| A reverse osmosis membrane process was utilized to evaluate the removal behavior of dissolved organic carbon from a groundwater source. The fundamental homogeneous diffusion model for describing membrane systems was the main framework for supporting the hypothesis investigated during this pilot study. It was determined that the heterogeneous nature of dissolved organic carbon in a groundwater source makes it difficult to predict with precision and in a consistent basis the mass transport of organic solute through a semipermeable membrane utilizing the fundamental diffusion model. The behavior of the inorganic species studied, however, such as the total dissolved solids was consistent with the solvent and solute flux predicted by the fundamental diffusion model equations. It appears that organic solute passage and/or rejection involved three possible mechanisms: convection, sieving, and diffusion. |
