Abstract
Toray has been researching reverse osmosis (RO) membranes with further excellent performance based on fundamental structure analyses. Polyamide separation layer of the RO membranes were analyzed focusing on protuberance and pore structure by means of advanced analytical methods such as TEM, EELS and PALS, which enabled to obtain the strategy for improving the membrane performance. New RO membranes that combined high water permeability, high solute rejection rate and enhanced durability against the chemicals were developed by controlling protuberance and pore structure with our proprietary molecular design and interfacial polymerization technology. These membranes must be useful for brackish water and wastewater treatment in which chemical cleaning is required even more frequently because of low quality in feed water.
