THE FABRICATION AND PERFORMANCE OF CELLULOSE REVERSE OSMOSIS MEMBRANES

A method for the fabrication of reverse osmosis membranes made from cellulose material is reported along with their performance data with respect to the separation of single electrolyte solutes from their aqueous solutions. The separation depends on the charge and the valence of the ions involved as well as the porosity of the membrane. The larger rejection for electrolytes involving negative ions of higher valence is attributed to a net negative charge on the surface of the membrance. Further, it was found that the solute separation decreases with an increase of feed solute concentration, which is also attributable to the charge on the membrane surface.