Chinese Journal of Chemical Engineering, Vol.11, No.5, 583-588, 2003
Estimation of separation of electrolytes and organic compounds by nanofiltration membranes using an irreversible thermodynamic model
Nanofiltration separation has become a popular technique for removing large organic molecules and inorganic substances from water. It is achieved by a combination of three mechanisms: electrostatic repulsion, sieving and diffusion. In the present work, a model based on irreversible thermodynamics is extended and used to estimate rejection of inorganic salts and organic substances. Binary systems are modeled, where the feed contains an ion that is much less permeable to the membrane as compared with the other ion. The two model parameters are estimated by fitting the model to the experimental data. Variation of these parameters with the composition of the feed is described by an empirical correlation. This work attempts to describe transport through the nanofiltration membranes by a simple model.
Keywords:diffusion;Dorman equilibrium;electrostatic repulsion;ion adsorption;irreversible thermodynamics;nanofiltration;polymeric membranes;steric hindrance;surface charge