Seasonal variations in the fouling diatom community from a monsoon influenced tropical estuary were investigated. The community composition did not differ significantly between stainless steel and polystyrene substrata due to dominance by Navicula spp. The experimental evidence suggests that Amphora, which is a dominant fouling diatom in temperate waters, ultimately dominates the community in t...

Fouling of ships is an important historical and enduring transfer mechanism of marine nonindigenous species (NIS). Although containerships have risen to the forefront of global maritime shipping since the 1950s, few studies have directly sampled fouling communities on their submerged surfaces, and little is known about differences in the fouling characteristics among commercial ship types. Twen...

Bacteria that produce inhibitory compounds on the surface of marine algae are thought to contribute to the defense of the host plant against colonization of fouling organisms. However, the number of bacterial cells necessary to defend against fouling on the plant surface is not known. Pseudoalteromonas tunicata and Phaeobacter sp. strain 2.10 (formerly Roseobacter gallaeciensis) are marine bact...

Fouling behaviour and its impact on the rejection of trace organic contaminants (TrOCs) by forward osmosis (FO) were investigated.Membrane fouling was simulated using humic acid and colloidal particles asmodel foulants at different initial permeatewater fluxes.Water flux declinewas insignificant at an initial permeate flux of 9 L/m2h and the fouling layerwas loose and fluid-like. By contrast, t...

Membrane fouling limits the effects of long-term stable operation of membrane bioreactor (MBR). Control of membrane fouling can extend the membrane life and reduce water treatment cost effectively. A pilot scale anoxic/aerobic-membrane bioreactor (A/O-MBR, 40 L/hr) was used to treat the hyperhaline municipal sewage from a processing zone of Tianjin, China. Impact factors including mixed liquid ...

The use of modern high flux reverse osmosis membranes with low salinity feeds at high recovery rates, makes the measurement of fouling by flux decline difficult in practice. Early detection of fouling is important, because the onset of fouling occurs at a critical flux which is difficult to predict a priori. An alternative method, measuring the electrical properties of the membrane is proposed ...

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) with different physiochemical properties were layered onto low pressure membranes and tested for antifouling properties using a natural surface water with high fouling potential. Membranes modified with the largest diameter pristine multi-walled CNTs (MWCNTs) were most effective in controlling membrane fouling, tripling the time it took for the membrane to become noticea...

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...