Valorization of surface-water RO brines via Assisted-Reverse Electrodialysis for minerals recovery: performance analysis and scale-up perspectives

Reverse Osmosis (RO) plays a key role in seawater and brackish water desalination to fulfill the growing demand for fresh water. In recent years, RO has also been more and more adopted for the treatment and potabilization of surface waters, leading to two main problems: (i) the depletion in minerals of the product water, making it aggressive and unsuitable for drinking purposes and (ii) the production of a concentrated brine requiring proper disposal. Permeate remineralization post-treatments include pH adjustment and addition of minerals, such as bicarbonates, calcium and magnesium, which are essential for human health and required to meet drinking water guidelines. However, such solutions…