Application of Irreversible Thermodynamics to Hollow Fiber Reverse Osmosis Modules

Abstract

The performance of the hollow fiber reverse osmosis module is analyzed using a membrane transport equation based on the theory of irreversible thermodynamics. Three membrane properties of the irreversible thermodynamics model are estimated by the curve-fitting method using experimental data from a mini-fiber module, while the mass transfer coefficient is quoted from the authors’ previous correlation equation. As a result, the membrane properties such as Lp and Pm show quite reasonable values in comparison with the A and B values of the Solution–Diffusion model, and the calculated result of the module model is in good agreement with the actual performance data. Finally, the meaning of the solute convective coefficient γ is discussed quantitatively.