Factors Affecting the Performance of Membrane Osmotic Processes for Bioenergy Development
Wen Yi Chia,
Kuan Shiong Khoo,
Shir Reen Chia,
Kit Wayne Chew,
Guo Yong Yew,
Yeek-Chia Ho,
Pau Loke Show,
Wei-Hsin Chen
Affiliations
Wen Yi Chia
Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Nottingham Malaysia, Jalan Broga Semenyih 43500, Malaysia
Kuan Shiong Khoo
Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Nottingham Malaysia, Jalan Broga Semenyih 43500, Malaysia
Shir Reen Chia
Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Nottingham Malaysia, Jalan Broga Semenyih 43500, Malaysia
Kit Wayne Chew
School of Mathematical Sciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Nottingham Malaysia, Jalan Broga Semenyih 43500, Malaysia
Guo Yong Yew
Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Nottingham Malaysia, Jalan Broga Semenyih 43500, Malaysia
Yeek-Chia Ho
Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Seri Iskandar 32610, Malaysia
Pau Loke Show
Department of Chemical and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Nottingham Malaysia, Jalan Broga Semenyih 43500, Malaysia
Wei-Hsin Chen
Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan 701, Taiwan
Forward osmosis (FO) and pressure-retarded osmosis (PRO) have gained attention recently as potential processes to solve water and energy scarcity problems with advantages over pressure-driven membrane processes. These processes can be designed to produce bioenergy and clean water at the same time (i.e., wastewater treatment with power generation). Despite having significant technological advancement, these bioenergy processes are yet to be implemented in full scale and commercialized due to its relatively low performance. Hence, massive and extensive research has been carried out to evaluate the variables in FO and PRO processes such as osmotic membrane, feed solutions, draw solutions, and operating conditions in order to maximize the outcomes, which include water flux and power density. However, these research findings have not been summarized and properly reviewed. The key parts of this review are to discuss the factors influencing the performance of FO and PRO with respective resulting effects and to determine the research gaps in their optimization with the aim of further improving these bioenergy processes and commercializing them in various industrial applications.
