Integrating Pressure-Retarded Osmosis and Membrane Distillation

Abstract

Abstract Exploring new technology to produce renewable energy has received more attention in recent years. A hybrid process of pressure-retarded osmosis (PRO) coupled with membrane distillation (MD) has been proposed as one of the alternatives for fossil fuels. The former process is used for energy production and the latter is appropriate for thermal separation and clean water production. In the proposed process, gradient of salinity between two streams is used for generation of energy by sending the feed stream into a hydro-turbine. The PRO-MD process has the benefits of large power density, less fouling in comparison with the other membrane process, and less environmental impact. While the proposed process has been developed rapidly, further investigations are still required for development of a commercial-scale plant.