The effect of Fatty Acids to Protect Forward Osmosis Membranes from Damage

Date

2017-07-16

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

47th International Conference on Environmental Systems

Abstract

NASA has conducted research and development on forward osmosis (FO) membranes for wastewater reclamation in space since 1993. The lessons learned during operation of the International Space Station and FO based technologies thought us that reliability is a key limitation. Membranes are susceptible to organic fouling, oxidation and calcium scaling and these factors tend to damage the membrane reducing their operating life and performance. The development of a Synthetic Biological Membrane (SBM) that mimics naturally occurring biological processes will mitigate membrane damage and improve reliability. The SBM is a lipid-based membrane with a protective fatty acid layer configured for use in a FO water purification system. In this configuration, the protective layer on the surface of the lipid membrane composed of fatty acids, interacts with the chemicals removing them from the membrane. The aim of this study is to conduct preliminary experiments to determine the feasibility of fatty acids to alleviate damage from calcium scaling, oxidation and organic fouling.

Description

Jaione Romero-Mangado, Science & Technology Corporation, USA
Jurek Parodi, Science & Technology Corporation, USA
Ofir Stefanson, Science & Technology Corporation, USA
Cooper Lathrop, Bay Area Environmental Research Institute (BAER), USA
Madeleine Lewis, Bay Area Environmental Research Institute (BAER), USA
Alessandro Ferrara, Bay Area Environmental Research Institute (BAER), USA
Simone Tatum, Bay Area Environmental Research Institute (BAER), USA
Michael Flynn, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), USA
ICES303: Physio-Chemical Life Support- Water Recovery & Management Systems- Technology and Process Development
The 47th International Conference on Environmental Systems was held in South Carolina, USA on 16 July 2017 through 20 July 2017

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Keywords

Forward osmosis, Fatty acids, Wastewater reclamation

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