Integration of Membrane-Based Pretreatment Methods with Pressure-Retarded Osmosis for Performance Enhancement: A Review

Abstract

Osmotic energy provides an emerging renewable alternative by leveraging the salinity gradient between two solutions. Among these technologies, pressure-retarded osmosis (PRO) has attracted attention; however, its deployment is hindered by obstacles resulting from impurities in feed and draw solutions and lack of suitable membranes. This review explores the integration of membrane-based pretreatments with PRO, highlighting their influence on resolving the technical drawbacks of standalone PRO systems. Membrane-based pretreatments have shown considerable potential to overcome these challenges by improving the quality of water, reducing membrane fouling and enhancing its performance, and ultimately contributing to recovery of energy, resulting in higher power density. Additionally, the use of different nanomaterials has been proposed for membrane modification to optimize PRO performance. Moreover, the study investigates recent advancements in hybrid configurations for harnessing existing infrastructure and to enhance energy efficiency. Offering a comprehensive review on this integrated approach contributes to valuable insights for advancing membrane-based hybrid systems toward commercial viability. Consequently, investment in developing advanced computational modeling and experimental validation, utilization of advanced membrane materials with higher fouling resistance, and optimization of system configurations by using dual-stage and multi-stage designs are required to overcome these limitations.