A Mini-Review on Thin-Film Composite Hollow Fiber Membranes for Forward Osmosis Applications

Abstract

Forward osmosis (FO) is an emerging technology that has been extensively studied in the last decade as an efficient method for desalination and water treatment. FO presents many benefits over traditional desalination technologies such as reverse osmosis and distillation. Nevertheless, there are many decisive challenges; the great significance one is the new modification and advances in the preparation of the TFC membranes that must be achieved to enhance the FO performance. Therefore, preparing a suitable TFC membrane with a low structural parameter, low tortuosity, and high porosity are preferred in preparing the TFC membranes to get higher water flux and lower salt flux. This paper reviewed the recent development and advances in using TFC hollow fiber membranes in FO applications. Within that, the most widely applied monomers to prepare the thin polyamide layer (PA) in TFC membranes and the additives that are added during the preparation of the PA layer and their effect on the performance of the TFC membranes have been discussed. Moreover, an effort is made to generate a TFC membrane properties and performance trend according to the results of the water permeate flux and reverse salt flux of the modified TFC FO membranes and the future perspectives and concluding remarks on the FO membrane are evaluated.

Keywords

• polyamide
• structural parameter
• forward osmosis
• hollow fiber
• thin-film composite
• membranes