Membrane autopsy

The pretreatment of raw seawater is necessary to minimize the organic fouling of seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) membranes. To predict the membrane fouling of the pretreated seawater, the modified fouling index (MFI) with ultrafiltration (UF) was investigated in terms of molecular weight distributio

Fouling and scaling are the most serious problems in membrane processes. In sea/brackish water applications, pretreatment of RO feed water is the key step in designing the plants to avoid membrane fouling and scaling. Recent developments in pretreatment processes are more adapted to raw water qualit

This study identified the membrane fouling of a two-stage RO process of the Bai-sha brackish water desalination plant facing serious fouling problems. Two membrane modules, one from each stage, were autopsied and diagnosed for the cause for the failure of the RO system. Different morphologies were e

Within the lifetime of most membranes some fouling will adversely affect membrane performance and cleaning will be necessary. The cleaning will depend on the type of deposit such as organic fouling, inorganic scaling or colloidal deposition. However strong the circumstantial evidence as to the ident