Review
Engineering, Chemical
Ralph Rolly Gonzales, Ahmed Abdel-Wahab, Samer Adham, Dong Suk Han, Sherub Phuntsho, Wafa Suwaileh, Nidal Hilal, Ho Kyong Shon
Summary: Pressure retarded osmosis (PRO) has gained attention as a membrane process for generating energy from salinity gradients. Despite advancements, challenges remain in membrane performance, implementation, and commercialization efforts for PRO technology.
Review
Engineering, Chemical
L. Burlace, P. A. Davies
Summary: This paper introduces the recent progress in batch reverse osmosis technology and reviews the fouling phenomena, while analyzing the specific flow characteristics in batch reverse osmosis and their effects on fouling.
DESALINATION AND WATER TREATMENT
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Mokhtar Guizani, Ryusei Ito, Takato Matsuda
Summary: This study investigated the reduction of FO membrane fouling during the concentration of cows' urine. Cleaning methods such as membrane washing, osmotic backwash, and chemical cleaning were compared for their permeability recovery effects. The foulants on the membrane surface were mainly sugars and proteins, and could be effectively removed by washing with de-ionized water and osmotic backwash. Soaking the membrane in a solution of NaClO proved to be an effective method for removing foulants absorbed inside the membrane.
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Muhammad Tawalbeh, Amani Al-Othman, Noun Abdelwahab, Abdul Hai Alami, Abdul Ghani Olabi
Summary: Mixing streams of different salinities releases Gibbs free energy that can be converted to electricity through pressure retarded osmosis (PRO). However, technical issues such as water transport in membranes, membrane material, fouling, process efficiency, and techno-economic viability pose challenges to its implementation. Process parameters directly impact the efficiency and power density of PRO, and improvements in PRO membranes are crucial for maximizing its potential benefits.
RENEWABLE & SUSTAINABLE ENERGY REVIEWS
(2021)
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Hyunsu Lee, Sung-Ju Im, Hyeonho Lee, Chang-Min Kim, Am Jang
Summary: The study found that calcium ions aggravate organic fouling and ion exchange plays a crucial role in the cleaning mechanism of salt cleaning and osmotic backwash. Osmotic backwash demonstrates higher cleaning efficiency compared to salt cleaning, mainly due to the synergistic effect of backwash flux and ion exchange in removing fouling structure on the membrane surface.
Article
Green & Sustainable Science & Technology
Sanghun Park, Moon Son, Jaegyu Shim, Kwanho Jeong, Kyung Hwa Cho
Summary: This study compared chemical cleaning with OBW-assisted chemical cleaning for removing organic fouling from reverse osmosis membranes. The use of OBW increased the water permeability coefficient of the fouled membrane, improving water flux by up to 10.8%. In-situ monitoring revealed that pore generation below the fouling layer helped to dissociate the fouling layer and facilitated rapid encounter between the cleaning agent and foulants. Characterization of the fouled membrane showed that applying OBW before chemical cleaning enhanced membrane cleaning efficiency.
JOURNAL OF CLEANER PRODUCTION
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Elham Abbasi-Garravand, Catherine N. Mulligan
Summary: The impact of temperature on the power density and fouling in a PRO system using industrial semi-permeable membranes was investigated, showing that low temperature electricity generation using PRO processes is feasible.
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Jaehyun Ju, Yongjun Choi, Sangho Lee, Namjo Jeong
Summary: This study compared the power density and fouling potential of reverse electrodialysis (RED) and pressure retarded osmosis (PRO) processes using various low salinity (LS) solutions and high salinity (HS) solutions. Results showed that PRO had higher power density than RED under non-fouling conditions, but the loss of power density due to fouling was smaller in RED.
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Nahawand AlZainati, Haleema Saleem, Ali Altaee, Syed Javaid Zaidi, Marwa Mohsen, Alaa Hawari, Graeme J. Millar
Summary: The PRO process harnesses renewable energy from salinity gradient resources, highlighting the challenge of finding a suitable commercial membrane. The research demonstrates the potential and applications of the PRO process.
JOURNAL OF WATER PROCESS ENGINEERING
(2021)
Article
Energy & Fuels
Elizabeth I. Obode, Ahmed Badreldin, Samer Adham, Marcelo Castier, Ahmed Abdel-Wahab
Summary: This study evaluates the techno-economic feasibility of the pressure retarded osmosis (PRO) technology for electricity generation using the salinity gradient between two water bodies. The use of improved membranes reduces the Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE) to USD 0.0704/kWh, compared to USD 0.1255/kWh with commercial membranes. However, with current membrane properties and mechanical equipment, a single-stage PRO process is not cost-competitive with other renewable energy sources.
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Sigurdur John Einarsson, Lingxue Guan, Lee Nuang Sim, Tzyy Haur Chong, Bing Wu
Summary: In this study, the performance of pressure-retarded osmosis (PRO) using NaHCO3-enriched geothermal water and geothermal brine was examined. The results showed that increasing the draw solution temperature improved water flux without compromising reverse salt flux, leading to lower salt-to-water flux ratios compared to NaCl-based solutions. Physical cleaning methods were found to be more effective than chemical cleaning methods in terms of permeability recovery ratio and foulant morphology. The presence of Ca2+ in the draw solution resulted in a significant drop in water flux and reverse flux decrease due to the formation of a dense fouling layer. The water flux in PRO using geothermal brine as the draw solution was influenced by ionic compositions rather than pH levels.
JOURNAL OF WATER PROCESS ENGINEERING
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Jason T. Arena, Kevin K. Reimund, Jeffrey R. McCutcheon
Summary: The study examines the impacts of selectivity and compaction on the performance of pressure retarded osmosis using a modified thin film composite RO membrane. It was found that experimentally measured power densities for the highest selectivity membranes were less than 50% of predicted ideal values due to compaction. Interestingly, the membranes with the highest selectivity exhibited the highest power densities despite being the least permeable.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Dan Li, Zijing Mo, Qianhong She
Summary: In this study, a more scalable batch PRO called atmospheric batch PRO (AB-PRO) was proposed, which utilizes an atmospheric tank and a pressure exchanger to improve efficiency compared to single-stage PRO (SS-PRO). The results show that under ideal conditions, AB-PRO approaches the thermodynamic maximum energy production, but when considering inefficiencies, there is a significant reduction in efficiency. Nonetheless, AB-PRO is still superior to SS-PRO at low water recoveries and maintains a stable energy efficiency at various recoveries.
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Ebrahim Hosseinipour, Ellie Harris, Hossam A. El Nazer, Yasser M. A. Mohamed, Philip A. Davies
Summary: Batch RO desalination is a new approach to high-recovery, energy-efficient desalination. It has been mainly tested with pure sodium chloride solutions. An important application of batch RO is the desalination of brackish groundwater containing sparingly soluble salts.
Article
Energy & Fuels
Jiacheng Xu, Yingzong Liang, Xianglong Luo, Jianyong Chen, Zhi Yang, Ying Chen
Summary: Pressure-retarded osmosis is a promising technique for generating energy by recovering salinity gradient from high concentration effluents. This study proposes a novel method for optimizing the modules layout of a multi-stream PRO system, resulting in improved energy recovery efficiency.
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Kinnari M. Shah, Elizabeth Dach, Robert Winton, Hanqing Fan, Ngai Yin Yip
Summary: This study investigates the influence of temperature on the equilibrium partitioning of water, salt, and solvent in temperature swing solvent extraction (TSSE) desalination. The findings reveal a tradeoff between selectivity and productivity and provide a new framework for evaluating TSSE performance. Salt is shown to be a key factor in the partitioning process, affecting the ability of the solvent to extract water at lower temperatures and causing the amines to separate from the aqueous phase. Na+ and Clions are consistently distributed into the solvent phase in equimolar ratios. Furthermore, the study establishes a linear correlation between the natural logarithms of salt activity coefficients and water contents in the organic phase. These results suggest that water-ion interactions are more important than amine-ion interactions in the organic phase, addressing a critical knowledge gap in salt transport understanding.
Article
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Boreum Lee, Li Wang, Zhangxin Wang, Nathanial J. Cooper, Menachem Elimelech
Summary: Climate change directly affects energy consumption, water availability, and agricultural production. To achieve carbon neutrality, emerging technologies have been proposed, but their feasibility needs to be assessed through process modeling and techno-economic analysis.
ENERGY & ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Xiaoxiong Wang, Tong Wang, Tianyuan Zhang, Lea R. Winter, Jinghan Di, Qingshi Tu, Hongying Hu, Edgar Hertwich, Julie B. Zimmerman, Menachem Elimelech
Summary: Conventional phototrophic cultivation for micro-algae production lacks efficiency due to limited light transmission. In contrast, the use of cellulosic hydrolysate offers a cost-effective and sustainable method for heterotrophic cultivation, resulting in high algal growth rate. Techno-economic analysis and life cycle assessment show that cellulosic hydrolysate-mediated heterotrophic cultivation is competitive with phototrophic cultivation, with the added benefit of reducing environmental impacts and producing high-value co-products. This study demonstrates the economic and environmental feasibility of heterotrophic microalgae production based on renewable bio-feedstocks.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Chemical
Yuxuan Huang, Hanqing Fan, Ngai Yin Yip
Summary: This study investigates the impact of different electrolytes on the tradeoff between conductivity and permselectivity in ion-exchange membranes. The results show that the conductivity is determined by the valency and mobility of the counterion, while the permselectivity decreases with higher valency of the counterion and lower valency of the co-ion. The study reveals the factors governing the tradeoff and advances the understanding of achievable performance in practical applications.
JOURNAL OF MEMBRANE SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Nanoscience & Nanotechnology
Chungseok Choi, Xiaoxiong Wang, Soonho Kwon, James L. Hart, Conor L. Rooney, Nia J. Harmon, Quynh P. Sam, Judy J. Cha, William A. Goddard, Menachem Elimelech, Hailiang Wang
Summary: Electrochemistry offers an efficient and sustainable solution for treating chlorinated organic compounds in polluted environmental waters. A catalyst composed of cobalt phthalocyanine molecules on multiwalled carbon nanotubes has been developed, which can selectively convert 1,2-dichloroethane into ethylene with high efficiency. The catalyst operates at a wide range of electrode potentials and reactant concentrations, achieving unprecedented near 100% Faradaic efficiency.
NATURE NANOTECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Review
Engineering, Environmental
Hanqing Fan, Yuxuan Huang, Ngai Yin Yip
Summary: This article reviews the applications and selectivity of ion-exchange membranes (IEMs) in the fields of water, energy, and the environment. It analyzes and evaluates the five different types of IEM selectivity and discusses the efforts to enhance selectivity by tuning membrane properties and suppressing undesired crossover. Deepening the understanding of transport phenomena and structure-property-performance relationships is crucial for the development of more selective IEMs.
FRONTIERS OF ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & ENGINEERING
(2023)
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Narayana R. Aluru, Fikret Aydin, Martin Z. Bazant, Daniel Blankschtein, Alexandra H. Brozena, J. Pedro de Souza, Menachem Elimelech, Samuel Faucher, John T. Fourkas, Volodymyr B. Koman, Matthias Kuehne, Heather J. Kulik, Hao-Kun Li, Yuhao Li, Zhongwu Li, Arun Majumdar, Joel Martis, Rahul Prasanna Misra, Aleksandr Noy, Tuan Anh Pham, Haoran Qu, Archith Rayabharam, Mark A. Reed, Cody L. Ritt, Eric Schwegler, Zuzanna Siwy, Michael S. Strano, YuHuang Wang, Yun-Chiao Yao, Cheng Zhan, Ze Zhang
Summary: Confined fluids and electrolyte solutions in nanopores exhibit rich and surprising physics and chemistry that impact the mass transport and energy efficiency in many important natural systems and industrial applications. Exploiting these effects presents myriad opportunities in both basic and applied research that stand to impact a host of new technologies. In this review article, the progress on nanofluidics of single-digit nanopores (SDNs) is summarized, with a focus on the confinement effects. The recent development of precision model systems, transformative experimental tools, and multiscale theories in this field are reviewed.
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Sohum K. Patel, Weiyi Pan, Yong-Uk Shin, Jovan Kamcev, Menachem Elimelech
Summary: The study introduces a novel electrosorption-based boron removal technology using a bipolar membrane (BPM) between porous carbon electrodes, showing its potential to overcome the limitations of current methods. The mechanism of boron removal is confirmed to be electrosorption rather than adsorption. The effect of applied voltage on the process efficiency is evaluated, and the BPM-electrosorption system is compared with flow-through electrosorption, demonstrating advantages in boron sorption capacity and energy consumption. Overall, the BPM-electrosorption system shows promising boron removal capability.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Ying-Jie Zhang, Jie-Jie Chen, Gui-Xiang Huang, Wen-Wei Li, Han-Qing Yu, Menachem Elimelech
Summary: Clarifying the reaction pathways at the solid-water interface and in bulk water solution is crucial for designing heterogeneous catalysts for selective oxidation of organic pollutants. In this study, the origin of organic oxidation reactions with metal oxide catalysts is unraveled, showing that radical-based advanced oxidation processes prevail in bulk water but not on solid catalyst surfaces. These findings provide a fundamental understanding of catalytic organic oxidation processes at the solid-water interface and can guide the design of heterogeneous nanocatalysts.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Xiaoxiong Wang, Xuanhao Wu, Wen Ma, Xuechen Zhou, Shuo Zhang, Dahong Huang, Lea R. Winter, Jae-Hong Kim, Menachem Elimelech
Summary: This study presents a flow-through electrofiltration method using an electrified membrane and single-atom catalysts, which achieves high removal efficiency of ultra-low concentration nitrate and improves reduction activity and selectivity, offering a new solution for efficient water purification.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Yuzhang Zhu, Liangliang Gui, Ruoyu Wang, Yunfeng Wang, Wangxi Fang, Menachem Elimelech, Shihong Lin, Jian Jin
Summary: The authors demonstrate the ability to regulate the pore size of a polyamide membrane through applied voltage, enabling precise molecular separation. This study uncovers a previously overlooked mechanism of membrane-water-solute interactions.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Li Wang, Jinlong He, Mohammad Heiranian, Hanqing Fan, Lianfa Song, Ying Li, Menachem Elimelech
Summary: We used NEMD simulations and permeation experiments to investigate the mechanism of water transport in RO membranes. The simulations showed that water transport is driven by a pressure gradient, contradicting the traditional solution-diffusion model. We also observed that water molecules form clusters and move through transiently connected pores. Permeation experiments with different solvents further revealed that solvent permeance depends on membrane pore size, solvent molecule size, and viscosity, which is inconsistent with the solution-diffusion model.
Article
Engineering, Environmental
Kinnari M. Shah, Ian H. Billinge, Elizabeth Dach, Ngai Yin Yip
Summary: Temperature swing solvent extraction (TSSE) is a membrane-less and nonevaporative approach to hypersaline desalination, but its performance is limited by the trade-off between water recovery yield and salt rejection. This study introduces a novel intermediate release step (TSSE-IR) that enhances the desalination capability of TSSE by improving salt rejection while minimizing sacrifices in water recovery yields.
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY LETTERS
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Yifan Gao, Shuai Liang, Biming Liu, Chengxu Jiang, Chenyang Xu, Xiaoyuan Zhang, Peng Liang, Menachem Elimelech, Xia Huang
Summary: Researchers have proposed a facile and highly controllable thermal tuning strategy that enables fine control of nanodefects in electrocatalysts. This strategy endows common carbon materials with record high efficiency in electrocatalytic degradation of pollutants.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Review
Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
Mohammad Heiranian, Hanqing Fan, Li Wang, Xinglin Lu, Menachem Elimelech
Summary: This article provides an overview of the importance of reverse osmosis (RO) desalination technology in addressing water scarcity. The design and development of RO membranes are discussed, along with an analysis of membrane separation and transport mechanisms. Two key water transport models, solution-diffusion and pore-flow, are examined and evaluated. Future research directions are also proposed.
CHEMICAL SOCIETY REVIEWS
(2023)
