Accumulation of GdCl$_{3}$ in the feed of a reverse osmosis system during desalination as determined by neutron absorption

摘要

This article deals with the application of in-situ small-angle neutron scattering to investigate wastewater desalination by reverse osmosis. In a first series of experiments we take advantage of the strong neutron absorption of gadolinium (Gd) and use 0.50 g/L GdCl3 in the feed as an indicator for concentration polarization and scaling at the membrane surface. The continuous decline of scattering during the process of desalination indicates an increase of GdCl3 salt concentration which after 15 hours has achieved nearly 100% enhancement with respect to its initial concentration.