Factors Determining the Reverse Osmosis Performance of Zeolite Membranes on Produced Water Purification

Abstract

Abstract Purification of produced water by zeolite membranes is a novel technology reported recently for reclamation of produced water for beneficial use. Because of the extremely stable chemical, mechanical, and thermal properties, zeolite membranes show great advantages in difficult situations such as operations in a strong solvent environment, or those requiring high temperatures and high pressures. In this paper, we reported reverse osmosis (RO) permeation of solutions containing dissolved salts on a zeolite membrane. The influencing factors, including operating pressure, temperature, and ion concentration, on the RO performance of zeolite membranes are investigated. Potential application of the zeolite membrane technology in large-scale produced water purification is also discussed.