Does chlorination of seawater reverse osmosis membranes control biofouling?

Khan, Muhammad Tariq; Hong, Pei‐Ying; Nada, Nabil; Croué, Jean Philippe

doi:10.1016/j.watres.2015.03.029

Cited by 69 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 28 publications

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“…The volume of bacterial cells within a biofilm may be quite small; Dreszer et al [48] reported a value of less than 0.5% of the biofilm volume. Biofilm composition may change in response to nutrients, temperature, redox potential, pH, age, and cleaning history [53,54]. Since they can affect mass transfer, biofilms can promote precipitation of inorganics in systems that would otherwise be understaurated [53].…”

Section: Biological Foulingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Critical aspects of RO desalination: A combination strategy

et al. 2017

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Due to a significant drop in the energy needed for RO desalination from 12 kWh/m 3 to ~2 kWh/m 3 over the past 20 years, which is close to 1 kWh/m 3 , the theoretical minimum for recovering salt-free water from seawater, the focus here is on the critical aspects that offer opportunities to further reduce costs. These include pre-and post-treatment; and analysis and optimization of the performance of RO systems, such as selectivity, capacity, and flux decline. Flux decline includes concentration polarization and fouling from inorganic, organic, biological constituents. We call these the "three legs' that undergird all membrane processes. The approach here is quantitative and includes detailed fluid mechanics and associated mass transfer of RO systems for optimizing performance.

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Section: Biological Foulingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Critical aspects of RO desalination: A combination strategy

et al. 2017

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“…If there is no bacteria present in the downstream SWRO after chlorination, the more produced TEP might not be an issue for SWRO biofouling, because the biofilm formation requires the presence of bacteria. However, some of the bacteria can adapt/resist to chlorine, and become inactive instead of real dying after the chlorine dosage [21]. These bacteria may accumulate in the following cartridge filters and/or RO membranes.…”

Section: Performance Of the Pilot Plantmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, some of the bacteria adapts to the dosage of chlorine. These bacteria are just deactivated under chlorination [21]. When the residual chlorine is quenched by SBS, they might recover their activity.…”

Section: Fouling Deterioration From Cartridge Filtersmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Friedler et al [20] reported the success of chlorination as pretreatment in grey water desalination. However, Khan et al [21] reported opposite results on cellulose triacetate (CTA) RO membranes and indicated that both continuous and intermittent chlorination were not capable on preventing biofilm formation. Because of these opposite findings from different researchers, the impact of chlorination on the biofouling of RO membranes is still not clear, especially the relationship between chlorination and the concentration of TEP/TEP precursors (potential foulants) in seawater.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, it is possible that the cartridge filters can serve as a hub for the regrowth of bacteria. Khan et al [21] indicated in their research that one of the failures of chlorination on preventing biofouling is the chlorine adaptation of certain bacterial populations. Especially, in order to protect the polyamide RO membranes (polyamide material is easy to be damaged by chlorine), sodium bisulfate (SBS) is normally used in front of cartridge filter to quench the residual chlorine before the seawater enters the RO units.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Evaluation of potential particulate/colloidal TEP foulants on a pilot scale SWRO desalination study

Sinha

Leiknes

et al. 2016

Desalination

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This pilot study investigated the variation of potential foulants and different fractions of transparent exopolymer particles (TEP), along the treatment scheme under different conditions. The objectives are to provide a comprehensive understanding on which fraction of TEP is more problematic in seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) fouling, and which pretreatment can better reduce the concentration of TEP. Results showed that TEP deposited on the RO membranes, and the extent of RO fouling increased with the increase of TEP concentration in RO feed water. More TEP was produced in water after chlorination, probably because of the breakdown of bacterial cells and thus the release of internal exopolymers. Moreover, the cartridge filters could behave as an incubator for the regrowth of bacteria deactivated by chlorination and a spot for potential foulant (bacterial TEP) production, and thus enhance the RO membranes fouling. The presence of residual iron and addition of phosphate based antiscalant may also contribute to the higher biofouling of RO membranes. This pilot study provided an opportunity to identify the TEP related issues under different operational conditions in RO desalination of Red Sea water.

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