A review on the forward osmosis applications and fouling control strategies for wastewater treatment

Abstract

During the last decades, the utilization of osmotic pressure-driven forward osmosis technology for wastewater treatment has drawn great interest, due to its high separation efficiency, low membrane fouling propensity, high water recovery and relatively low energy consumption. This review paper summarizes the implementation of forward osmosis technology for various wastewater treatment including municipal sewage, landfill leachate, oil/gas exploitation wastewater, textile wastewater, mine wastewater, and radioactive wastewater. However, membrane fouling is still a critical issue, which affects water flux stability, membrane life and operating cost. Different membrane fouling types and corresponding fouling mechanisms, including organic fouling, inorganic fouling, biofouling and combined fouling are therefore further discussed. The fouling control strategies including feed pre-treatment, operation condition optimization, membrane selection and modification, membrane cleaning and tailoring the chemistry of draw solution are also reviewed comprehensively. At the end of paper, some recommendations are proposed.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

forward osmosis / wastewater treatment / membrane fouling / fouling control

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank the financial supports from National Key Research and Development Program of China (Grant Nos. 2020YFB1709301 and 2020YFB1709304).

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

2021 Higher Education Press