Water transport in reverse osmosis membranes is governed by pore flow, not a solution-diffusion mechanism

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dc.creatorWang, Li
dc.creatorHe, Jinlong
dc.creatorHeiranian, Mohammad
dc.creatorFan, Hanqing
dc.creatorSong, Lianfa (TTU)
dc.creatorLi, Ying
dc.creatorElimelech, Menachem
dc.date.accessioned2023-05-24T14:55:47Z
dc.date.available2023-05-24T14:55:47Z
dc.date.issued2023
dc.descriptionCopyright © 2023 The Authors, some rights. cc-by-nc
dc.description.abstractWe performed nonequilibrium molecular dynamics (NEMD) simulations and solvent permeation experiments to unravel the mechanism of water transport in reverse osmosis (RO) membranes. The NEMD simulations reveal that water transport is driven by a pressure gradient within the membranes, not by a water concentration gradient, in marked contrast to the classic solution-diffusion model. We further show that water molecules travel as clusters through a network of pores that are transiently connected. Permeation experiments with water and organic solvents using polyamide and cellulose triacetate RO membranes showed that solvent permeance depends on the membrane pore size, kinetic diameter of solvent molecules, and solvent viscosity. This observation is not consistent with the solution-diffusion model, where permeance depends on the solvent solubility. Motivated by these observations, we demonstrate that the solution-friction model, in which transport is driven by a pressure gradient, can describe water and solvent transport in RO membranes.
dc.identifier.citationWang, L., He, J., Heiranian, M., Fan, H., Song, L., Li, Y., & Elimelech, M.. 2023. Water transport in reverse osmosis membranes is governed by pore flow, not a solution-diffusion mechanism. Science Advances, 9(15). https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adf8488
dc.identifier.urihttps://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adf8488
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/2346/93639
dc.language.isoeng
dc.titleWater transport in reverse osmosis membranes is governed by pore flow, not a solution-diffusion mechanism
dc.typeArticle

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