정삼투 공정에 유용한 유도용질로서 diethyl malonate를 사용한 citrate 계열의 유기 화합물을 합성하였다. 최종적으로 얻은 potassium pentane-1,3,3,5-tetracarboxylate는 1H-NMR과 13C-NMR을 통하여 확인하였다. 유도용질의 물성을 확인 하기 위해 삼투압, 용해도, 수투과도, 역염 투과도를 측정하였다. 합성한 유도용액을 사용하여 정삼투 공정을 진행한 결과, 동일한 citrate 계열인 trisodium citrate 및 tripotassium citrate보다 높은 수투과량을 나타내었으며 염의 역확산 정도는 NaCl에 비하여 매우 낮은 값을 나타내었다. 합성된 유도용질의 삼투압은 NaCl보다 약 25% 낮았으나 물에 대한 용해도는 NaCl의 8.8 배인 317 g/100 g water의 값을 나타내었다. 정삼투 종료 후 유도용질의 회수를 위해 상용화된 나노여과막을 사용하였고, 낮은 압력에서 효율적으로 회수가 가능하였다.
An organic citrate series draw solute was synthesized using diethyl malonate for forward osmosis. The structure of the final compound potassium pentane-1,3,3,5-tetracarboxylate was confirmed by 1H-NMR and 13C-NMR analysis. Osmotic pressure, solubility, water permeability and reverse salt flux were measured for the properties of the draw solute. Forward osmosis results showed that the draw solute exhibited higher water flux than other draw solutes of trisodium citrate and tripotassium citrate. Reverse salt flux of all the organic daw solutes was much lower than that of NaCl. The osmotic pressure of the synthesized draw solute was 25% lower than that of NaCl. The solubility of the draw solute was 317 g/ 100 g water, which is 8.8 times higher than that of NaCl. A commercialized nanofiltration membrane was used for the recovery of the draw solute. The draw solute could be effectively recovered at low pressure.