Some transport characteristics of aromatic polyamide membranes in reverse osmosis

The effects of solute concentration in the range of 0.0013 to 1.051 molality in the feed solution and operating pressure in the range of 100 to 900 psig on solute transport parameter DAM/Kδ in reverse osmosis have been studied for a class of laboratory‐made aromatic polyamide membranes and aqueous sodium chloride feed solutions. The results showed that DAM/Kδ for NaCl increased both with increase in operating pressure and solute concentration in the concentrated boundary solution on the high‐pressure side of the membrane. A general expression for DAM/Kδ for NaCl including the effects of both the above operating variables is given. These results are different from the corresponding results obtained for cellulose acetate membranes.