Understanding how surface physicochemical properties influence the settlement and adhesion of marine fouling organisms is important for the development of effective and environmentally benign marine antifouling coatings. We demonstrate that the thickness of random poly(HEMA-co-PEG10MA) copolymer brushes affect antifouling behavior. Films of thicknesses ranging from 50 to 1000 Å were prepared vi...

Reverse Osmosis (RO) membrane fouling is one of the main challenges that membrane manufactures, the scientific community and industry professionals have to deal with. The consequences of this inevitable phenomenon have a negative effect on the performance of the desalination system. Predicting fouling in RO systems is key to evaluating the long-term operating conditions and costs. Much research...

Separation of milk into well-defined fractions will lead to a more optimal use of milk components (milk fat, casein, serum proteins) and their functional properties. In principle, membrane separation technology is well capable of large-scale fractionation of milk. Membrane processes for the isolation of serum proteins from whey, and the reduction of bacteria and spores in skimmed milk have alre...

Biofouling“ is referred to as the unwanted deposition and growth of biofilms. This phenomenon can occur in an extremely wide range of opportunities ranging from colonization of medical devices, production of ultrapure, drinking and process water, fouling of ship hulls, pipelines and reservoirs. It seriously damages the efficacy of membrane processes by forming a secondary membrane which, at a c...

Membrane fouling in membrane bioreactors (MBR) is caused by cake formation on the surface, mainly attributed to suspended solids, and also by surface adsorption connected with pore blocking, attributed to soluble components of activated sludge. In this study, long-term experiments were carried out in sub-critical conditions with frequent backwashing, and the nature of fouling was investigated. ...

The presence of calcium and humic substances or natural organic matter (NOM) in surface waters can cause severe fouling of nanofiltration (NF) membranes. Conditions of fouling were studied using a stainless steel stirred cell of volume 185 mL and a membrane area of 21.2*10-4m2 at a transmembrane pressure of 5 bar. Deposition of organic matter was determined by mass balance in feed and concentra...

There has been an increase in commercial-scale kelp cultivation in Europe, with fouling of cultivated kelp fronds presenting a major challenge to the growth and development of the industry. The presence of epibionts decreases productivity and impacts the commercial value of the crop. Several abiotic and biotic factors may influence the occurrence and degree of fouling of wild and cultivated fro...

Prevention and removal of fouling is often the most energy intensive process in Membrane Bioreactors (MBRs), responsible for 40% to 50% of the total specific energy consumed in submerged MBRs. In the past decade, methods were developed to quantify and qualify fouling, aiming to support optimization in MBR operation. Therefore, there is a need for an evaluation of the lessons learned and how to ...