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Research advances in polyamide composite membranes with high boron removal for seawater desalination
Authors： YANG Xingsheng, SONG Ying, KANG Yan, WU Zongce， JIN Yan
Units： Vontron Technology Limited, Guiyang 550014, China
KeyWords： desalination; reverse osmosis membrane; polyamide; boron removal
ClassificationCode：P747; TQ031.2; TQ316
year,volume(issue):pagination： 2026, 46(3):218-232

Abstract：

With the increasingly severe global freshwater crisis, reverse osmosis(RO) seawater desalination has become a critical pathway for obtaining freshwater resources. However,the thin-film composite polyamide membranes, as the core of this technology, generally exhibit low removal rates for neutral boric acid molecules in seawater, making it difficult to meet stringent standards for drinking and irrigation water. This paper first outlines the key physical and chemical limiting factors for the low boron rejection rate of RO membranes, then it systematically reviews five main strategies for enhancing the boron rejection performance of RO membranes, including the optimization of interfacial polymerization processes, introduction of novel functional monomers, secondary interfacial polymerization, incorporation of functional fillers, and surface post-treatment modification. The mechanisms, performance improvements, and limitations of each strategy are analyzed. Finally, the shortcomings of current strategies for preparing high-boron-rejection membranes are summarized, and potential future pathways for developing such membranes are proposed. This review aims to provide a reference for the research and development of high-boron-rejection reverse osmosis membranes.

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AuthorIntro：
第一作者简介： 杨兴胜（1987-），男，贵州凯里人，高级工程师，硕士，主要研究方向为反渗透膜开发与性能研究.*通讯作者，E-mail：yangxingsheng@vontron.com

Reference：

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