Graphene Oxide-based Membranes for Wastewater Treatments: Current Status and Future Outlook

Advanced energy-efficient separation methods are becoming increasingly necessary due to industrial emissions, urban runoff pollution, and global water scarcity. In order to overcome the drawbacks of traditional polymeric membranes, such as fouling, limited selectivity, and chlorine sensitivity, graphene oxide (GO) membranes—which are made up of stacked, oxygen-functionalized two-dimensional carbon sheets—offer a remarkable combination of sub-nanometer sieving, ultrafast water transport, and versatile adsorption chemistry. In this review, GO membranes are critically assessed in practical water applications, such as drinking water treatment, industrial effluents (based on pilot-scale textile dyehouse and oilfield research), municipal wastewater, and stormwater. Applications and performance metrics in real water matrices, including dye, PFAS, and metal ions removal, are discussed in detail, along with challenges like scalability, fouling, structural stability, regulatory compliance, and environmental health considerations. The GO structural and chemical properties that are pertinent to membrane performance, fabrication strategies, and bench-scale performance of GO modified surfaces were also discussed in this review article. Practical suggestions are offered in the conclusion section, highlighting the need for extensive safety testing and multi-month pilot studies to hasten the transition of GO membranes from lab experiments to functional water treatment systems.