Forward Osmosis for Brine Concentration in Industrial Applications

Forward osmosis is a technology which uses a customized reverse osmosis membrane and a draw solution for desalination. It becomes viable when conventional reverse osmosis is limited by a high salinity brine which creates high pressure limitations of that technology. This is an intermediate technolgy for Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) and is less energy intensive than conventional evaporation methods. Systems are being designed for flue gas desulfurization in power plants in China.