Issue 7, 2022

Engineered osmosis – sustainable technology for water recovery, product concentration and energy generation

Abstract

Engineered osmosis (EO) holds a vast untapped potential to be commercially exploited for various applications, including water recovery, product concentration, and energy generation. The EO process is a sustainable membrane-based technology that operates on the natural osmotic gradient to drive water from the feed stream (low concentration) to a draw solution (high concentration). The EO has gained significant interest owing to the lower energy requirement, ability to handle challenging (high total dissolved solids) feeds, lower membrane fouling, and ease of integration with existing processes. This review includes an extensive compilation of the latest developments (2018–2021) in the applications of the forward osmosis (FO) technology, and provides a critical analysis of the membrane development, synthesis/identification of novel draw solutes (DS), draw solute recovery/regeneration, process integration, utilizing renewable energy, the effect of foulants, the efficacy of cleaning protocols, etc. A dedicated section on energy generation by pressure retarded osmosis includes membrane development, energy considerations, and process integrations. The technical challenges and feasibility of adopting the EO technology are also discussed.

Graphical abstract: Engineered osmosis – sustainable technology for water recovery, product concentration and energy generation

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Critical Review
Submitted
02 janv. 2022
Accepted
02 mai 2022
First published
03 mai 2022

Environ. Sci.: Water Res. Technol., 2022,8, 1326-1358

Engineered osmosis – sustainable technology for water recovery, product concentration and energy generation

N. J. Kaleekkal, J. Nambikkattu, A. Rasheeda Satheesh, R. R. Gonzales, H. K. Shon and S. Vigneswaran, Environ. Sci.: Water Res. Technol., 2022, 8, 1326 DOI: 10.1039/D2EW00005A

To request permission to reproduce material from this article, please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

If you are an author contributing to an RSC publication, you do not need to request permission provided correct acknowledgement is given.

If you are the author of this article, you do not need to request permission to reproduce figures and diagrams provided correct acknowledgement is given. If you want to reproduce the whole article in a third-party publication (excluding your thesis/dissertation for which permission is not required) please go to the Copyright Clearance Center request page.

Read more about how to correctly acknowledge RSC content.

Social activity

Spotlight

Advertisements