FO systems are now one step closer to mass adoption

An industrial size FO-based Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) system is now operational in the Changxing Power Plant

Skeptics towards the commercial viability of forward osmosis water treatment systems need look no further. According to a recent article on Water Online,  Oasys Water and its Chinese partner Beijing Woteer Water Technology have successfully designed and commissioned a forward osmosis based zero liquid discharge (ZLD) system for treating challenging industrial wastewater from flue gas desulfurization (FGD) and cooling system blow-down.

The hybrid FO/RO system was chosen due to its ability to “absorb the wide swings in wastewater flow and water quality arising from variations in the FGD scrubber process”. Check out the article on Water Online for more details on system design and system capacity.

What does this mean for the commercialization of forward osmosis technologies?

In a previous article on ForwardOsmosisTech we summarized the challenges faced when commercializing forward osmosis technologies. One of the main barriers to adoption for new technologies is almost always a limited track record in real-life industrial applications. The same definitely applies to forward osmosis technologies, which have long been restricted to bench-scale modelling and small pilot system. Now that actual industrial size forward osmosis system are proving their worth in challenging applications, FO systems – in general – are definitely an important step closer to mass adoption. This is good news for today’s handful of up-and-coming forward osmosis technology providers looking for market adoption of their products and solutions.