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Universidade Federal da Bahia

Potencial de Reaproveitamento do Concentrado da Osmose Inversa do Programa Água Doce – Bahia/Brasil Como Solução Osmótica no Processo de Osmose Direta

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

The Programa Água Doce (PAD) aims to ensure permanent and sustainable access to high-quality drinking water through desalination systems that employ Reverse Osmosis (RO) technology. This technology, however, generates reverse osmosis concentrate (ROC), a potentially polluting by-product. The present study adopted a quantitative methodological approach based on experimental investigation using primary data. The general objective was to evaluate the potential reuse of ROC generated by RO desalination units of the Água Doce Program (PAD) in Bahia, Brazil, as a draw solution in a Forward Osmosis (FO) system. Specifically, the study sought to: (i) assess pollutant removal through the FO process using ROC as the draw solution; (ii) optimize FO system operation under conditions where ROC is used as the draw solution; and (iii) investigate the salinity profile of the draw solution resulting from FO system operation and its potential reuse. The results showed that, after ROC characterization and during 264 hours of operation, the permeate flux progressively decreased, reaching an average value of 2.7 L/m²·h. The reverse salt flux remained relatively constant, although some peaks outside the linear trend were observed, with an average of 6.3 g/m²·h. The average conductivity decreased from 27.67 mS/cm to 15.92 mS/cm. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) analyses revealed that the new membrane exhibited a uniform and unaltered morphology, with no evidence of fouling. In contrast, the used membrane showed precipitated salt deposits on its surface, which led to a reduction in water flux from 3.89 L/m²·h to 2.83 L/m²·h. Experiments performed with methylene blue (MB) dye showed a 98% rejection rate, demonstrating the efficiency of the Forward Osmosis (FO) process. It can be concluded that the use of ROC as a draw solution (DS) is feasible and advantageous, particularly when diluted and reused from concentrates generated in RO desalination systems.

Degree

thesis:*
Grantor dc:publisher
Universidade Federal da Bahia
Date dc:date.issued
16-12-16

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Araújo, Woshington Luiz de

Subjects

dc:subject × 4

Rights

dc:rights
Statement dc:rights
  • Acesso Aberto
Language dc:language
por

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
Repository record dc:identifier.uri
https://repositorio.ufba.br/handle/ri/43812
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:repositorio.ufba.br:ri/43812

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
Brazil UFBA
Base URL
repositorio.ufba.br/oai/request
Last updated
2026-07-27
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
citation

Araújo, Woshington Luiz de. Potencial de Reaproveitamento do Concentrado da Osmose Inversa do Programa Água Doce – Bahia/Brasil Como Solução Osmótica no Processo de Osmose Direta. Universidade Federal da Bahia, https://repositorio.ufba.br/handle/ri/43812