King Saud University College Of Engineering Chemical Engineering Department

ChE 413: Desalination and Water Treatment

: 314

RO Problems Question 1 A brackish water having a TDS of 3000 g/m3 is desalinated using a thin film composite membrane having a flux rate coefficient, kw of 1.5x10-6 s/m and a mass transfer coefficient, ki of 1.8x10-6 is to have a TDS of no more than 200 g/m3. The flowrate is to be 10.01 m3/s. The net operating pressure will be 2500 kPa. Assume the recovery rate will be 90%. Estimate the rejection rate and the concentration of rejected stream. Question 2 Estimate the quantity and quality of rejected stream and the total quantity of water that must be processed in a reverse osmosis unit to produce 4000 m3/d of water. Assume that both the recovery and rejection rates are equal to 90% and the concentration of the feed stream is 400 g/m3. Question 3 A reverse osmosis desalination plant is treating 10,000 lb/hr water with initial concentration of 3000 ppm to give a product water at a rate of 7100 Ib/hr. The water flux in this unit is equal 4x10-4 gm/cm2 sec. The membrane permeability to water is 4x10-7 gm/cm2 sec psia. The high pressure side of the membrane is at 1100 psia and the product is withdrawn from the other side at 14.7 psia. Assume that osmotic pressure difference can be related to solution concentrations by: = 0.01 (Cr - Cp ) Where is in psig and C is in ppm. Calculate: a) The mass flow rate of the rejected brine in lb/hr. b) The concentration of the product water and the rejected water in ppm.. c) The efficiency of the membrane.

(Useful data: 1 m=3.28 ft, 1 gpd =0.347 lb/hr, 1 mgd=3785 m3/d, 1 Ib=.454 kg, water density=8.33x.454 kg/gal, joule= volt.amp.s= amp2.s, 1 kWh =3412 Btu, 1 HP=2545 Btu). (Atomic Wt: C=12, O=16, Ca=40, H=1, Mg=24.3, Fe=56, S=32, Na=23, Cl=35.5, K=39.1, N=14, F=19)