Influence of precoat filtration and sorption on the mass-transfer of silicates through reverse osmotic membranes. I. The process model

Abstract

The experimental results on reverse-osmotic processing silica-containing natural waters are
generalized in the paper. A physicochemical model of colloidal silica transporting through the membranes
is proposed in terms of precoat filtration and sorption-desorption processes for silica during the passage of
the solution through the corresponding filtration layers. In the presence of mobile phase equilibrium, the
precoat filtration leads to increasing concentrations of dissolved silicates supplied to the membrane of the
sections of the concentration and to the subsequent restoration of the equilibrium composition of phases
in the permeate sections. An approximate mathematical model for steady-state mass transfer is proposed