International Forward Osmosis Association (IFOA) products

Forward osmosis (FO) is an osmotic process that uses a semi-permeable membrane to effect separation of water from dissolved solutes. The driving force for this separation is an osmotic pressure gradient between a solution of high concentration, often referred to as a “draw” and a solution of lower concentration, referred to as the “feed”. The osmotic pressure gradient is used to induce a net flow of water through the membrane into the draw, thus effectively concentrating the feed.  The draw solution can consist of a single or multiple simple salts or can be a substance specifically tailored for forward osmosis applications.  The feed solution can be a dilute product stream, a waste stream or seawater.