ABSTRACT
Forward osmosis (FO) is an emerging membrane technology for water treatment and energy production. This chapter reviews the FO technology for the removal of contaminants from impaired water, particularly for Arsenic removal. The water flux in FO is strongly affected by the internal concentration polarization inside the membrane support layer. Severe reverse solute diffusion can influence the water transport behavior in FO and is undesirable for FO application. To introduce the forward solute diffusion, boron, a contaminant of interest in the desalination industry, is selected as the representative feed solute following X. Jin's study. In addition to the organic contaminants, a wide range of inorganic contaminants, such as boron and Arsenic, can be found in natural and engineered aquatic environments. Removal of trace organic contaminants such as endocrine disrupting chemicals and pharmaceuticals from the impaired water is essential to reduce the risk of the aquatic environment to humans and wildlife.
