Osmotically driven membrane applications for sustainable and efficient industrial separations

Separations that conserve or generate water and energy in a non-polluting and non-resource-exhausting manner can be more sustainable as the utilization of wastes and abundance of low-value resources as inputs are beneficial for the long-term. In this regard, osmotically-driven membrane processes such as forward osmosis can potentially fulfil these criteria by engineered-osmosis for FO and pressure retarded osmosis (PRO) applications. Hence, the development of highly-efficient membranes for FO and PRO technology can play a significant role in enhancing sustainability at the energy-water nexus.The submitted project focuses on the above-mentioned objectives and is dedicated to the development of high-performance TFC membranes with increased water fluxes, low internal concentration polarization in FO, and high osmotic power density for PRO operations. The developed membranes can then be used for efficient sea-water desalination, wastewater treatment, organic-solvent filtrations and micro-algae harvesting for biofuels.

Keywords:Patterned membranes, Forward osmosis, Pressure retarded osmosis, Active pharmaceutical ingredients, Micro algae harvesting

Disciplines:Membrane technologies, Separation technologies