Experimental study of PES/SiO2 based TFC hollow fiber membrane modules for oilfield produced water desalination with low-pressure nanofiltration process

[Display omitted] •A PES/SiO2 thin-film composite hollow fiber membrane was prepared.•Operating pressure, operating time and feed water chemistry all affected the membrane performance.•A solution diffusion theory-based theoretical model was proposed.•The model matched well with the laboratory testing results. In this study, a PES/SiO2 based thin film composite (TFC) hollow fiber membrane (HFM) was prepared for the oilfield produced water desalination with low-pressure nanofiltration process. The effects of operating parameters including pressure, salt concentration and time, on the salt rejection were investigated. The results showed that the salt rejection increased linearly with an increase in operating pressure from 50psi to 80psi, decreasing slightly with a further increase in pressure to 100psi. The increased salt concentration resulted in a decrease in salt rejection. A solution diffusion theory-based model was proposed to well explain the laboratory testing results.