Forward Osmosis (FO) is a process that can be used for water treatment with less energy requirement. Previous study has been successful in synthesizing FO membrane from nata-de-coco (NDC). Its strength still needs to be improved. This study explored the modification of FO-NDC membrane to improve its strength and durability. Composite of NDC/sodium alginate membranes were reinforced with nano-silica powder. Initial modification of the bacterial cellulose (BC) film was done using Sodium alginate (SA) to fill the voids. The cross-linking between the composite layers was induced using two varied concentrations (10 % and 15 %) of calcium chloride (CaCl2). Results revealed that the most appropriate membranes are the ones prepared by adding 2 % nano-silica powder in the medium for the cultivation of BC film forming a composite with 1 % alginate solution and using 10 % CaCl2 cross-linking agent. Characterization of the modified FO-NDC membrane yielded an average contact angle of 19.41° proving that the membrane is hydrophilic. The performance of the modified FO-NDC membrane was evaluated in terms of the water flux, salt flux, and percent salt rejection. The laboratory scale FO system used 0.6 M NaCl feed and 2.0 M MgCl2 draw solutions. A water flux of 3.88 LMH with 89.51 % salt rejection was obtained in the FO experiment.
