Systems and methods for water desalination using thermo-responsive ionic liquids regenerated by solar energy

A system comprising:

• a forward osmosis apparatus including an osmotic membrane, the forward osmosis apparatus operable to treat wastewater with the wastewater on a first side of the osmotic membrane and a draw solution on the second side of the osmotic membrane, the draw solution comprising a mixture of water and an ionic liquid, water in the wastewater diffusing across the osmotic membrane to the draw solution to form a diluted draw solution;
• a flow separator including a photonic heater, the flow separator being coupled to the forward osmosis apparatus to receive the diluted draw solution and operable to heat the diluted draw solution with the photonic heater above a lower critical solution temperature (LCST) of the ionic liquid;
• a separation vessel operable to allow the diluted draw solution to phase separate into the ionic liquid and treated water;
• and
• a first heat exchanger coupled to the forward osmosis apparatus operable to cool the wastewater to a specific temperature, and a second heat exchanger coupled to the forward osmosis apparatus operable to cool the draw solution to the specific temperature.