Removal of pesticides from aqueous solution using aquaporin FO membrane

Forward osmosis (FO) process has gained a critical attention in recent years due to its decreased energy requirements as well as less fouling risks (D’Haese et al., 2013; Hancock et al., 2011). However, the challenge has been to find an FO membrane offering sufficient rejection of uncharged micropollutants while maintaining a reasonable water flux. Among FO membranes, by incorporating aquaporin proteins in the membrane selective layer, aquaporin membrane offers the possibility of having a high rejection without compromising water flux resulting in a higher permeability compared to the other traditional FO membranes. However, their potential for removal of micropollutant is not widely studied. In this study, the performance of the membrane was for the first time investigated in a conventional FO setup for removal of three frequently detected pesticides in groundwater wells in Denmark; 2-6 Dichlorobenzamide (BAM), 2-methyl-4-chlorophenoxyaceticacid (MCPA), and methylchlorophenoxypropionic acid (MCPP).