Forward osmosis (FO)

as an emerging technology

is influenced by different factors such as operating conditions

module characteristics

and membrane properties. The general aim of this study was to develop a suitable (flexible

comprehensive

and convenient to use) computational tool which is able to simulate osmosis through an asymmetric membrane oriented in pressure retarded osmosis (PRO) mode in a wide variety of scenarios. For this purpose

an agent-based model was created in NetLogo platform

which is an easy-to-use application environment with graphical visualization abilities and well suited for modeling a complex system evolving over time. The simulation results were validated with empirical data obtained from literature and a great agreement was observed. The effect of various parameters on process performance was investigated in terms of temperature

cross-flow velocity

length of the module

pure water permeability coefficient

and structural parameter of the membrane. Results demonstrated that the increase in all parameters

except structural parameter of the membrane and the length of module led to the increase of average water flux. Moreover

nine different draw solutes were selected in order to assess the influence of net bulk osmotic pressure difference between the draw solution (DS) and feed solution (FS) (known as the driving force of FO process) on water flux. Based on the findings of this paper

the performance of FO process (PRO mode) can be efficiently evaluated using the NetLogo platform.