抄録
Seawater desalination with reverse osmosis membrane (SWRO) was developed in the middle of 20th century. In SWRO process, one of the largest problems has been energy consumption, which is mainly due to the osmotic pressure effect and is smaller than that in thermal desalination process. In order to reduce energy consumption, innovative technologies such as large productivity RO membrane elements, high energy recovery units, process optimization with simulation technologies, and highly efficient systems were developed and commercialized. Especially, productivity of SWRO membrane became doubled in the last decade, and the energy recovery efficiency reached more than 95%. These technologies made SWRO systems more reliable and cost effective, and large SWRO plants have been constructed and operated in the world as well as the Middle East since the end of 1990’s when water shortages became more serious. The SWRO technologies are expected to be developed and contribute to secure the water sustainably.
