Effect of silver nanoparticles on properties and performance of aquaporin forward osmosis membrane

Abstract

Due to the scarcity of clean water in many regions of the world, seawater desalination and wastewater treatment start to play a crucial role for future water supplies. Currently leading technology of membrane water treatment is based on conventional technologies (reverse osmosis, nanofiltration, ultrafiltration and microfiltration) consuming high amount of energy. One of the ways to solve the problems with overconsumption of energy is to use forward osmosis (FO). FO is a relatively new membrane-based process that can significantly upgrade water treatment technologies. Since it employs membrane technology, the performance of the forward osmosis water treatment directly depends on properties of the membrane whose performance highly vulnerable to fouling activities.