Technical Paper
A New Membrane for the Thermoelectric Integrated Membrane Evaporative Subsystem (TIMES)
2000-07-10
2000-01-2385
The Thermoelectric Integrated Membrane Evaporative Subsystem (TIMES) was evaluated to determine its ability to process reverse osmosis brine as one of the Advanced Water Processor steps. As the baselined membrane (Nafion 117) was unable to retain ammonia, a NASA-sponsored project was conducted to find an alternate membrane capable of retaining ammonia while maintaining reasonable water production rates. A long term test was performed with up to 90% water recovery using a hydrophilic membrane and a hydrophobic membrane. The ammonia rejection for the hydrophilic membrane was 80%. The average water production rates for both membranes were greater than for the pretreated baselined Nafion membrane.