Emerging desalination technologies for water treatment: A critical review

Water Research

Volumn 75, Issue , 2015, Pages 164-187

  Subramani, Arun ^a,b   Jacangelo, Joseph G ^a,b  

^a MWH AMERICAS INC   (United States)

^b JOHNS HOPKINS BLOOMBERG SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH   (United States)

Author keywords

Energy minimization; Industrial water desalination; Nanotechnology membranes; Produced water treatment; Reverse osmosis

Indexed keywords

DESALINATION; DISTILLATION; GRAPHENE; MEMBRANES; WASTE HEAT; WATER FILTRATION; WATER QUALITY; YARN;

ALTERNATIVE TECHNOLOGIES; DESALINATION TECHNOLOGIES; ENERGY MINIMIZATION; INDUSTRIAL WATER; INDUSTRIAL WATER DESALINATION; MEMBRANE-BASED; NANOTECHNOLOGY MEMBRANE; PRODUCED WATER TREATMENTS; THERMAL; WATER DESALINATION;

ENERGY UTILIZATION;

AQUAPORIN; GRAPHENE; NANOCOMPOSITE; NANOTUBE; SEA WATER;

ADSORPTION; COMMERCIALIZATION; DESALINATION; MEMBRANE; MICROBIAL ACTIVITY; NANOTECHNOLOGY;

ADSORPTION; ADSORPTION DESALINATION; AQUAPORIN MEMBRANE; ARTIFICIAL MEMBRANE; CONCENTRATION (PARAMETERS); DESALINATION; DISTILLATION; ENERGY CONSUMPTION; ENERGY RESOURCE; ENTROPY; FORWARD OSMOSIS; GRAPHENE BASED MEMBRANE; HUMAN; HUMIDIFIER; HYDROSTATIC PRESSURE; MEMBRANE DISTILLATION; NANOCOMPOSITE MEMBRANE; NANOTUBE MEMBRANE; OSMOSIS; PERVAPORATION; PHASE TRANSITION; POLARIZATION; PRIORITY JOURNAL; REVERSE OSMOSIS; REVIEW; SALINITY; SCALE UP; WATER PERMEABILITY; WATER QUALITY; WATER SUPPLY; WATER TREATMENT; CHEMISTRY; DEVICES; PROCEDURES; WATER MANAGEMENT;

SALINITY; SEAWATER; WATER PURIFICATION; WATER QUALITY;

EID: 84924544994     PISSN: 00431354     EISSN: 18792448     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2015.02.032     Document Type: Review

References (167)

1. Achilli A., Cath T.Y., Childress A.E. Selection of inorganic-based draw solutions for forward osmosis applications. J. Memb. Sci. 2010, 364:233-241.
2. Adham S. Membrane distillation using low grade waste heat. Proceedings of the American Membrane Technology Association (AMTA) Membrane Technology Conference, San Antonio, Texas 2013.
3. Adham S., Hussain A., Matar J.M., Dores R., Janson A. Application of membrane distillation for desalting brines from thermal desalination plants. Desalination 2013, 314:101-108.
4. Agre P. Aquaporin Water Channels, Nobel Lecture 2003, Stockholm, Sweden.
5. Ahadian S., Kawazoe Y. An artificial intelligence approach for modeling and prediction of water diffusion inside a carbon nanotube. Nanoscale Res. Lett. 2009, 1054-1058.
6. Ahn C.H., Baek Y., Lee C., Kim S.O., Kim S., Lee S., Kim S.-H., Bae S.S., Park J., Yoon J. Carbon nanotube-based membranes: fabrication and application to desalination. J. Ind. Eng. Chem. 2012, 18:1551-1559.
7. Al-Sahali M., Ettouney H. Developments in thermal desalination processes: design, energy, and costing aspects. Desalination 2007, 214:227-240.
8. Alkhudhiri A., Darwish N., Hilal N. Membrane distillation: a comprehensive review. Desalination 2012, 287:2-18.
9. Amy G., Ghaffour N., Nunes S., Ng K.C. Recent developments in low-energy desalination technologies: forward osmosis, membrane distillation, and adsorption desalination. Presentation at the WateReuse Research Conference, Phoenix, Arizona 2013, Available at:, (last accessed 21.11.14.). http://www.watereuse.org/sites/default/files/u3/WateReuse%20(PHX)%202013-Gary%20Amy.pdf.
10. Bandini S., Gostoli C., Sarti G.C. Separation efficiency in vacuum membrane distillation. J. Memb. Sci. 1992, 73:217-229.
11. Barduhn A.J., Towlson H.E., Lee Y.C. The properties of some new gas hydrates. J. AICHE 1962, 176:8.
12. Barole A. Sustainability in water treatment and reuse: bioelectrochemical systems for synergistic salt and BOD removal. Proceedings of the 29th Annual WateReuse Symposium, Dallas, Texas 2014.
13. Barole, A., Tsouris, C., 2013. US Patent 8, 597, 513 B2, Microbial fuel cell treatment of fuel processing wastewater.
14. Bartman A., Zhu A., Christofides P.D., Cohen Y. Minimizing energy consumption in reverse osmosis membrane desalination using optimization-based control. J. Process Control 2010, 20:1261-1269.
15. Basini L., D'Angelo G., Gobbi M., Sarti G.C., Gostoli C. A desalination process through sweeping gas membrane distillation. Desalination 1987, 64:245-257.
16. Beckman J.R. Dewvaporation Desalination 5,000 Gallon Per Day Pilot Plant 2008, Desalination and Water Purification Research (DWPR) Final Report No. 120, Available online:, (last accessed 19.11.14.). http://www.usbr.gov/research/AWT/reportpdfs/report120.pdf.
17. Biesheuvel P.M., van der Wal A. Membrane capacitive deionization. J. Memb. Sci. 2010, 346:256-262.
18. Bowen W.R. Biomimetic separations - learning from the early development of biological membranes. Desalination 2006, 199:225-227.
19. Bradshaw R.W., Greathouse J.A., Cygan R.T., Simmons B.A., Dedrick D.E., Majzoub E.H. Desalination Utilizing Clathrate Hydrates (LDRD Final Report) 2008, Sandia National Laboratories, SAND2007-6565, January 2008.
20. Camacho L.M., Dumée L., Zhang J., Li J., Duke M., Gomez J., Gray S. Advances in membrane distillation for water desalination and purification applications. Water 2013, 5:94-196.
21. Cao X., Huang, Liang P., Xiao K., Zhou Y., Zhang X., Logan B.E. A new method for water desalination using microbial desalination cells. Environ. Sci. Technol. 2009, 43:7148-7152.
22. Cath T.Y., Adams V.D., Childress A.E. Experimental study of desalination using direct contact membrane distillation: a new approach to flux enhancement. J. Memb. Sci. 2004, 228:5-16.
23. Cath T., Childress A., Elimelech M. Forward osmosis: principles, applications, and recent developments. J. Memb. Sci. 2006, 281:70-87.
24. Cath Tzahi Y., Drewes J.E., Lundin C.D. A Novel Hybrid Forward Osmosis Process for Drinking Water Augmentation Using Impaired Water and Saline Water Resources 2009, Water Research Foundation and Arsenic Water Technology Partnership.
25. Chafik E. A new type of seawater desalination plants using solar energy. Desalination 2003, 156:333-348.
26. Choi W., Choi J., Bang J., Lee J.H. Layer-by-layer assembly of graphene oxide nanosheets on polyamide membrane for durable reverse-osmosis applications. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 2013, 5:12510-12519.
27. Chung T., Zhang S., Wang K.Y., Su J., Ling M.M. Forward osmosis processes: yesterday, today and tomorrow. Desalination 2012, 287:78-81.
28. Coday B.D., Heil D.M., Xu P., Cath T.Y. Effects of transmembrane hydraulic pressure on performance of forward osmosis membranes. Environ. Sci. Technol. 2013, 47:2386-2393.
29. Corry B. Designing carbon nanotube membranes for efficient water desalination. J. Phys. Chem. B 2008, 112:1427-1434.
30. Dow N., Zhang J., Duke M., Li J., Gray S.R., Ostarcevic E. Membrane Distillation of Brine Wastes 2008, Water Quality Research Australia (WQRA) Final Report No. 63.
31. Drak A., Adato M. Energy recovery consideration in brackish water desalination. Desalination 2014, 339:34-39.
32. DTI-r Subsurface Vapor Transfer Irrigation 2012, Available at:, (last accessed 06.09.12.). http://launch.org/forum/1/water/innovators/5/subsurface-vapor-transfer-irrigation/profile.
33. Efraty A., Barak R.N., Gal Z. Close circuit desalination - a new low energy high recovery technology without energy recovery. Desalination Water Treat. 2011, 31:95-101.
34. El-Bourawi M.S., Ding Z., Ma R., Khayet M. A framework for better understanding membrane distillation separation process. J. Memb. Sci. 2006, 285:4-29.
35. Elimelech M., Phillip W.A. The future of seawater desalination: energy, technology, and the Environment. Science 2011, 333:712-717.
36. Evans L.R., Miller J.E. Sweeping Gas Membrane Desalination Using Commercial Hydrophobic Hollow Fiber Membranes 2002, Sandia National Labs Report, SAND 2002-0138.
37. Fang W., Wang R., Chou S., Setiawan L., Fane A.G. Composite forward osmosis hollow fiber membranes: integration of RO- and NF-like selective layers to enhance membrane properties of anti-scaling and anti-internal concentration polarization. J. Memb. Sci. 2012, 394:140-150.
38. Farmar J.C., Tran T.D., Richardson J.H., Fix D.V., May S.C., Thomson S.L. The Application of Carbon Aerogel Electrodes to Desalinate and Waste Treatment 1997, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Report No. 231717.
39. Gai J.G., Gong X.L. Zero internal concentration polarization FO membrane: functionalized graphene. J. Mater. Chem. A 2014, 2:425-429.
40. Gai J.G., Gong X.L., Wang W.W., Zhang X., Kang W.L. An ultrafast water transport forward osmosis membrane: porous graphene. J. Mater. Chem. A 2014, 2:4023-4028.
41. Gao L., Rahardianto A., Gu H., Christofides P.D., Cohen Y. Energy-optimal control of RO desalination. Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 2014, 53:7409-7420.
42. Gethard K., Sae-Khow O., Mitra S. Water desalination using carbon-nanotube-enhanced membrane distillation. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 2011, 3:110-114.
43. Ghaffour N., Lattemann S., Missimer T., Ng K.C., Sinha S., Amy G. Renewable energy-driven innovative energy-efficient desalination technologies. Appl. Energy 2014, 136:1155-1165.
44. Greenlee L.F., Lawler D.F., Freeman B.D., Marrot B., Moulin P. Reverse osmosis desalination: water sources, technology, and today's challenges. Water Res. 2009, 43:2317-2348.
45. Hameeteman E. Future Water (in)Security: Facts, Figures, and Predictions 2013, Global Water Intelligence Report. Available at:, (last accessed 10.02.15.). http://www.gwiwater.org/sites/default/files/pub/FUTURE%20WATER%20(IN)SECURITY.pdf.
46. Hamieh B.M., Beckman T.R. Seawater desalination using dewvaporation technique: experimental and enhancement work with economic analysis. Desalination 2006, 195:14-25.
47. Hamouda S.B., Boubakri A., Nguyen Q.T., Amor M.B. PEBAX membranes for water desalination by pervaporation process. High. Perform. Polym. 2011, 23:170-173.
48. He Z. One more function for microbial fuel cells in treating wastewater: producing high-quality water. CHEMIK 2012, 66:3-10.
49. Hickenbottom K.L., Hancock N.T., Hutchings N.R., Appleton E.W., Beaudry E.G., Xu P., Cath T.Y. Forward osmosis treatment of drilling mud and fracturing wastewater from oil and gas operations. Desalination 2013, 312:60-66.
50. Hinds B.J., Chopra N., Rantell T., Andrews R., Gavalas V., Bachas L.G. Aligned multiwalled carbon nanotube membranes. Science 2004, 303:62-65.
51. Hilder T.A., Gordon D., Chung S. Salt rejection and water transport through boron nitride nanotubes. Small 2009, 5:2183-2190.
52. Hofs B., Schurer R., Harmsen D.J.H., Ceccarelli C., Beerendonk E.F., Cornelissen E.R. Characterization and performance of a commercial thin film nanocomposite seawater reverse osmosis membrane and comparison with a thin film composite. J. Memb. Sci. 2013, 446:68-78.
53. Holloway R.W., Childress A.E., Dennett K.E., Cath T.Y. Forward osmosis for concentration of anaerobic digester centrate. Water Res. 2007, 41:4005-4014.
54. Holst M.H. Solar thermal desalination using the multiple effect humidification method. Solar Desalination for the 21st Century 2007, Springer, Dordrecht.
55. Holt J.K., Park H.G., Wang Y.M., Stadermann M., Artyukhin A.B., Grigoropoulos C.P., Noy A., Bakajin O. Fast mass transport through sub-2-nanometer carbon nanotubes. Science 2006, 312:1034-1037.
56. Hoover L.A., Phillip W.A., Tiraferri A., Yip N.Y., Elimelech M. Forward with osmosis: emerging applications for greater sustainability. Environ. Sci. Technol. 2011, 45:9824-9830.
57. Hummer G., Rasaiah J.C., Noworyta J.P. Water conduction through the hydrophobic channel of a carbon nanotube. Nature 2001, 414:188-190.
58. Humplik T., Lee J., O'Hern S.C., Fellman B.A., Baig M.A., Hassan S.F., Atieh M.A., Rahman F., Laoui T., Karnik R., Wang E.N. Nanostructured materials for water desalination. Nanotechnology 2011, 22:292001.
59. Jacobson K.S., Drew D.M., He Z. Use of a liter-scale microbial desalination cell as a platform to study bioelectrochemical desalination with salt solution or artificial seawater. Environ. Sci. Technol. 2011, 45:4652-4657.
60. Jeong B.H., Hoek E.M.V., Yan Y., Subramani A., Huang X., Hurwitz G., Ghosh A.K., Jawor A. Interfacial polymerization of thing film nanocomposites: a new concept for reverse osmosis membranes. J. Memb. Sci. 2007, 294:1-7.
61. Jessop P.G., Heldebrant D.J., Li X., Eckert C.A., Liotta C.L. Green chemistry: reversible nonpolar-to-polar solvent. Nature 2005, 436:1102.
62. 2- triggered switchable solvents, surfactants, and other materials. Energy Environ. Sci. 2012, 5:7240-7253.
63. Joshi R.K., Carbone P., Wang F.C., Kravets, Su Y., Grigorieva I.V., Wu H.A., Geim A.K., Nair R.R. Precise and ultrafast molecular sieving through graphene oxide membranes. Science 2014, 343:752-754.
64. Kabeel A.E., Hamed M.H., Omara Z.M., Sharshir S.W. Water desalination using a humidification-dehumidification technique - a detailed review. Nat. Resour. 2013, 4:286-305.
65. Kalra A., Garde S., Hummer G. Osmotic water transport through carbon nanotube membranes. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 2003, 100:10175-10180.
66. Kaufman Y., Berman A., Freger V. Supported lipid bilayer membranes for water purification by reverse osmosis. Langmuir 2010, 26:7388-7395.
67. Khayet M., Nasef M.M., Mengual J.I. Application of poly (ethylene terephthalate)-graft-polystyrene membrane in pervaporation. Desalination 2006, 193:109-118.
68. Kim Y.J., Choi J.H. Enhanced desalination efficiency in capacitive deionization with an ion-selective membrane. Sep. Purif. Technol. 2010, 71:70-75.
69. Kim Y., Logan B.E. Series assembly of microbial desalination cells containing stacked electrodialysis cells for partial or complete seawater desalination. Environ. Sci. Technol. 2011, 45:5840-5845.
70. Kim S., Jinschek J.R., Chen H., Sholl D.S., Marand E. Scalable fabrication of carbon nanotube/polymer nanocomposite membrane for high flux gas transport. Nano Lett. 2007, 7:2806-2811.
71. Kim S.J., Ko S.H., Kang K.H., Han J. Direct seawater desalination by ion concentration polarization. Nat. Nanotechnol. 2010, 5:297-301.
72. Kim Y.D., Thu K., Ghaffour N., Ng K.C. Performance investigation of a solar-assisted direct contact membrane distillation system. J. Memb. Sci. 2013, 427:345-364.
73. Kim D.Y., Gu B., Kim J.H., Yang D.R. Theoretical analysis of a seawater desalination process integrating forward osmosis, crystallization, and reverse osmosis. J. Memb. Sci. 2013, 444:440-448.
74. Kim S.G., Hyeon D.H., Chun J.H., Chun B.H., Kim S.H. Novel thin nanocomposite RO membranes for chlorine resistance. Desalination Water Treat. 2013, 51:6338-6345.
75. Kittur A.A., Kariduraganavar M.Y., Toti U.S., Ramesh K., Aminabhavi T.M. Pervaporation separation of water-isopropanol mixtures using ZSM-5 zeolite incorporated poly (vinyl alcohol) membranes. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2003, 90:2441-2448.
76. Klaysom C., Cath T.Y., Depuydt T., Vankelecom I.F.J. Forward and pressure retarded osmosis: potential solutions for global challenges in energy and water supply. Chem. Soc. Rev. 2013, 42:6959-6989.
77. Knox W.G., Hess M., Jones G.E., Smith H.B. The clathrate process. Chem. Eng. Prog. 1961, 57:66.
78. Kumar M., Grzelakowski M., Zilles J., Clark M., Meier W. Highly permeable polymeric membranes based on the incorporation of the functional water channel protein Aquaporin Z. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 2007, 104:20719-20724.
79. Kurth C.J., Koehler J.A., Zhou M., Holmberg B.A., Burk R.L. Hybrid nanoparticle TFC membranes, Patent US 8603340 B2 2014, Available at:, (last accessed 21.11.14.). http://www.google.com/patents/US8603340.
80. Kuznetsov Y.P., Kruchinina E.V., Baklagnia Y.G., Khripunov A.K., Tulupova O.A. Russ. J. Appl. Chem. 2007, 80:790.
81. La Mantia F., Pasta M., Deshazer H.D., Logan B.E., Cui Y. Batteries for efficient energy extraction from water salinity difference. Nano Lett. 2011, 11:1810-1813.
82. Lee J., Kim S., Kim C., Yoon Y. Hybrid capacitive deionization to enhance the desalination performance of capacitive techniques. Energy Environ. Sci. 2014, 7:3683-3689.
83. Liu L., Meng W., Duo W., Congjie G. Current patents of forward osmosis membrane process. Recent Pat. Chem. Eng. 2010, 2(1):76-82.
84. Loeb S., Sourirajan S. Seawater demineralization by means of an osmotic membrane. Adv. Chem. Ser. 1963, 38:117-132.
85. Luo H., Xu P., Roane T.M., Jenkins P.E., Ren Z. Microbial desalination cells for improved performance in wastewater treatment, electricity production and desalination. Bioresour. Technol. 2012, 105:60-66.
86. Mahmoud M.S. Enhancement of solar desalination by humidification-dehumidification technique. Desalination Water Treat. 2011, 30:310-318.
87. Majumder M., Chopra N., Andrews R., Hinds B.J. Nanoscale hydrodynamics: enhanced flow in carbon nanotubes. Nature 2005, 438:44.
88. Mariah L., Buckley C.A., Brouckaert C.J., Curcio E., Drioli E., Jaganyi D., Ramjugernath D. Membrane distillation of concentrate brines - role of water activities in the evaluation of driving force. J. Memb. Sci. 2006, 280:937-947.
89. Mathioulakis E., Belessiotis V., Delyannis E. Desalination by using alternative energy: review and state-of-the-art. Desalination 2007, 203:346-365.
90. McCormack R.A., Andersen R.K. Clathrate Desalination Plant Preliminary Research Study June 1995, U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, Water Treatment Technology Program Report 5.
91. McCormack R.A., Niblock G.A. Build and Operate Clathrate Desalination Pilot Plant May 1998, U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, Water Treatment Technology Program Report 31.
92. McCormack R.A., Niblock G.A. Investigation of High Freezing Temperature, Zero Ozone, and Zero Global Warming Potential, Clathrate Formers for Desalination June 2000, U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Reclamation, Water Treatment Technology Program Report 59.
93. McCutcheon J., McGinnis R.L., Elimelech M. A novel ammonia-carbon dioxide forward (direct) osmosis desalination process. Desalination 2005, 174:1-11.
94. McCutcheon J., McGinnis R.L., Elimelech M. Desalination by ammonia-carbon dioxide forward osmosis: influence of draw and feed solution concentrations on performance on process performance. J. Memb. Sci. 2006, 278:114-123.
95. McGovern R.K., Lienhard V. On the potential of forward osmosis to energetically outperform reverse osmosis desalination. J. Memb. Sci. 2014, 469:245-250.
96. Mehanna M., Saito T., Yan J., Hickner M., Cai X., Huang X., Logan B.E. Using microbial desalination cells to reduce water salinity prior to reverse osmosis. Energy Environ. Sci. 2010, 3:1114-1120.
97. Meindersman G.W., Guijt C.M., de Haan A.B. Desalination and water recycling by air gap membrane distillation. Desalination 2006, 187:291-301.
98. Meng F., Jiang J., Zhao Q., Wang K., Zhang J., Fan Q., Wei L., Ding J., Zheng Z. Bioelectrochemical desalination and electricity generation in microbial desalination cell with dewatered sludge as fuel. Bioresour. Technol. 2014, 157:120-126.
99. Mi B. Graphene oxide membranes for ionic and molecular sieving. Science 2014, 343:740-742.
100. Miller James E., Evans Lindsey R. Forward Osmosis: a New Approach to Water Purification and Desalination 2006, Sandia National Laboratories.
101. Nair R.R., Wu H.A., Jayaram P.N., Grigorieva I.V., Geim A.K. Unimpeded permeate of water through helium-leak-tight graphene-based membranes. Science 2012, 335:442-443.
102. NanoH2O, Inc. Qfx SW 400 ES SWRO Element Data Sheet 2011, Available at:, (last accessed 25.11.14.). http://www.lg-nanoh2o.com/products/qfx-sw-400-es.
103. Narayan G.P., Sharqawy M.H., Summers E.K., Lienhard J.H., Zubair S.M., Antar M.A. The potential of solar-driven humidification-dehumidification desalination for small-scale decentralized water production. Renew. Sustain. Energy Rev. 2009, 14(4):1187-1201.
104. Narayan G.P., Sharqaqy M.H., Lienhard J.H., Zubair S.M. Thermodynamic analysis of humidification dehumidification desalination cycles. Desalination Water Treat. 2010, 16:339-353.
105. Narayan G.P., McGovern R.K., Thiel G.P., Miller J.A., Lienhard V. State of humidification dehumidification desalination technology. Proceedings of the International Desalination Association (IDA) World Congress, Perth, Western Australia, September 4-9 2011.
106. Ng K.C. Adsorption Desalination (AD) Technology 2014, Available at:, (last accessed 02.02.15.). https://20e80c98e0ab55004687-1b7b51f623edb7707bfb25abfa60d496.ssl.cf6.rackcdn.com/Medad%20Technologies_TechXchange.pdf.
107. Ng K.C., Thu K., Kim Y., Chakraborty A., Amy G. Adsorption desalination: an emerging low-cost thermal desalination method. Desalination 2013, 308:161-179.
108. Nicolai A., Sumpter B.G., Meunier V. Tunable water desalination across graphene oxide framework membranes. Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys. 2014, 16:8646-8654.
109. O'Hern S.C., Boutilier M.S.H., Idrobo J.C., Song Y., Kong J., Laoui T., Atieh M., Karnik R. Selective ionic transport through tunable subnanometer pores in single-layer graphene membranes. Nano Lett. 2014, 14:1234-1241.
110. Pangarkar B.L., Sane M.G., Parjane S.B., Guddad M. Desalination Water Treat. 2014, 52:5199-5218.
111. 3+). Desalination 2011, 274:91-96.
112. Pasta M., Wessells C.D., Cui Y., La Mantia F. A desalination battery. Nano Lett. 2012, 12:839-843.
113. Peñata B., García-Rodríguez L. Current trends and future prospects in the design of seawater reverse osmosis desalination technology. Desalination 2012, 284:1-8.
114. Pendergast M.M., Hoek E.M.V. A review of water treatment membrane nanotechnologies. Energy Environ. Sci. 2011, 4:1946-1971.
115. Pendergast M.M., Ghosh A.K., Hoek E.M.V. Separation performance and interfacial properties of nanocomposite reverse osmosis membranes. Desalination 2013, 308:180-185.
116. Phuntsho S., Ho K.S., Seungkwan H., Sangyoup L., Vigneswaran S. A novel low energy fertilizer driven forward osmosis desalination for direct fertigation: evaluating the performance of fertilizer draw solutions. J. Memb. Sci. 2011, 375:172-181.
117. Porada S., Sales B.B., Hamelers H.V.M., Biesheuvel P.M. Water desalination with wires. J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 2012, 3:1613-1618.
118. Pryor T. Tjuntjunjarra Solar/waste Heat Energy Groundwater Desalination Project 2012, Available at:, (last accessed 10.02.15.). http://desalination.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/FR2-Pryor-2012.pdf.
119. Qiu C., Setiawan L., Wang R., Yang C.Y., Fane A.G. High performance flat sheet forward osmosis membrane with an NF-like selective layer on a woven fabric embedded substrate. Desalination 2012, 287:266-270.
120. Qu D., Wang J., Wang L., Hou D., Luan Z., Wang B. Integration of accelerated precipitation softening with membrane distillation for high-recovery desalination of primary reverse osmosis concentrate. Sep. Purif. Technol. 2009, 67:21-25.
121. Qu Y., Feng Y., Wang X., Liu J., Lv J., He W., Logan B.E. Simultaneous water desalination and electricity generation in a microbial desalination cell with electrolyte recirculation for pH control. Bioresour. Technol. 2012, 106:89-94.
122. Raluy R.G., Serra L., Uche J. Life cycle assessment of desalination technologies integrated with renewable energies. Desalination 2005, 183:81-93.
123. RWL, Capacitive Deionization, Available at: (last accessed 06.09.12.). http://www.rwlwater.com/capacitive-deionization-promising-desalination-technology-resdesigned/.
124. Salvetat J.P., Briggs A.D., Bonard J.M., Bacsa R.R., Kulik A.J., Stockli T., Burnham N.A., Forro L. Elastic and shear moduli for single-walled carbon nanotube ropes. Phys. Rev. Lett. 1999, 82:944-947.
125. Salvetat J.P., Kulik A.J., Bonard J.M., Briggs G.A.D., Stockli T., Metenier K., Bonnamy S., Beguin F., Burnham N.A., Forro L. Elastic modulus of ordered and disordered mutiwalled carbon nantubes. Adv. Mater. 1999, 11:161-165.
126. Seacord T., MacHarg J., Coker S. Affordable desalination Collaboration 2005 results. Proceedings of the American Membrane Technology Association Conference in Stuart, FL, USA July 2006.
127. Semiat R. Energy issues in desalination processes. Environ. Sci. Technol. 2008, 42:8193-8201.
128. Seo S.J., Jeon H., Lee J.K., Kim G.Y., Park D., Nojima H., Lee J., Moon S.H. Investigation on removal of hardness ions by capacitive deionization (CDI) for water softening applications. Water Res. 2010, 44:2267-2275.
129. Shaffer D.L., Yip N.Y., Gilron J., Elimelech M. Perspective: seawater desalination for agriculture by integrated forward and reverse osmosis: improved product water quality for potentially less energy. J. Memb. Sci. 2012, 415:1-8.
130. Sholl D.S., Johnson J.K. Making high-flux membranes with carbon nanotubes. Science 2006, 312(5776):1003-1004.
131. Siemens, Energy-efficient Seawater Desalination, Available at: (last accessed 25.11.14.). http://www.siemens.com/press/en/presspicture/?press=/en/presspicture/pictures-photonews/2009/pn200906/pn200906-02.htm.
132. Song L., Hu J.Y., One S.L., Ng W.J., Elimelech M., Wilf M. Emergence of thermodynamic restriction and its implications for full-scale reverse osmosis processes. Desalination 2003, 144:213-228.
133. Song L., Schuetze B., Rainwater K. Demonstration of a High Recovery and Energy Efficient RO System for Small-scale Brackish Water Desalination, Final Report December, 2012, Texas Water Development Board.
134. Stone M.L., Rae C., Stewart F.F., Wilson A.D. Switchable polarity solvents as draw solutes for forward osmosis. Desalination 2013, 312:124-129.
135. Stover R. Seawater reverse osmosis with isobaric energy recovery devices. Desalination 2007, 203:168-175.
136. Stover R. Permeate recovery and flux maximization in semi-batch reverse osmosis. Proceedings of the American Water Works Association (AWWA) and American Membrane Technology Association (AMTA) Membrane Technology Conference, February 25-28, San Antonio, Texas 2013.
137. Stover R., Efraty N. Record low energy consumption with closed circuit desalination. International Desalination Association (IDA) World Congress - Perth Convention and Exhibition Center (PCEC), Perth, Western Australia, September 4-9, 2011 2011.
138. Subramani A., Badruzzaman M., Oppenheimer J., Jacangelo J.G. Energy minimization strategies and renewable energy utilization for desalination: a review. Water Res. 2011, 45:1907-1920.
139. Subramani A., Voutchkov N., Jacangelo J.G. Desalination energy minimization using thin film nanocomposite membranes. Desalination 2014, 350:35-43.
140. Subramani A., Voutchkov N., Jacangelo J.G. Seawater desalination energy minimization using nanocomposite RO and semi batch RO. Proceedings of the American Membrane Technology Association (AMTA) Annual Membrane Technology Conference, Las Vegas, Nevada 2014.
141. Sui H., Han B.G., Lee J.K., Walian P., Jap B.K. Structural basis of water specific transport through the AQP1 water channel. Nature 2001, 414:872-878.
142. Teoh, M.M., Wang, K., Boyadi, S., Chung, T., Forward Osmosis and Membrane Distillation Processes for Freshwater Production, Available at: (last accessed 11.11.14.). http://www.innovationmagazine.com/innovation/volumes/v8n1/coverstory3.shtml.
143. Tomaszewska M. Membrane distillation - examples of application in technology and environmental protection. Pol. J. Environ. Stud. 2000, 9:27-36.
144. Department of Energy (USDOE), Advanced, Energy-efficient Hybrid Membrane System for Industrial Water Reuse, Available at: (last accessed 12.11.14.). http://energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2013/11/f4/hybrid_membrane_systems_factsheet.pdf.
145. Voltea, Capacitive Deionization, Available at: (last accessed 06.09.12.). http://www.voltea.com/technology/introduction/.
146. Walton J., Lu H., Turner C., Solis S., Hein H. Solar and Waste Heat Desalination by Membrane Distillation April 2004, Desalination and Water Purification Research and Development (DRIP) Program, Report No. 81.
147. Wang P., Chung T.S. Recent advances in membrane distillation processes: membrane development, configuration design and application exploring. J. Memb. Sci. 2015, 474:39-56.
148. Wang K.Y., Teoh M.M., Nugroho A., Chung T.S. Integrated forward osmosis-membrane distillation (FO - MD) hybrid system for the concentration of protein solutions. Chem. Eng. Sci. 2011, 66:2421-2430.
149. Wang H., Chung T.S., Tong Y.W., Jeyaseelan K., Armugam A., Chen Z., Hong M., Meier W. Highly permeable and selective pore-spanning biomimetic membrane embedded with Aquaporin Z. Small 2012, 8:1185-1190.
150. Wei J., Qiu C., Tang C.Y., Wang R., Fane A.G. Synthesis and characterization of flat-sheet thin film composite forward osmosis membranes. J. Memb. Sci. 2011, 372:292-302.
151. Welgemoed T.J. Capacitive Deionization Technology: Development and Evaluation of an Industrial Prototype System 2005, University of Pretoria, Dissertation.
152. Wilf M., Bartels C. Optimization of seawater RO systems design. Desalination 2005, 173:1-12.
153. Wilson A.D., Stewart F.F., Stone M.L. Use of Switchable Solvents as Forward Osmosis Draw Solutes 2013, Idaho National Laboratory, Available at:, (last accessed 28.11.14.). http://www2.epa.gov/sites/production/files/documents/wilson.pdf.
154. Xie Z., Hoang M., Ng D., Duong T., Dao B., Gray S. Proceedings of IMISTEC10/AMS6 Conference, 22-26 November 2010, Sydney, Australia 2010.
155. Xie M., Nghiem L.D., Price W.E., Elimelech M. A forward osmosis-membrane distillation hybrid process for direct sewer mining: system performance and limitations. Environ. Sci. Technol. 2013, 47:13486-13493.
156. Xue M., Qiu H., Gui W. Exceptionally fast water desalination at complete salt rejection by pristine graphyne monolayers. Nanotechnology 2013, 24:505720.
157. Yang Q., Feng Y., Logan B.E. Using cathode spacers to minimize reactor size in air cathode microbial fuel cells. Bioresour. Technol. 2012, 110:273-277.
158. Yang H.Y., Han Z.J., Yu S.F., Pey K.L., Ostrikov K., Karnik R. Carbon nanotube membranes with ultrahigh specific absorption capacity for water desalination and purification. Nat. Commun. 2013, 4(2220):1-8.
159. Yangali-Quintanilla V., Zhenyu L., Valladeres R., Li Q., Amy G. Indirect desalination of red sea water with forward osmosis and low pressure reverse osmosis for water reuse. Desalination 2011, 280:160-166.
160. Yen S.K., Mehnas H.N.F., Su M., Wang K.Y., Chung T.S. Study of draw solutes using 2-methylimidazole-based compounds in forward osmosis. J. Memb. Sci. 2010, 364:242-252.
161. Yoshikawa N., Asari T., Kishi N., Hayashi S., Sugai T., Shinohara H. An efficient fabrication of vertically aligned carbon nanotubes on flexible aluminum foils by catalyst-supported chemical vapor deposition. Nanotechnology 2008, 19(24):245607.
162. Zhang F., Brastad K., He Z. Integrating forward osmosis into microbial fuel cells for wastewater treatment, water extraction and bioelectricity generation. Environ. Sci. Technol. 2011, 45:6690-6696.
163. Zhao S., Zou L., Tang C.Y., Mulcahy D. Recent developments in forward osmosis: opportunities and challenges. J. Memb. Sci. 2012, 396:1-21.
164. Zhu F.Q., Tajkhorshid E., Schulten K. Theory and simulation of water permeation in aquaporin-1. Biophys. J. 2004, 86:50-57.
165. Zhu A., Christofides P.D., Cohen Y. On RO membrane and energy costs and associated incentives for future enhancements of membrane permeability. J. Memb. Sci. 2009, 344:1-5.
166. Zhu A., Rahardianto A., Christofides P.D., Cohen Y. Reverse osmosis desalination with high permeability membranes - cost optimization and research needs. Desalination Water Treat. 2010, 15:256-266.
167. Zwijnenberg H.J., Koops G.H., Wessling M. Solar driven membrane pervaporation for desalination processes. J. Memb. Sci. 2005, 250:235-246.