Forward osmosis for application in wastewater treatment: A review

“Research in the field of Forward Osmosis (FO) membrane technology has grown significantly
over the last 10years,but itsapplicationin the scopeofwastewater treatmenthasbeenslower.
Drinkingwater is becominganincreasinglymarginal resource.Substitutingdrinkingwater for
alternate water sources, specifically for use in industrial processes, may alleviate the global
water stress. FO has the potential to sustainably treat wastewater sources and produce high
quality water. FO relies on the osmotic pressure difference across the membrane to extract
clean water fromthe feed, however the FO step is stillmostly perceived as a “pre-treatment”
process. To prompt FO-wastewater feasibility, the focus lies with new membrane developments,
draw solutions to enhance wastewater treatment and energy recovery, and
operating conditions. Optimisation of these parameters are essential to mitigate fouling,
decrease concentration polarisation and increase FOperformance; issues all closely related to
one another. This review attempts to define the steps still required for FO to reach full-scale
potential in wastewater treatment and water reclamation by discussing current novelties,
bottlenecks and future perspectives of FO technology in the wastewater sector.”
©2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
(Citaat: Lutchmiah, K., Verliefde, A.R.D., et al. Forward osmosis for application in wastewater treatment: A review – Water Research 58(2014), p.179-197)