Prospects for high water recovery membrane desalination

Abstract Water recovery is an important aspect of the work of the desalination plant. In this paper, we discuss the prospects for high water recovery in two commonly used membrane desalination methods, reverse osmosis (RO) and electrodialysis (ED). Achieving high water recovery is limited, mainly because of the risk of sparingly soluble salts precipitation and, in the case of reverse osmosis, the osmotic pressure of the retentate. We discuss the scaling risk during membrane desalination and review the possible methods for increasing water recovery, such as application of antiscalants, integration of various separation methods, and modifications in the operation of membrane processes.