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Mathematical modeling and simulation of concentration polarization layer in

reverse osmosis process

Conference Paper · April 2013

DOI: 10.1109/SCES.2013.6547547

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 Mathematical Modeling and Simulation of
Concentration Polarization Layer in Reverse
Osmosis Process
Natwar S. Rathore, Student Member, IEEE, Neha Kundariya, S. Sadistap and Anirudh Narain,
Member, IEEE
Abstract-- This paper describes membrane transport model
which focuses on the concentration of polarization layer builds
at the Reverse Osmosis(RO) membrane in terms of permeate
flux and concentration of solute. This model presented here is
based on concentration polarization unsteady-state differential
material balance equation. The model presented here
characterised by the parameters solute diffusivity (Dbi) in the
concentration polarization layer, volumetric flux of
permeate(Jv),thickness of polarization layer (δpol),thickness of
membrane(δmem) ,solute concentration(Ui), initial bulk feed
concentration(Ubio), solute bulk feed concentration (Ubi) .These
parameters estimated by using the Levenberg-Marquardt
Method using the experimental data obtain from the Reverse
Osmosis Plant developed at CEERI Pilani. Simulation result
show the deposition of different solutes concentration on the
reverse osmosis membrane using the MATLAB software tool.
Index Terms-- Concentration polarization, Membranes
,Modeling, Reverse osmosis(RO).
I. INTRODUCTION
T HE provision of fresh water is becoming an increasingly
important issue in many areas in the world. In some areas
portable water is very scarce and the establishment of a human
habitat in these areas strongly depends on how such water can
be made available. Desalination of seawater and brackish
water is one of the ways meeting water demand. So the
selection of appropriate desalination technology depends on
the number of factors like plant size, feed water salinity,
remoteness, availability of grid electricity and technical
infrastructure [1].
The reverse osmosis membrane based plants has been become
a standard technology in many areas like for removing taint
Natwar S Rathore is with the Department of Electrical Engineering,
Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology, Allahabad-211004, India (e-
mail: natwarsmertia@gmail.com).
Neha Kundariya with the Department of Electrical Engineering, National
Institute of Technology, Kurukshetra-136119, India (e-mail:
nehakundariya55@gmail.com).
S.Sadistap is Sr. principal scientist with Department of Agri-Electronics
Group ,Central Electronics Engineering Research Institute pilani-333031,
India (e-mail: ssadistap@yahoo.co.in)
Anirudh Narain is Associate Professor with the Department of Electrical
Engineering, Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology, Allahabad-
211004, India(e-mail: anirudha@mnnit.ac.in)
978-1-4673-5630-5//13/$31.00 ©2013 IEEE
and alcohol in wine industry, in medical application,
semiconductor manufacturing, in domestic purpose for
drinking and cooking [8].
Reverse osmosis is a separation process that uses pressure to
force a solvent through a semi permeable membrane that
retains the solute on one side and allows the solvent to pass
through another side. More formally, it is the process of
forcing a solvent from a region of high solute concentration
through a membrane to a region of low solute concentration
by applying a pressure excess of the osmotic pressure. This is
the reverse of normal osmosis process in which natural
movement of solvent from an area of low solute concentration,
through a membrane, to an area of high solute concentration
when no external process is applied. The membrane here is
semi permeable, meaning it allows the passage of solvent but
not solute.
The membrane used for reverse osmosis has a dense barrier
layer in the polymer matrix where most separation occurs. In
most of the cases the membrane is designed to allow only
water to pass through this dense layer while preventing the
passage of solutes(such as salts ions). This process requires
that a high pressure be exerted on the high concentration side
of membrane, usually 2-17 bar (30-250 psi) for fresh and
brackish water, and 40-70 bar (600-1000 psi) for sea water,
which has around 24 bar (350 psi) natural osmotic pressure
which must be overcome.
A reverse osmosis system typically include four or five stages
:
• A sand filter to trap particles including rust and calcium
carbonate
• A second sediment filter having pore size of 10 micron.
• Optionally a second sediment filter with smaller pores(5
micron).
• An activated carbon filter to trap organic chemicals, and
chlorine which ill attack and degrade TFC reverse
osmosis membranes.
• A reverse osmosis filter which is a thin film composite
membrane (TFM or TFC)
II. EFFECT OF CONCENTRATION POLARIZATION LAYER ON
REVERSE OSMOSIS MEMBRANE
The phenomenon of concentration polarization refers to an
increase in concentration of contaminants (solutes) near the
membrane surface that offer additional resistance to separation
[2,7]. It is a reversible phenomenon that occurs within a few
hours of operation depending on the size of the membrane
system. ∂u ∂u ∂ 2u
=J v + D bi
It is a result of the fundamental nature of membrane ∂t ∂t ∂t 2 (1)
separation; the solute is transported to the surface of the
membrane by advection and is rejected by the membrane The initial and boundary conditions are :
barrier, and forced to accumulate near the surface. t=0 0≤ x ≤ δpol , ui = ubi (2i)
t>0 x=0 , ui=ubi (2ii)
∂u
III. MODELING OF CONCENTRATION POLARIZATION IN t>0, x= δpol Jvui |x= δpol = Dbi |x =δ pol (2iii)
REVERSE OSMOSIS SYSTEM ∂t
where
As water flow through the membrane and salts are rejected Jv =volumetric flux of permeate (m3/m2 s)
a boundary layer is formed near the surface in which salts t = filtration time
concentration exceeds its value in the bulk solution leading to Dbi = solute diffusivity in the concentration polarization layer
higher osmotic pressure. It is acknowledged that CP generally (m2/s)
increases fouling, because it increases the concentration of
contaminants such as bacteria, organic and inorganic material B. The transport equation for volumetric flux of permeate
near the membrane surface, which in turn aggravates the The transportation equation for the volumetric flux is derived
factors that cause fouling [3]. Both CP and fouling also from the Spiegler-Kedem Model of multiple solutes [5,6]
negatively affect the useful life span of membranes. CP and given for solute-solute interaction. As we are considering that
fouling can cause a 50-75 % reduction in the life span. The RO semi permeable membrane width was sufficiently small
number of pores are increased without increasing the size of so that the derivatives could be considered as a constant (ai)
the pores; thus the permeate flux and rejection efficiency of the solutes in the extended Spiegler–Kedem model. So the
increase. It wastes two to four gallons of tap water for every transportation equation can be expressed as a linear function
gallon that gets filtered. of solute concentration
n
A. Modal design J V = LP [ Δ P − ∑ σ i ai Ri C wi ] (3)
i =1
If we consider there are total (n+1) no of components in the where
reverse osmosis process in which n solutes (i=1,2,3….) in the Lp = hydraulic permeability constant
row water solvent. Further we considering that Ubi is the σi = reflection coefficient
concentration of solute bulk feed given at the input side , Upi is ΔP = trans-membrane pressure
the solute permeate concentration at the output side and Uwi is Cwi = solute i wall concentration
the solute wall concentration at the membrane. Then the ai=osmotic constant
relationship between concentration polymerization layer and The Ri is defined as the rejection of the solute through the
membrane can be formed with help of a schematic diagram membrane and mathematically given as the
given below.
C pi
Ri = 1 − (4)
Ubi
Cwi
Membrane
where
Cpi = Solute permeate constant (Kg/m3)
Cwi = Solute I wall concentration
And the osmotic constant we using in (3 )
Can be defined as the[4]
Rg T
Ubi Upi ai = (5)
Polarization mi
Bulk Feed Layer Permeate where
Rg= the ideal gas constant
X=0 X= δpol X= δpol + δmem T = the operating Temperature
Fig. 1. Schematic of a concentration polarization boundary layer Mi= the solute I molar mass
where
Ubi = solute bulk feed concentration (kg/m3)
Uwi = solutes wall concentration (kg/m3)
Upi = solute permeate concentration (kg/m3)
Δpol = thickness of concentration polarization layer(m)
C. Simulation of Concentration polarization Using
MATLAB (pdepe solver):
Here with the help model presented the equation for the
concentration polarization layer can be formed for each solute Parabolic partial differential equations are encountered in
i based upon the differential material balance equation [4]. many chemical engineering applications these equations can
be solved by the MATLAB’s pdepe command. For partial was no accumulation of rejected solutes along the boundary
deferential equations in two space dimensions PDE Toolbox layer. As filtration progress, the amount of rejected solutes
can solve four types of equations: Elliptic, Parabolic, was gradually increased and consequently leads to higher wall
Hyperbolic and Eigen value. concentration and back-diffusion mass transfer rate into the
• The form of Parabolic PDE’s in MATLAB boundary layer. The accumulation of back transported solutes
∂u ∂u ∂ ∂u ∂u resulted greater concentrations build up along the boundary
c(x,t,u, ) = x−m (xmb(x,t,u, )) +s(x,t,u, ) layer.
∂x ∂t ∂x ∂x ∂x
where Numerical solution computed with 20 mesh points.

m=0 for Cartesian, for cylindrical, 1 and for spherical 2

• Boundary conditions 600

p ( x1 , t , u ) + q ( x1 , t ).b( x1 , t , u , u x ) = 0 500

400

Concentration
p ( xr , t , u ) + q ( xr , t ).b( xr , t , u , u x ) = 0 300

200

• Initial conditions 100

u (0, x) = f ( x) 0
2
1.5 1
0.8
1 0.6
0.5 0.4
0.2
0 0
D. Matlab partial differential equation solver-pdepe
Time t Distance x

Fig. 2(A).
¾ To solve the partial differential equation in Matlab the Numerical solution computed with 20 mesh points.

solver pdepe has been used

¾ Pdepe solves initial-boundary value problems for systems 60

of parabolic and elliptic PDEs in the one space variable 50

Concentration
x and time t. 40

¾ The basic syntax for solver is – 30

¾ sol = pdepe(m, pdefun, icfun, bcfun, xmesh, tspan

20

,options,p1,p2,…) 2
1.5 1
0.8
¾ To define components of pde- [c,f,s] = 1 0.6
0.5 0.4
0.2

pdefun(x,t,u,dudx) Time t
0 0
Distance x

¾ To define initial condition- u = icfun(x) Fig. 2(B).

Numerical solution computed with 20 mesh points.
¾ To define boundary conditions - [p1,q1,pr,qr] =
93
x 10
bcfun(x1,u1,xr,ur,t) 5

¾ Xmesh:-Vector [x0, x1, ..., xn] specifying the points at 4

which a numerical solution is requested for every value

Concentration

in tspan. 2

¾ Tspan-Vector [t0, t1, ..., tf] specifying the points at which

1

a solution is requested for every value in xmesh. 2

1.5 1
0.8
¾ Options & p1,p2:-to change the default integration
1 0.6
0.5 0.4
0.2

properties and for parameters passing respectively.

0 0
Time t Distance x

IV. RESULTS
The outcome of the experiment demonstrates that the reverse
osmosis membranes were able to reject the complex organic
matters effectively with the minimum observed rejection of
filtration time, the concentrations build up along the boundary
layer became greater despite a sluggish wall concentration
increase. It must be noted that at initial filtration time, there
Fig. 2(C).
Fig. 2. Simulation results of concentration buildup profile from initial
concentration to maximum concentration along the boundary layer gor solute
A,B and C.
The following plots show the solution profile at the final value
of t:
 Solution at t = 2
600

500

400
Concentarion (kg/m3)

300

200
VI. APPENDIX
TABLE-I
100
ESTIMATED PARAMETERS FOR THE MODEL
0
Solute A Solute B Solute C
Diffusivity 20 25 30
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
Time(sec)

Fig. 3(A). (m2/s)

60
Solution at t = 2
Concentration 117-400 1.8-4.10 1.16-3.5
(mg/L)
55
Volumetric 200 400 500
50
Flux(Kpa)
Concentarion (kg/m3)

45

40

35
VII. ACKNOWLEDGMENT
30 The authors would like to gratefully acknowledge Central
25
Electronics Engineering Research Institute Pilani(CSIR) for
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5
Time(sec)
0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
their valuable support and guidance to conduct this
Fig. 3(B). research. The authors are also thankful to Head and group
4.5
x 10
93
Solution at t = 2 members AEG, CEERI for their help and support for the
4
work. The present work is a part of project GAP 3118 at
3.5
CEERI Pilani.
Concentarion (Kg/m3)

2.5

2
1.5
1
0.5
0
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4
Time (sec)
Fig. 3(C).
Fig. 3. Simulation results of wall concentrations for the solution against the
filtration time
Formation of solid compounds such as scale and precipitate
choke the R.O membrane. This is perhaps the biggest
disadvantage.
V. CONCLUSION
In this paper analyses has been done with the Reverse
Osmosis system, and the MATLAB-SIMULINK software
tool is used for finding behavior of the wall concentration
polarization layer for reverse osmosis membrane. Further a
membrane transport model has been developed, suitable for
the multiple solutes system based on the coupled model of
concentration polarization using unsteady-state differential
material balance, in which solute concentration increases
from initial bulk concentration to the maximum
concentration along the boundary layer forming at the wall.
VIII. REFERENCES
[1] Yu Zhao, “Modeling of Membrane solute mass transfer in NF/RO
membrane systems,” a PhD thesis , Tongji University, 1997.
[2] M. Mulder, “Basic Principles of Membrane Technology,” Kluwer
Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, NL, 1991.
0.5
0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
[3] Suhan Kim, and Eric M.V.Hoek, “Modeling concentration
polarization in reverse osmosis processes”, Desalination vol.186
,2005 pp. 111–128.
[4] S.K. Karode, “Unsteady state flux response: a method to determine
the nature of the solute and gel layer in membrane filtration”, J.
Membr. Sci. vol.188 ,2001.
[5] A.L. Ahmad, M.F. Chong, and S. Bhatia, “Mathematical, Modeling
and simulation of the multiple solutes system for nanofiltration
process,” J. Membr. Sci. vol.253 ,2005, pp. 103.
[6] S. Wadley, C.J. Brouckaert, L.A.D. Baddock, and C.A. Buckley,
“Modeling of nanofiltration applied to the recovery of salt from
waste brine at a sugar decolourisation plant,” J. Membr. Sci. vol.102
,1995, pp. 163
[7] L.G. Palacin, C. Theodoropoulos, X. Weiguo, F. Tadeo, and C. de
Prada, “Two-scale modeling of the concentration polarization in a
reverse osmosis membrane,” Chemical Process Control VIII, CPC
2012, CACHE, Savannah, Georgia, USA 2/8-12/2012, paper: 29.
[8] A. Gambier, and E. Badreddin, “Control of Small Reverse Osmosis
Desalination Plants with Feed Water Bypass,” 18th IEEE
International Conference on Control Applications, Saint Petersburg,
pp. 800-805, July 13-14 ,2009.

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