抄録
Water treatment technology using forward osmosis (FO) membrane has been known since 1970s. However, development for practical use of FO technology is being accelerated all over the world recently, thanks to newly developed FO membranes and the draw solutions. Major application field for FO are energy saving sea water desalination, power generation and waste water treatment. This review gives recent applications of water treatment using FO membranes. For seawater desalination application, a British company has been operating two commercial plants in Oman using FO membrane since 2009. It is reported that they observed stable flux and lower energy consumption compared to RO plant at same site. An American company was awarded energy saving seawater desalination using FO membrane in UAE and will construct a pilot plant. For power generation application, a Japanese company reported that commercial valid plant can be designed using brine from seawater desalination plant and treated waste water in Fukuoka, Japan. A Spanish company and an American university are developing energy saving seawater desalination using pressure retarded osmosis. For waste water treatment, condensation of high TDS waste water in oil and gas industry, has been commercialized using FO membranes by two American companies.
