An experimental study on draw solution performance in fertilizer drawn forward osmosis under Water Energy Food Nexus framework in Egypt

Desalination and Water Treatment, vol. 210, pp. 70–80

Abstract

ABSTRACT This research investigates the application of fertilizer drawn forward osmosis technique and its potential use in Egypt under the framework of the Water-Energy-Food Nexus. In this work, feed solution used is real brackish groundwater extracted from a well in Sinai, Egypt. Two sets of experiments have been conducted. The objective of having two separate scenarios is to provide informative assessment that is useful for the two main agriculture techniques, the conventional soil based one and the hydroponics technique. The first set examined three commonly used fertilizers in Egypt namely urea, di-ammonium phosphate and potassium nitrate to compare their performances. The second set examined standard hydroponic recipe, which is a mixture of nutrients, as a draw solution to fertilize crops in hydroponics systems. The nutrients mixture performance was tested and compared with that of the individual components at the same concentrations. Regarding the first set, di-ammonium phosphate resulted in the best performance as draw solute among the three tested draw solutes, where it exhibited a significant water flux equivalent to 13.8 LMH, a feed ions rejection reaching 98% and acceptable concentrations of draw solute ions in the final product water. For the second set, the hydroponic nutrients mixture exhibited better performance as draw solution compared with its individual macro-components. The use of the nutrient mixture as draw solute resulted in a flux of 11.7 LMH, 95% feed ions rejection compared with 9.2 LMH, 91%, and 10.03 LMH, 93% for its individual components. Mixing nutrients boosted the osmotic pressure and enhanced the driving force for fresh water permeation. Hence, it can be concluded that mixed nutrients have better performance than single fertilizers, not only for the enhanced desalination features and for water extraction performance but also because they provide a complete set of nutrients necessary for growing crops.

Authors 3

1. Ghada Amin

   American University in Cairo

   Affiliation as printed

   Center for Applied Research on the Environment and Sustainability (CARES), School of Science and Engineering, The American University in Cairo, AUC Avenue, P.O. Box: 74, New Cairo 11835, Egypt

   Center for Applied Research on the Environment and Sustainability (CARES), School of Science and Engineering, The American University in Cairo, AUC Avenue, P.O. Box: 74, New Cairo 11835, Egypt,

2. Peter Nasr

   American University in Cairo

   Affiliation as printed

   Center for Applied Research on the Environment and Sustainability (CARES), School of Science and Engineering, The American University in Cairo, AUC Avenue, P.O. Box: 74, New Cairo 11835, Egypt

   Center for Applied Research on the Environment and Sustainability (CARES), School of Science and Engineering, The American University in Cairo, AUC Avenue, P.O. Box: 74, New Cairo 11835, Egypt,

3. Hani Sewilam corresponding Aachen UNESCO Chair in Hydrological Changes and Water Resources Management

   RWTH Aachen University · American University in Cairo

   Affiliation as printed

   Center for Applied Research on the Environment and Sustainability (CARES), School of Science and Engineering, The American University in Cairo, AUC Avenue, P.O. Box: 74, New Cairo 11835, Egypt

   UNESCO Chair in Hydrological Changes and Water Resources Management, RWTH Aachen University, Germany

   Center for Applied Research on the Environment and Sustainability (CARES), School of Science and Engineering, The American University in Cairo, AUC Avenue, P.O. Box: 74, New Cairo 11835, Egypt,