Boron in seawater and methods for its separation - A review

The seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) membrane desalination process is a relevant and reliable technology for desalination of seawater. However, some serious limitations had recently been discovered during field practice, among them the boron problem seems to have a critical meaning. According to the WHO regulations, the boron concentration should be reduced to less than 0.5 mg/L for drinking water. It was also reported that, this limit is rarely reached for conventional reverse osmosis desalination plants equipped with commercially available membranes. This paper reviews the extensive published literature on separation methods of boron removal from seawater.