Ultrasound-assisted membrane technologies for fouling control and performance improvement: A review

Membrane separation is widely used in wastewater treatment and desalination due to its high performance ability handle feed solutions of different qualities. Despite vast history success, membrane fouling remains a major system deficiency that imposes substantial process limitations by reducing permeate production increasing energy demand. Besides, chemical cleaning-in-place (CIP) adversely affects integrity generates an extra waste stream. Ultrasound (US) relatively new cleaning technique improves mitigating accumulation at surface improving flux promoting mass heat transfer. US-assisted processes efficient method for reduction significant improvement. This study comprehensively reviews US applications pressure-, thermally- osmotic-driven technologies their impact on performance. It also explores the operating conditions properties how these parameters can be tuned achieve desirable outcome. To date, application limited laboratory tests. In authors' opinion, there niche market technology heavily contaminated water such as brine. After critical analysis literature, we found are still several aspects need scrutinized carefully make adequate evaluation feasibility industrial scale. The most urgent one techno-economic based large-scale long-term proposed set recommendations future research directions technologies.