RIS ID
88436
Abstract
This study examined the performance of a novel hybrid system of forward osmosis (FO) combined with vacuum membrane distillation (VMD) for reclaiming water from shale gas drilling flow-back fluid (SGDF). In the hybrid FO-VMD system, water permeated through the FO membrane into a draw solution reservoir, and the VMD process was used for draw solute recovery and clean water production. Using a SGDF sample obtained from a drilling site in China, the hybrid system could achieve almost 90% water recovery. Quality of the reclaimed water was comparable to that of bottled water. In the hybrid FO-VMD system, FO functions as a pre-treatment step to remove most contaminants and constituents that may foul or scale the membrane distillation (MD) membrane, whereas MD produces high quality water. It is envisioned that the FO-VMD system can recover high quality water not
Publication Details
Li, X., Zhao, B., Wang, Z., Xie, M., Song, J., Nghiem, L. D., He, T., Yang, C., Li, C. & Chen, G. (2014). Water reclamation from shale gas drilling flow-back fluid using a novel forward osmosis-vacuum membrane distillation hybrid system. Water Science and Technology, 69 (5), 1036-1044.