Recent developments in reverse osmosis desalination membranes

TLDR

Reverse osmosis desalination is a primary technology for producing fresh water, and membrane properties critically influence productivity and energy consumption, prompting extensive research into high‑performance membranes. This review surveys recent advances in RO membranes aimed at enhancing flux, salt rejection, chlorine tolerance, fouling resistance, and thermal stability. The review examines modifications of polymeric membranes and the synthesis and performance of new polymeric, inorganic, and mixed‑matrix membranes.

Abstract

Reverse osmosis (RO) desalination is one of the main technologies for producing fresh water from seawater and other saline water sources. The membrane properties greatly affect the water productivity and energy costs in the reverse osmosis desalinatin processes. Recent years have seen significant research efforts devoted to developing high-performance RO membranes. This article reviews recent activities in the development of RO membranes with improved flux and salt rejection, chlorine tolerance, fouling resistance and thermal stability. In particular, this review mainly focuses on the modification of current polymeric membrane materials, and synthesis and separation performance of new polymer membranes, inorganic membranes and mixed matrix membranes.