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...

Development of membranes technologies led industrials and researchers to focus on the way to optimize filtration processes in terms of quality and costs of production. In this way, this paper presents a study about determination of low fouling operating conditions in dead-end ultrafiltration of natural organic matter which leads to the definition of sustainable conditions for filtration by limi...

The crude organic extracts of the endemic gorgonian Phyllogorgia dilatata and two sponge species Aplysina fulva and Mycale microsigmatosa were evaluated for anti-fouling properties through field experiments. To investigate this property in ecologically meaningful conditions, crude extracts from these invertebrates were incorporated at concentrations naturally found in these marine organisms int...

Membrane fouling problem is one of the most crucial issues which restricts the development of MBR and is, therefore, the prime research topic for many researchers worldwide. Anaerobic MBRs offer interesting perspectives as a potential solution for the treatment of wastewaters under extreme conditions, e.g. high temperature and/or high salt content, However, the research on membrane fouling of A...

A membrane bioreactor (MBR) and an activated sludge process (ASP) were operated side by side to evaluate the change of sludge supernatant characteristics and the evolution of the sludge fouling propensity. The MBR sludge had a higher organic concentration and more biopolymer clusters (BPC) in the supernatant compared with ASP. BPC increased in both concentration and size in the MBR. The results...

A laboratory-scale membrane bioreactor (MBR) and nanofiltration (NF) hybrid system has been built to investigate effects of changes in characteristics of effluent organic matter by the MBR on fouling characteristics of the NF membranes. Large amounts of polysaccharide-like substances with small molecular weight and strong fluorescence intensity at the excitation wavelength of 230nm and the emis...

Over the course of the past decade, there has been growing interest in the development of different types of membranes composed of carbon nanotubes (CNTs), including buckypapers and composite materials, for an ever-widening range of filtration applications. This article provides an overview of how different types of CNT membranes are prepared and the results obtained from investigations into th...

Membrane fouling during particle filtration occurs through a variety of mechanisms, including internal pore clogging by contaminants, coverage of pore entrances and deposition on the membrane surface. In this paper, we present an efficient method for modelling the behaviour of a filter, which accounts for different retention mechanisms, particle sizes and membrane geometries. The membrane is as...

The use of ceramic low pressure membranes for drinking water production has been increasing in the past decades. However, fouling during membrane operations is still a challenging topic that requires attention and investigation. During filtration of surface water, a major contribution to fouling is attributed to the presence of dissolved organic carbon(DOC) and its fractions which comprise biop...

Coagulation, magnetic ion exchange resin (MIEX) and biological activated carbon (BAC) were examined at lab scale as standalone, and sequential pre-treatments for controlling the organic fouling of a microfiltration membrane by biologically treated secondary effluent (BTSE) using a multi-cycle approach. MIEX gave slightly greater enhancement in flux than coagulation due to greater removal of hig...