Reverse osmosis membrane biofouling: causes, consequences and countermeasures

Abstract Biofouling has been referred to as “the Achilles heel” of reverse osmosis (RO) membrane technology; the main cause being polyamide RO membranes lack chlorine tolerance. increases operating cost water treatment by increasing system feed pressure (i.e., energy demand) and cleaning frequency, which downtime reduces useful life. For waters with known high biofouling potential, plant designs also may require more extensive pretreatment, capital costs well footprint a desalination plant. It is from literature that three keys fending off in systems and/or recovering once it takes root include (1) understanding site-specific processes governing biofilm formation, (2) implementing effective pretreatment ahead membranes, (3) monitoring enable proactive cleaning. Herein, we present four case studies seawater, municipal wastewater, brackish groundwater industrial wastewater. Next, describe what about causes consequences bacterial formation growth through process level model. Finally, review common control methods including pre-treatment, chemical most strategies for systems.