Drinking Water Bags Based on Chitosan Forward Osmosis Membranes for Emergency Drinking Water Supply

A fast and simple method and technologies in drinking water supply are strongly needed in an emergency situation. One alternative method is based on membrane forwards osmosis (FO) technology. In this study, chitosan-based FO membranes have been developed into drinking water bags used as purification media for dirty water and seawater. The chitosan membrane used for the assembly of drinking water bags has a thickness of 0.043 mm, the porosity of 30.3%, the tensile strength of 28.83 kgf /mm(2), swelling degree of 43.5% and elongation of 7.16%. The drinking water bags are made from a combination of polypropylene plastic (PP) and aluminum foil plastic with the interface of the FO membrane inside. The drinking water bag can be applied to purify dirty water and seawater into energy drinking water, which can be used for drinking water supply in an emergency situation. Energy drinks water is produced from the FO process using a variety of draw solution, specifically glucose, fructose, and sucrose. The highest drinking water flux was obtained by using 3M sucrose concentration as a draw solution. The clean water fluxes for dirty water and seawater samples were 5.25 L/m(2)hour and 4.25 L/m(2)hour respectively. The parameters drinking water quality test are proved that pH, total dissolved solids (TDS), salinity, electrical conductivity, heavy metals and the content of Escherichia coli bacteria are agreed with drinking water quality standards based on PERMENKES regulations No. 492/MENKES/Per/IV/2010. The FO drinking water bag based chitosan membrane has the potential to be used as an alternative solution for energy drinking water supply in an emergency.