Fouling Prediction in Reverse Osmosis Processes

In recent years, membrane separation processes have successfully established footholds in all areas of chemical separations. Semipermeable membranes are now enhancing and even replacing long-time standard techniques such as distillation and solvent extraction (1). They are also being used in the preparation of purified chemical and biological products as well as the treatment and recovery of many industrial waste streams (2, 3). Many of these recent technological advances follow from successful research begun in the 1950's to desalinate seawater using synthetic membranes in reverse osmosis processes. While other methods to desalinate seawater have proven too unreliable or too expensive, the use of reverse osmosis in the production of potable water has steadily increased (4). Despite its growing popularity and improved technology, reverse osmosis, RO, along with all membrane separation processes continues to be plagued with one persistent problem. The problem is membrane fouling (5). Eyecamp has defined this broad term as the following: