REVERSO-OSMOSIS MEMBRANES FOR REMOVAL OF LOW-MOLECULAR-WEIGHT ORGANICS FROM WATER

REVERSE OSMOSIS IS A MEMBRANE PROCESS THAT HAS THE POTENTIALTO IMPROVE SIGNIFICANTLY WASTE-WATER RECYCLING TECHNOLOGY FOR USE IN SPACE, AND TO ELIMINATE OR REDUCE THE NEED FOR THE EXPENDABLE POLISHING BEDS REQUIRED BY EXISTING WASTE-TREATMENT SUBSYSTEMS. HOWEVER, TO REALIZE THIS PROMISE, REVERSE-OSMOSIS (RO) MEMBRANES MUST BE DEVELOPED THAT CAN REMOVE LOW-MOLECULAR-WEIGHT ORGANICS FROM WASTE WATER. THIS PROJECT WILL DEVELOP SUCH A NEW CLASS OF RO MEMBRANES. THE GOAL OF THE PHASE I PROGRAM IS TO DEMONSTRATE THAT LOW-MOLECULAR-WEIGHT ORGANICS CAN BE REJECTED BY RO MEMBRANES MADE FROM MATERIALS SELECTED SPECIFICALLY FOR THIS APPLICATION. IN A SUBSEQUENT PHASE II, THESE MEMBRANES WOULD BE OPTIMIZED. PROTOTYPE MODULES CONTAINING THESE MEMBRANES WOULD THEN BE SYNTHESIZED AND EXTENSIVELY TESTED. FULL-SCALE MODULES WOULD BE DELIVERED TO NASA FOR USE IN RO SYSTEMS CURRENTLY OWNED BY NASA. REVERSE OSMOSIS IS A MEMBRANE PROCESS THAT HAS THE POTENTIALTO IMPROVE SIGNIFICANTLY WASTE-WATER RECYCLING TECHNOLOGY FOR USE IN SPACE, AND TO ELIMINATE OR REDUCE THE NEED FOR THE EXPENDABLE POLISHING BEDS REQUIRED BY EXISTING WASTE-TREATMENT SUBSYSTEMS. HOWEVER, TO REALIZE THIS PROMISE, REVERSE-OSMOSIS (RO) MEMBRANES MUST BE DEVELOPED THAT CAN REMOVE LOW-MOLECULAR-WEIGHT ORGANICS FROM WASTE WATER. THIS PROJECT WILL DEVELOP SUCH A NEW CLASS OF RO MEMBRANES. THE GOAL OF THE PHASE I PROGRAM IS TO DEMONSTRATE THAT LOW-MOLECULAR-WEIGHT ORGANICS CAN BE REJECTED BY RO MEMBRANES MADE FROM MATERIALS SELECTED SPECIFICALLY FOR THIS APPLICATION. IN A SUBSEQUENT PHASE II, THESE MEMBRANES WOULD BE OPTIMIZED. PROTOTYPE MODULES CONTAINING THESE MEMBRANES WOULD THEN BE SYNTHESIZED AND EXTENSIVELY TESTED. FULL-SCALE MODULES WOULD BE DELIVERED TO NASA FOR USE IN RO SYSTEMS CURRENTLY OWNED BY NASA.