Chemical Engineering June 2022 - 17

between rejection
(selectivity) and
permeability. In other words, achieving
a process that enables the required
water quality to be obtained
with lower energy consumption and
cost, " says Tatsuya Tamura, general
manager of the water treatment
division, RO membrane products
department, with Toray Industries
(Tokyo, Japan; www.toray.com).
" The performance of water treatment
membranes depends on the separation
target-size sieve, the membrane
surface charge and the interaction
with the substance to be separated. "
One recent development is the improved
performance of membranes
for the removal of both small neutral
molecules and ionic substances,
such as dissolved organic matter and
silica while maintaining water permeability.
Toray has achieved this performance
improvement by precisely
controlling the size of micropores,
such as molecular gaps in RO membranes
and by improving the structure
of the folds on the surface of
separation membranes with its TBWHR
series of ultra-low-pressure RO
membrane elements. Impurity rejection
with these membranes exceeds
that of existing ultra-low pressure RO
membrane elements (Figure 6).
As demand for purer water has
risen in the electronics industry, a
key prospective benefit of these new
membranes is purification of higherquality
and higher-purity water, enabling
the production of semiconductors
with finer wires as increasingly
compact and complex semiconductors
are needed for new applications.
In addition to meeting a demand
for new applications, innovations in
RO element selectivity are also helping
with sustainability efforts. DuPont
recently launched a new portfolio of
RO elements, FilmTec Prime RO,
for the treatment of brackish water
in industrial applications (Figure 7).
These elements require up to 20%
less energy while improving permeate
quality by up to 60%. " Analysis
using U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency tools indicates that the positive
sustainability impact of FilmTec
Prime RO, which has the potential
to reduce global CO2 emissions by
approximately 85,000 metric tons
each year (based on global adopFor
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17
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tion), is equivalent to the emissions
generated by an average car driving
211 million miles, " says DuPont's
Arrowood. " This global sustainability
impact is delivered while retaining
compatibility with existing brackishwater
RO treatment systems, allowing
operators to upgrade easily and
secure the benefits of the technology, "
she continues.
" As water conservation and reuse
and other sustainability-based applications
continue to grow, flexibility
and new features in membrane technologies,
as well as the ability to tailor
membranes to remove a specific contaminant
or operate under unusual
pressures or temperatures, will enable
us to push them harder to meet the
needs of processors. These advancements
will be key for those looking to
improve their water or energy footprint, "
says Kurita's Galligan.
n
Joy LePree
http://www.toray.com http://adlinks.chemengonline.com/82582-07 http://WWW.CHEMENGONLINE.COM
Chemical Engineering June 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Chemical Engineering June 2022
