Sustainable Fouling Management in Renewable-Energy-Driven Reverse Osmosis for Wastewater Reuse: Mechanisms, Mitigation Strategies, and Future Perspectives
Freshwater scarcity and rising wastewater generation have intensified global reliance on desalination and reuse, with reverse osmosis (RO) providing 65–70% of installed desalination capacity and achieving energy reductions from 15 kWhm−3 in the 1970s to 1.8–2.5 kWhm−3 today. However, fouling caused by organics, inorgan...