Abstract Forward osmosis (FO) is an increasingly important technology that has been deemed promising for addressing the global issue of water scarcity. Rapid progress over the past decade has been marked by significant innovations in the membrane development and process design. The key idea is to develop next-generation membranes through advanced membrane fabrication methods as well as hybrid systems where the FO process can really value-add. As such, this article provides an overview of the various FO membrane designs, in particular, the thin-film composite, surface-modified, and mixed matrix and biomimetic membranes. The pros and cons of each type of membranes are discussed together with the strategies used to optimize membrane properties such as structural parameter (S), water permeability (A) and salt permeability (B) to achieve enhanced FO performances. Furthermore, we also discuss the roles of FO in the various hybrid systems and evaluate the potential of these hybrid systems for desalination. Lastly, we provide our perspectives, especially in the area of membrane fabrications and FO hybrid systems, to shed light on the future research directions for harnessing the true potential of FO for desalination.

中文翻译：

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基于正向渗透的海水淡化的膜和工艺：最新进展和未来前景

摘要 正向渗透 (FO) 是一项日益重要的技术，被认为有望解决全球水资源短缺问题。在过去十年中，膜开发和工艺设计的重大创新标志着过去十年的快速进步。关键思想是通过先进的膜制造方法以及 FO 工艺可以真正增值的混合系统来开发下一代膜。因此，本文概述了各种 FO 膜设计，特别是薄膜复合膜、表面改性膜以及混合基质和仿生膜。讨论了每种类型膜的优缺点以及用于优化膜特性的策略，例如结构参数 (S)、水渗透性 (A) 和盐渗透性 (B) 以实现增强的 FO 性能。此外，我们还讨论了 FO 在各种混合系统中的作用，并评估了这些混合系统在海水淡化方面的潜力。最后，我们提供了我们的观点，特别是在膜制造和 FO 混合系统领域，以阐明未来的研究方向，以利用 FO 的真正潜力进行海水淡化。