaluation:Cum Laude
Link:http://hdl.handle.net/10803/670169