Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 4, 2026

Proof-of-Concept for Gas-Entrapping Membranes Derived from Water-Loving SiO2/Si/SiO2 Wafers for Green Desalination
Published on: March 1, 2020
On the understanding and feasibility of "Breakthrough" Osmosis
1Department of Engineering, Durham University, Durham, DH1 3LE, UK.
Abstract:
Osmosis is the movement of solvent across a permselective membrane induced by a solute-concentration gradient. Now in 'Forward Osmosis' it is empirically observed that the diffusion of the solute is counter to that of the solvent i.e. there is so-called "reverse salt diffusion". However it has been recently suggested, in a theoretical paper, that if allowance is made for minor deviations from ideal semi-permeability then operation in an overlooked mode of "breakthrough" osmosis would be possible and importantly it would yield relatively large rates of osmosis. A consequential prediction was that in "breakthrough mode", Pressure-Retarded Osmosis (PRO) would generate very high power densities exceeding those in the conventional mode by one order of magnitude. The practicality of this suggestion was explored and necessarily questions were then raised regarding the foundation of the Spiegler-Kedem-Katchalsky model.Arising from: Yaroshchuk, A., Sci. Rep. 7, 45168 (2017); https://doi.org/10.1038/srep45168.
Related Concept Videos
Osmosis
Water, like other substances, moves from a high concentration of...
Osmosis
Osmosis and Osmotic Pressure of Solutions
Factors Influencing Microbial Growth: Osmolarity
Chemiosmosis
Electron Transport Chain
The electron transport chain involves a series of protein complexes on the inner mitochondrial membrane that undergo a series of redox reactions. At the end of this chain, the electrons...
Dialysis

