Forward osmosis technology for water treatment: Recent advances and future perspectives

Abstract

Forward osmosis is an emerging osmosis-driven membrane process, which has benefits of low energy consumption, low operational pressure, easy equipment, and low fouling. This review paper summarized the recent advances of forward osmosis technology based on the publications collected from Science Direct since 1996. Through the statistical analysis of 9345 articles, it was concluded that the research of forward osmosis mainly focused on the draw solution, membrane development, membrane fouling, and energy consumption. In this review, the most significant influencing factors of forward osmosis technology were analyzed, including membrane development, draw solution, and the operating conditions; then the existing problems were discussed in detail, including concentration polarization, membrane fouling, and reverse solute diffusion, which are closely related to each other; finally, the innovations and bottlenecks of forward osmosis technology were summarized, and the future perspectives were discussed. More attention should be paid to developing new membrane materials, designing effective draw solutions, minimizing the energy consumption, and creating energy-efficient recovery processes, to expand its commercial application. This review will deepen the understanding to forward osmosis technology, and provide comprehensive information for the scientific researcher and application engineers to facilitate the research and development of forward osmosis technology.