Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
6.1
3.3
Journals
Membranes
Special Issues
Forward Osmosis - Membrane Developments and Applications
share announcement

Forward Osmosis - Membrane Developments and Applications

A special issue of Membranes (ISSN 2077-0375). This special issue belongs to the section "Membrane Processing and Engineering".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2022) | Viewed by 12206

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Joseph Dumpler

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Food Science, Cornell University, 260 Stocking Hall, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA
Interests: membrane filtration of dairy, fruit juices & coffee; juices; dairy processing; forward osmosis; wastewater treatment
Dr. Judy Lee

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, University of Surrey, Guildford GU2 7XH, UK
Interests: acoustic cavitation; sonoluminescence; ultrasound processing; sonocrystallisation; membrane filtrations
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Forward osmosis (FO) is an emerging membrane processing technology for power generation, seawater desalination, wastewater reclamation, and concentration of foods and pharmaceuticals.

Recent developments on FO membranes, membrane configuration and operation, and osmotic agents have led to a technology readiness level that allows for implementation in industry. However, important challenges to implement FO in the industry require further scientific advances. First, internal concentration polarization due to membrane structure reduces membrane performance and energy efficiency of FO. Second, reverse solute diffusion due to non-perfect retention of the osmotic agent reduces the net osmotic pressure difference and potentially leads to feed contamination. Third, novel strategies for the recovery of the osmotic agent, the energy intensive step of forward osmosis, require further development to reduce the energy demand for FO. Fourth, fouling mitigation strategies to reduce external concentration polarization, increase FO efficiency and membrane life.

This Special Issue on “Forward Osmosis - Membrane Developments and Applications” of the journal Membranes is dedicated to current research to address these challenges and seeks contributions to assess the state of the art and future developments in the field of FO for various applications. Topics include, but are not limited to, recovery strategies for osmotic agents, selection and developments of osmotic agents, novel applications of FO, membrane development and evaluation, membrane fouling and/or cleaning strategies, pilot plant studies, life cycle assessment & comparison to existing technologies, and industrial implementation. Authors are invited to submit their latest results; both original papers and reviews are welcome.

Dr. Joseph Dumpler
Dr. Judy Lee
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Membranes is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Forward osmosis
  • Osmotic agent
  • Draw solution
  • Membrane fouling
  • Osmotic process
  • Direct osmosis

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (4 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

15 pages, 2996 KiB  
Article
Forward Osmosis (FO) Membrane Fouling Mitigation during the Concentration of Cows’ Urine
by Mokhtar Guizani, Ryusei Ito and Takato Matsuda
Membranes 2022, 12(2), 234; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes12020234 - 18 Feb 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2224
Abstract
FO membrane fouling mitigation during the concentration of cows’ urine was investigated. In particular, the effects on the permeability recovery of cleaning methods such as membrane washing with deionized (DI) water, osmotic backwash, and chemical cleaning were studied. The characterization of foulants that [...] Read more.
FO membrane fouling mitigation during the concentration of cows’ urine was investigated. In particular, the effects on the permeability recovery of cleaning methods such as membrane washing with deionized (DI) water, osmotic backwash, and chemical cleaning were studied. The characterization of foulants that accumulated on the membrane surface was found to be rich in sugars and proteins. The foulants were effectively removed by de-ionized water circulation (washing) and osmotic backwash. While osmotic back was more effective, it did not fully recover the permeability of the membrane. The foulants absorbed in the membrane pores were found to be mainly composed of sugars. Soaking the membrane in a solution of NaClO enabled the removal of foulants absorbed inside the membrane. It was revealed that soaking in 1% NaClO solution for 30 min achieved the best results (83% permeability recovery), while soaking for a longer time (10 h) using 0.2% NaClO resulted in counterproductive results. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Forward Osmosis - Membrane Developments and Applications)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

12 pages, 3468 KiB  
Article
Thin Film Biocomposite Membrane for Forward Osmosis Supported by Eggshell Membrane
by Teayeop Kim, Sunho Park, Yoonkyung Lee, Jangho Kim and Kyunghoon Kim
Membranes 2022, 12(2), 166; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes12020166 - 30 Jan 2022
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 3472
Abstract
There is a general drive to adopt highly porous and less tortuous supports for forward osmosis (FO) membranes to reduce internal concentration polarization (ICP), which regulates the osmotic water permeation. As an abundant waste material, eggshell membrane (ESM) has a highly porous and [...] Read more.
There is a general drive to adopt highly porous and less tortuous supports for forward osmosis (FO) membranes to reduce internal concentration polarization (ICP), which regulates the osmotic water permeation. As an abundant waste material, eggshell membrane (ESM) has a highly porous and fibrous structure that meets the requirements for FO membrane substrates. In this study, a polyamide-based biocomposite FO membrane was fabricated by exploiting ESM as a membrane support. The polyamide layer was deposited by the interfacial polymerization technique and the composite membrane exhibited osmotically driven water flux. Further, biocomposite FO membranes were developed by surface coating with GO for stable formation of the polyamide layer. Finally, the osmotic water flux of the eggshell composite membrane with a low structural parameter (~138 µm) reached 46.19 L m−2 h−1 in FO mode using 2 M NaCl draw solution. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Forward Osmosis - Membrane Developments and Applications)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

11 pages, 1760 KiB  
Article
Water Recovery from Bioreactor Mixed Liquors Using Forward Osmosis with Polyelectrolyte Draw Solutions
by Calen R. Raulerson, Sudeep C. Popat and Scott M. Husson
Membranes 2022, 12(1), 61; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes12010061 - 31 Dec 2021
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2118
Abstract
This paper reports on the use of forward osmosis (FO) with polyelectrolyte draw solutions to recover water from bioreactor mixed liquors. The work was motivated by the need for new regenerative water purification technologies to enable long-duration space missions. Osmotic membrane bioreactors may [...] Read more.
This paper reports on the use of forward osmosis (FO) with polyelectrolyte draw solutions to recover water from bioreactor mixed liquors. The work was motivated by the need for new regenerative water purification technologies to enable long-duration space missions. Osmotic membrane bioreactors may be an option for water and nutrient recovery in space if they can attain high water flux and reverse solute flux selectivity (RSFS), which quantifies the mass of permeated water per mass of draw solute that has diffused from the draw solution into a bioreactor. Water flux was measured in a direct flow system using wastewater from a municipal wastewater treatment plant and draw solutions prepared with two polyelectrolytes at different concentrations. The direct flow tests displayed a high initial flux (>10 L/m2/h) that decreased rapidly as solids accumulated on the feed side of the membrane. A test with deionized water as the feed revealed a small mass of polyelectrolyte crossover from the draw solution to the feed, yielding an RSFS of 80. Crossflow filtration experiments demonstrated that steady state flux above 2 L/m2·h could be maintained for 70 h following an initial flux decline due to the formation of a foulant cake layer. This study established that FO could be feasible for regenerative water purification from bioreactors. By utilizing a polyelectrolyte draw solute with high RSFS, we expect to overcome the need for draw solute replenishment. This would be a major step towards sustainable operation in long-duration space missions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Forward Osmosis - Membrane Developments and Applications)
►▼ Show Figures

Graphical abstract

13 pages, 7561 KiB  
Article
Effect of Osmotic Pressure on Whey Protein Concentration in Forward Osmosis
by Pelin Oymaci, Pauline E. Offeringa, Zandrie Borneman and Kitty Nijmeijer
Membranes 2021, 11(8), 573; https://doi.org/10.3390/membranes11080573 - 29 Jul 2021
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 3241
Abstract
Forward osmosis (FO) is an emerging process to dewater whey streams energy efficiently. The driving force for the process is the concentration gradient between the feed (FS) and the concentrated draw (DS) solution. Here we investigate not only the effect of the DS [...] Read more.
Forward osmosis (FO) is an emerging process to dewater whey streams energy efficiently. The driving force for the process is the concentration gradient between the feed (FS) and the concentrated draw (DS) solution. Here we investigate not only the effect of the DS concentration on the performance, but also that of the FS is varied to maintain equal driving force at different absolute concentrations. Experiments with clean water as feed reveal a flux increase at higher osmotic pressure. When high product purities and thus low reverse salt fluxes are required, operation at lower DS concentrations is preferred. Whey as FS induces severe initial flux decline due to instantaneous protein fouling of the membrane. This is mostly due to reversible fouling, and to a smaller extent to irreversible fouling. Concentration factors in the range of 1.2–1.3 are obtained. When 0.5 M NaCl is added to whey as FS, clearly lower fluxes are obtained due to more severe concentration polarization. Multiple runs over longer times show though that irreversible fouling is fully suppressed due to salting in/out effects and flux decline is the result of reversible fouling only. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Forward Osmosis - Membrane Developments and Applications)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-4
Back to TopTop