The desalination of seawater using reverse osmosis membranes is an attractive solution to global freshwater scarcity. However, membrane performance reduced by (bio)fouling. Membrane autopsies are essential for identifying the type fouling material, and applying corrective measures minimize fouling. Information from full-scale guiding improved plant operations scant in formal literature. In this...

Abstract Biofouling has been referred to as “the Achilles heel” of reverse osmosis (RO) membrane technology; the main cause being polyamide RO membranes lack chlorine tolerance. increases operating cost water treatment by increasing system feed pressure (i.e., energy demand) and cleaning frequency, which downtime reduces useful life. For waters with known high biofouling potential, plant design...