Osmotic-Assisted Reverse Osmosis for Enhanced Desalination

The same company also ran a project that explored osmotic-assisted reverse osmosis (OARO) to improve desalination, aiming to increase freshwater recovery, reduce brine volumes, cut energy use, and extend membrane life. The challenge included handling high pressures, variable salinity, and compact system requirements for both new-build and retrofit applications.

The team conducted systematic R&D, including IP review, novel multi-stage OARO configurations, selective ion pre-treatment, and innovative membrane arrangements. Lab testing, modelling, and design iterations demonstrated roughly double freshwater recovery compared with conventional plants, higher brine concentrations, and around half the energy consumption, providing a technically and commercially viable solution.