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Brine is water with a high-concentration solution of salt. In diverse contexts, brine may refer to the salt solutions ranging from about 3.5% up to about 26%. Brine forms naturally due to evaporation of ground saline water but it is also generated in the mining of sodium chloride. Brine is used for food processing and cooking, for de-icing of roads and other structures, and in a number of technological processes. It is also a by-product of many industrial processes, such as desalination, so it requires wastewater treatment for proper disposal or further utilization.
Desalination is a process that removes mineral components from saline water. More generally, desalination is the removal of salts and minerals from a substance. One example is soil desalination. This is important for agriculture. It is possible to desalinate saltwater, especially sea water, to produce water for human consumption or irrigation. The by-product of the desalination process is brine. Many seagoing ships and submarines use desalination. Modern interest in desalination mostly focuses on cost-effective provision of fresh water for human use. Along with recycled wastewater, it is one of the few water resources independent of rainfall.
An evaporite is a water-soluble sedimentary mineral deposit that results from concentration and crystallization by evaporation from an aqueous solution. There are two types of evaporite deposits: marine, which can also be described as ocean deposits, and non-marine, which are found in standing bodies of water such as lakes. Evaporites are considered sedimentary rocks and are formed by chemical sediments.
Phosphoric acid is a colorless, odorless phosphorus-containing solid, and inorganic compound with the chemical formula H3PO4. It is commonly encountered as an 85% aqueous solution, which is a colourless, odourless, and non-volatile syrupy liquid. It is a major industrial chemical, being a component of many fertilizers.
Ultrafiltration (UF) is a variety of membrane filtration in which forces such as pressure or concentration gradients lead to a separation through a semipermeable membrane. Suspended solids and solutes of high molecular weight are retained in the so-called retentate, while water and low molecular weight solutes pass through the membrane in the permeate (filtrate). This separation process is used in industry and research for purifying and concentrating macromolecular (103–106 Da) solutions, especially protein solutions.
Water softening is the removal of calcium, magnesium, and certain other metal cations in hard water. The resulting soft water requires less soap for the same cleaning effort, as soap is not wasted bonding with calcium ions. Soft water also extends the lifetime of plumbing by reducing or eliminating scale build-up in pipes and fittings. Water softening is usually achieved using lime softening or ion-exchange resins, but is increasingly being accomplished using nanofiltration or reverse osmosis membranes.
Ion exchange is a reversible interchange of one species of ion present in an insoluble solid with another of like charge present in a solution surrounding the solid. Ion exchange is used in softening or demineralizing of water, purification of chemicals, and separation of substances.
Electrodialysis reversal (EDR) is an electrodialysis reversal water desalination membrane process that has been commercially used since the early 1960s. An electric current migrates dissolved salt ions, including fluorides, nitrates and sulfates, through an electrodialysis stack consisting of alternating layers of cationic and anionic ion exchange membranes. Periodically, the direction of ion flow is reversed by reversing the polarity of the applied electric current.
Solar desalination is a desalination technique powered by solar energy. The two common methods are direct (thermal) and indirect (photovoltaic).
In organic chemistry, phosphonates or phosphonic acids are organophosphorus compounds containing C−PO(OR)2 groups, where R is an organic group. If R is hydrogen then the compound is a dialkyl phosphite, which is a different functional group. Phosphonic acids, typically handled as salts, are generally nonvolatile solids that are poorly soluble in organic solvents, but soluble in water and common alcohols.
Electrodialysis (ED) is used to transport salt ions from one solution through ion-exchange membranes to another solution under the influence of an applied electric potential difference. This is done in a configuration called an electrodialysis cell. The cell consists of a feed (dilute) compartment and a concentrate (brine) compartment formed by an anion exchange membrane and a cation exchange membrane placed between two electrodes. In almost all practical electrodialysis processes, multiple electrodialysis cells are arranged into a configuration called an electrodialysis stack, with alternating anion and cation-exchange membranes forming the multiple electrodialysis cells. Electrodialysis processes are different from distillation techniques and other membrane based processes in that dissolved species are moved away from the feed stream, whereas other processes move away the water from the remaining substances. Because the quantity of dissolved species in the feed stream is far less than that of the fluid, electrodialysis offers the practical advantage of much higher feed recovery in many applications.
Nanofiltration is a membrane filtration process that uses nanometer sized pores through which particles smaller than about 1–10 nanometers pass through the membrane. Nanofiltration membranes have pore sizes of about 1–10 nanometers, smaller than those used in microfiltration and ultrafiltration, but a slightly bigger than those in reverse osmosis. Membranes used are predominantly polymer thin films. It is used to soften, disinfect, and remove impurities from water, and to purify or separate chemicals such as pharmaceuticals.
Evaporation ponds are artificial ponds with very large surface areas that are designed to efficiently evaporate water by sunlight and expose water to the ambient temperatures. Evaporation ponds are inexpensive to design making it ideal for multiple purposes such as wastewater treatment processes, storage, and extraction of minerals. Evaporation ponds differ in usage and result in a wide range of environmental and health effects.
A solar-powered desalination unit produces potable water from saline water through direct or indirect methods of desalination powered by sunlight. Solar energy is the most promising renewable energy source due to its ability to drive the more popular thermal desalination systems directly through solar collectors and to drive physical and chemical desalination systems indirectly through photovoltaic cells.
Membrane fouling is a process whereby a solution or a particle is deposited on a membrane surface or in membrane pores in a processes such as in a membrane bioreactor, reverse osmosis, forward osmosis, membrane distillation, ultrafiltration, microfiltration, or nanofiltration so that the membrane's performance is degraded. It is a major obstacle to the widespread use of this technology. Membrane fouling can cause severe flux decline and affect the quality of the water produced. Severe fouling may require intense chemical cleaning or membrane replacement. This increases the operating costs of a treatment plant. There are various types of foulants: colloidal, biological, organic and scaling.
Reverse osmosis (RO) is a water purification process that uses a semi-permeable membrane to separate water molecules from other substances. RO applies pressure to overcome osmotic pressure that favors even distributions. RO can remove dissolved or suspended chemical species as well as biological substances, and is used in industrial processes and the production of potable water. RO retains the solute on the pressurized side of the membrane and the purified solvent passes to the other side. The relative sizes of the various molecules determines what passes through. "Selective" membranes reject large molecules, while accepting smaller molecules.
A membrane is a selective barrier; it allows some things to pass through but stops others. Such things may be molecules, ions, or other small particles. Membranes can be generally classified into synthetic membranes and biological membranes. Biological membranes include cell membranes ; nuclear membranes, which cover a cell nucleus; and tissue membranes, such as mucosae and serosae. Synthetic membranes are made by humans for use in laboratories and industry.
Protein adsorption refers to the adhesion of proteins to solid surfaces. This phenomenon is an important issue in the food processing industry, particularly in milk processing and wine and beer making. Excessive adsorption, or protein fouling, can lead to health and sanitation issues, as the adsorbed protein is very difficult to clean and can harbor bacteria, as is the case in biofilms. Product quality can be adversely affected if the adsorbed material interferes with processing steps, like pasteurization. However, in some cases protein adsorption is used to improve food quality, as is the case in fining of wines.
Oilfield scale inhibition is the process of preventing the formation of scale from blocking or hindering fluid flow through pipelines, valves, and pumps used in oil production and processing. Scale inhibitors (SIs) are a class of specialty chemicals that are used to slow or prevent scaling in water systems. Oilfield scaling is the precipitation and accumulation of insoluble crystals (salts) from a mixture of incompatible aqueous phases in oil processing systems. Scale is a common term in the oil industry used to describe solid deposits that grow over time, blocking and hindering fluid flow through pipelines, valves, pumps etc. with significant reduction in production rates and equipment damages. Scaling represents a major challenge for flow assurance in the oil and gas industry. Examples of oilfield scales are calcium carbonate (limescale), iron sulfides, barium sulfate and strontium sulfate. Scale inhibition encompasses the processes or techniques employed to treat scaling problems.
Membrane scaling is when one or more sparingly soluble salts precipitate and form a dense layer on the membrane surface in reverse osmosis (RO) applications. Figures 1 and 2 show scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images of the RO membrane surface without and with scaling, respectively. Membrane scaling, like other types of membrane fouling, increases energy costs due to higher operating pressure, and reduces permeate water production. Furthermore, scaling may damage and shorten the lifetime of membranes due to frequent membrane cleanings and therefore it is a major operational challenge in RO applications.
References
- 1 2 Yu, Wei; Song, Di; Chen, Wei; Yang, Hu (September 2020). "Antiscalants in RO membrane scaling control". Water Research. 183: 115985. Bibcode:2020WatRe.18315985Y. doi:10.1016/j.watres.2020.115985. PMID 32619802.
- 1 2 3 Chuan Yee Lee, Brandon; Tan, Eileen; Lu, Yinghong; Komori, Hideyuki; Pietsch, Sara; Goodlett, Robb; James, Matt (2023-10-01). "Antiscalant and its deactivation in zero/minimized liquid discharge (ZLD/MLD) application in the mining sector – Opportunities, challenges and prospective". Minerals Engineering. 201: 108238. Bibcode:2023MiEng.20108238C. doi:10.1016/j.mineng.2023.108238. ISSN 0892-6875.
- 1 2 Armbruster, Dominic; Müller, Uwe; Happel, Oliver (2019). "Characterization of phosphonate-based antiscalants used in drinking water treatment plants by anion-exchange chromatography coupled to electrospray ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry". Journal of Chromatography A. 1601: 189–204. doi:10.1016/j.chroma.2019.05.014.
- ↑ Karaburun, Emre; Sozen, Yigit; Çiftçi, Celal; Sahin, Hasan; Baba, Alper; Akbey, Ümit; Yeşilnacar, Mehmet İrfan; Erdim, Eray; Regenspurg, Simona; Demir, Mustafa M. (September 2022). "Experimental modeling of antimony sulfides-rich geothermal deposits and their solubility in the presence of polymeric antiscalants". Geothermics. 104: 102452. Bibcode:2022Geoth.10402452K. doi:10.1016/j.geothermics.2022.102452. ISSN 0375-6505.
- ↑ Reiss, Amit G.; Gavrieli, Ittai; Ganor, Jiwchar (December 2020). "The effect of phosphonate-based antiscalant on gypsum precipitation kinetics and habit in hyper-saline solutions: An experimental and modeling approach to the planned Red Sea – Dead Sea Project". Desalination. 496: 114638. Bibcode:2020Desal.49614638R. doi:10.1016/j.desal.2020.114638. ISSN 0011-9164.
- ↑ Yu, Wei; Song, Di; Chen, Wei; Yang, Hu (2020-09-15). "Antiscalants in RO membrane scaling control". Water Research. 183: 115985. Bibcode:2020WatRe.18315985Y. doi:10.1016/j.watres.2020.115985. ISSN 0043-1354. PMID 32619802.
- ↑ Ahmed, Mahmoud A.; Amin, Sherif; Mohamed, Ashraf A. (2023-04-01). "Fouling in reverse osmosis membranes: monitoring, characterization, mitigation strategies and future directions". Heliyon. 9 (4): e14908. Bibcode:2023Heliy...914908A. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e14908 . ISSN 2405-8440. PMC 10102236 . PMID 37064488.
- ↑ "Contrasting Behaviors between Gypsum and Silica Scaling in the Presence of Antiscalants during Membrane Distillation". dx.doi.org. doi:10.1021/acs.est.0c07190.s001 . Retrieved 2024-04-25.
- ↑ Wu, Zhigen; Yan, Zihan; Zhang, Qinghong; Zhu, Yuting; Luo, Maohui; Zhou, Dan (2023). "Review on descaling and anti-scaling technology of heat exchanger in high-salt wastewater thermal desalination". Water Science & Technology. 88 (8): 2081–2107. doi:10.2166/wst.2023.325. PMID 37906460.
- ↑ Frenier, Wayne W.; Ziauddin, Murtaza (2008). Formation, removal, and inhibition of inorganic scale in the oilfield environment. Society of Petroleum Engineers. Richardson, Tex: Society of Petroleum Engineers. ISBN 978-1-55563-140-6.