Emerging membrane technologies for sustainable water treatment: a review on recent advances

Abstract

The growing scarcity of freshwater resources, coupled with industrial pollution, necessitates the development of efficient and sustainable water treatment technologies. Membrane-based desalination and heavy metal removal processes are at the forefront of these technologies, providing efficient and reliable solutions to meet the growing demand for clean water. This study provides a comprehensive review on recent advancements in desalination technologies, focusing on emerging materials that have significantly influenced desalination and heavy metal removal performances. A meticulous screening of recent review papers on both along with experimental studies published within the last year is provided, thereby offering an updated perspective on the ongoing experiments dedicated to water treatment using membranes. Notably, this review considers various membrane types, including nanocomposites, biomimetic, thin-film composites, hybrids, and membranes associated with forward osmosis. Results indicate that nanocomposite membranes, thin-film composite membranes, and forward osmosis membranes are widely used for desalination and heavy metal removal compared to hybrid and biomimetic membranes. This widespread utilization can be attributed to their well-established fabrication techniques, robust mechanical properties, high removal%, and better scalability for industrial applications. In contrast, while hybrid and biomimetic membranes are promising, they are still under development and facing challenges pertaining to material synthesis, cost, and integration into existing systems.