Separation of electrolyte solutions by reverse osmosis.

The paper presented is subdivided into two parts. The first one includes a survey of current notions concerning the physico-chemical nature of interaction potential phi between dissolved molecules or ions and water with a membrane material. Special attention is paid to the structural potential and the potential of image forces. The main conclusion is that the potential of interaction phi determines the major part of phenomena which are relevant for reverse osmosis (RO) separation. In the second part the distribution coefficient gamma = exp (phi) is supposed to be known and a survey of theoretical investigations of RO processes is undertaken. The so called homogeneous model of RO membranes is employed and concentration polarization is taken into account. Two main points in this investigation should be emphasized, that is, taking into account concentration polarization and a theory of RO separation of electrolyte mixtures. The maximum value of rejection coefficient and corresponding optimum velocity of filtration are calculated. Negative rejection of some ions from the mixture is explained, as well as a change in pH of filtrate. The streaming potential is calculated as a function of Peclet number, distribution coefficients, membrane charge and so on in all cases. The suggested theory gives the possibility to explain a number of phenomena in RO separation of electrolyte solutions.