Comparative life cycle assessment of end-of-life options for reverse osmosis membranes

Environmental Performance of Small-Scale Seawater Reverse Osmosis Plant for Rural Area Water Supply

“…SWRO is the process of water passing through a semi-permeable membrane from high salt concentration to a lower salinity solution via osmotic pressure to separate the salt and other dissolved contaminants from water [ 22 ]. For SWRO, a high amount of pressure is needed for the seawater osmotic pressure to force water to pass through the membrane [ 23 ]. Figure 1 and Figure 2 is a conventional RO plant framework for a desalination technology.…”

Extending the life-cycle of reverse osmosis membranes: A review

“…Failure to adequately preserve and store can lead to premature drying of the membrane and permeability loss resulting from increased interchain hydrogen-bonding replacing the water-polymer bonds, which facilitate permeation (Louie et al, 2011). Lawler et al (2015) indicated that the most viable secondary application involves harsh feedwater conditions that require regular membrane replacement. Based on a survey of the condition of the reused membranes, the manufacturer's specifications and the expected lifespan, these authors estimated the potential second life of the membranes.…”

“…Because of the mechanical recycling requirements, only the ABS components (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) are suitable, including the central tube, the end caps and the spacers, with all the other components having to be disposed of in landfill (Goodship, 2007). Thus, the mechnical recycling scenario still requires the disposal of 8 kg of material as 40% by mass of the membrane module is unsuitable for this application (Lawler et al, 2015). After the crushing and screening phase (assuming a loss of 5% of material), the plastic has to pass through the melting and extrusion process, and an additional loss of 10% of material is assumed (UNSW, 2010).…”

“…Providing converted RO membranes, such as low-cost UF membrane substitutes, for use in water treatment service projects, pretreatment in low-cost RO systems or wastewater treatment operations has several benefits . Lawler et al (2015) stated that the RO membranes converted into UF membranes and applied in the RO systems pretreatment had an estimated extended life-cycle of two years, followed by disposal in landfill.…”

“…Some studies have shown that the exclusion of a detailed transportation model in a LCA study can result in a severe underestimation of the environmental impacts of disposal scenarios (Brambilla Pisoni et al, 2009;Merrild et al, 2012). Lawler et al (2015) looked at the environmental impact of a number of proposed end-of-life disposal options for membranes within the context of the Australian desalination industry, as follows: landfill, incineration, gasification, electric arc furnace, direct reuse, recycling and chemical conversion. The effect of variation in membrane lifetimes after reuse and recycling, as well the required transportation distance, were explored through a sensitivity analysis and the mass sent to landfill was estimated for each end-of-life option.…”