Controlling Salinity: Reverse Complimented by Forward Osmosis

RO has become one of the key technologies for desalinating water. RO is one of the fastest growing technologies spreading around the globe. However, the drawback of RO technology is the pressure requirement to overcome natural Osmotic pressure and losses during the water transfer through the membranes. That is why the same inventor of the RO proposed the concept of the Pressure Retarded Osmosis based on the Forward Osmosis to utilize Osmotic Power. This presentation will provide a brief history of RO and current status of the RO technology, the current status in development of the Forward Osmosis technology as well as the Pressure Retarded Osmosis.The presentation will conclude with the proposed next steps of the Osmotic technologies and perspectives as well as the proposed concepts on how these technologies can be combined to benefit each other.