Techno-economic preferability of cost−performance effective draw solutions for forward osmosis and osmotic anaerobic bioreactor applications

Abstract Cost and performance efficient integrations of biological treatments with membrane processes are very worthy for water and resource recovery among of which osmotic anaerobic digestion suffers from exactly elucidating desirable techno-economic features of key operating factors. Cost-performance effective draw solutions (DSs) were ascertained for forward osmosis (FO) and anaerobic bioreactor (AnBR) applications, viz., anaerobic osmotic membrane bioreactor (AnOMBR) and [FO/AnBR] in this study. In the case study comprising of literature data pre-screening, selected DS experiments, and preferability analysis, a dual modeling approach was executed for prioritizing DSs eligible to osmotic AnBRs by analytic hierarchy process (AHP). With AHP screening of 29 DSs' FO data, NaNO3, NaCl, MgCl2, CaCl2, NH4H2PO4, HCOONa and CH3COONa were established among the best 10% worth researching for osmotic AnBRs. Upon AHP analyses of performances and DS cost, organics, CaCl2, MgCl2 and seawater (SW) appeared as the most techno-economically favorable DSs. However, their preference priorities changed by FO integration and SW supply cost, such that SW was the best for AnOMBR by low-cost supply. Eventually, it was concluded that DS cost has primarily to be considered for successful osmotic AnBR applications, and priority to SW should be attributed for sustainable wastewater reclamations with AnOMBR in coastal countries.